Woodpeckers

Woodpeckers are some goofy birds. They're smart as heck, and they're not small birds either. But sometimes Woodpeckers can be downright goofy.

Right now a pair of mating woodpeckers have fallen completely in love with one of our gutters. They're not making a nest that I can tell, but they just love this one gutter. They'll sit up there all day and sharpen their 'peckers' on the gutter. Then they fly down and sit on the rail right outside my office window. They're beautiful birds actually. I believe they are a Norther Flicker. Quite a bit larger than a Robin, but not as big as a crow. They're about a foot long and have a wingspan of probably 16" or so. And they've got a big ol' beak on 'em!

Every now and then they launch a machine gun attack on the gutter, which I guess is some form of communication. Inside the house it sounds like someone with a full auto standing in the front yard. I guess they've decided the love the gutter because it works like an amplifier, and tells all the other woodpeckers that there's an 800 lb woodpecker and his ol' lady that live over here, so..."BACK OFF, Woody!!".

All day long I can hear them up there sharpening their peckers on the gutter. They just worship that dang gutter.

They're not peckin' at the house, so I guess that's good. I've read that these particular birds actually get most of their bugs from the ground, not from trees, and they like ants the best. Well, they've come to the right place, cuz we've got tons of red ants. We've two resident pairs of ruby throated Finches which take up residence on the front deck, but I guess the Flickers don't mind them because they haven't hassled them that I can see. They're 10x bigger than the finches, but they don't seem to bother them.

Anyway, our woodpeckers, like everyone else around here, are goofy.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

a " sacrifical sectio " - of identical guttering - placed 5m from the house might get them to move on peacefuly

PS - adding food - might help

and putting anti perch strips or netting on the house getter would prevent them using the house as an amp

while still providing them a roost and you entertainment

How much peck could a woodpecker peck if a ...

wait, that's woodchucks..

damn it... again... they're stupid birds anyway, woodchucks..

I once lived in an apartment complex which was halfway out of town. A woodpecker would drum on the building's siding, a sort of masonite, and it sounded like someone was operating a power tool. A neighbor blasted it with a 20-gauge, and I know because I found the shell.

Couldn’t help but have a sneaky chortle at your story FCD.

“”Pecker” in some parts of the UK means a totally different thing🤪🤪

www.dictionary.com...

Lags

In my country/region woodpeckers are very rare. As a kid I would always run to the window and lookout for the woodpecker that was there every year. Once he started hammering on the old walnut trees for the first time a year, I would miss him if he was just gone for a few days.

I liked the sound. I understand they can be a pest, too. But I did never mind that one

a reply to: Lagomorphe

Yes, I'm aware of this connotation, hence my quotes around it the first time, though technically correct.

LOL

ETA - Just a little fun with words.

a reply to: Lagomorphe

Just like his woodpeckers, your mind is in the gutter. Shame, shame rabbit!

I am endlessly entertained by animals. I get the occasional small woodpecker around here. They are definitely goofy and entertaining.

Leave them be.

Our neighborhood has a pair of little downy woodpeckers and they just go nuts for suet! We have a suet feeder and I swear they get offended when I leave it empty for too long. They constantly fly in to check and see what's on offer. They're the cutest little things in their black and white checks with the little red patch on the back of the head.

We also get the occasional flicker, too.

I have an old very large hollow tree just behing my house where they have found a section they use as a drum to broadcast their presence far and wide. Other peckers can probably hear it several miles away. They primarily use it during mating season.

Pileated woodpecker. This insectivorous bird is a mostly sedentary inhabitant of deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the Pacific coast. It is the second-largest woodpecker on the continent, after the critically endangered — and possibly extinct — ivory-billed woodpecker.

a reply to: toolgal462

Who said anything about doing anything to them?

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
a reply to: toolgal462

Who said anything about doing anything to them?

You didn't but another poster mentioned his neighbor blew one away...Just putting in my 2 cents.

originally posted by: ketsuko
Our neighborhood has a pair of little downy woodpeckers and they just go nuts for suet! We have a suet feeder and I swear they get offended when I leave it empty for too long. They constantly fly in to check and see what's on offer. They're the cutest little things in their black and white checks with the little red patch on the back of the head.



We also get the occasional flicker, too.

I get them at the suet feeder too. Small ones.

originally posted by: DictionaryOfExcuses
a reply to: Lagomorphe

Just like his woodpeckers, your mind is in the gutter. Shame, shame rabbit!

That reminds me...

Anyone know what you call a woodpecker without a beak?











A head banger...

I’ll get my coat thank you very much.

“Taxi?”

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

We once had a woodpecker in the neighborhood that would rattle away at the gutters. Hahaha! The first time I heard it I was like, "What the hell??" They are beautiful birds and like someone else said, they love suet.

Here's a soundtrack for them. Crank it up.

Have Flickers here and fortunately so far no interest in the house. Loads of interest in a large flat tray feeder. Watching them come in for a landing with those little shorty legs is hilarious! They also boss the Blue Jays around which is entertaining.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

That is so funny - when my first wife and I lived in a pretty rural area, we had all sorts of problems with some neighbors. Once they decided it was a good idea to shoot hunting arrow up into the air. Which landed 6 inches from my dog. The point of which is that one day I'm sitting in my office (minding my own business I might add) when all of a sudden there's this BBBBBBRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPP! on the roof. Sounded exactly like an AR with a bump stock. I flew downstairs figuring the neighbors were shooting at the house. Nothing. 5 minutes later, BBBBBBBRRRRRRAAAAAAPPPP!

I'm looking around, trying to figure out who's shooting at us and I hear it again. Look at the roof of the house and a Yellow Shafted Flicker is up there just destroying the vents on the roof.

It turns out the male flicker attracts mates by rapping on trees and over the years have figured out that metal objects make the best sound to get the hot chicks. Gutters, vents, doesn't matter. And BTW, they don't care about whirling things, anti bird spikes, scarecrows, some guy screaming at them, they're going to bang on the metal no matter what.

Another point is they like the highest point they can get to to do this. The first house was 3 stories as is our current condo. 2 story or ranches, they leave alone. Go figure.

This past summer my second wife of 20 years is sitting in the living room and guess what? BBBBBRRRRRAAAAAPPPPP on the fireplace chimney. Sure enough another stupid Flicker is up that just banging the crap out of it.

originally posted by: Lazarus Short
I once lived in an apartment complex which was halfway out of town. A woodpecker would drum on the building's siding, a sort of masonite, and it sounded like someone was operating a power tool. A neighbor blasted it with a 20-gauge, and I know because I found the shell.

I live next-door to a car dealership - their employee lunchroom building is just on the other side of a fence from my place. They have some kind of chimney that is metal or just covered by metal flashing that a neighborhood woodpecker enjoys attacking. When I first heard it I thought someone was using a power-tool as well, like a compression hammer or sawzall.

Beautiful birds - it's amazing the amount of damage they can do to a tree. Nothing compared to a beaver, but still...

ETA - after reading the post above mine, I guess that makes sense - the louder the noise the better the chance of getting chicks.