It should be noted that humans often contribute to woodpecker problems: We cut down forests and woodlands and build houses in their place, and owners of woodlots often remove all the dead wood. If this woodpecker is pounding on siding to make its “song,” then putting up a resonance board nearby may solve the problem. “If they test your exterior and like the sound, and if there’s no other source for making resonance, they’ll come right back.” “In trying to fix these problems, a great deal depends on a bird’s motivation,” says Kells. Many homeowners who contact the university’s Kells complain of this kind of activity. Wood siding is often quite resonant, thus very pleasing to woodpeckers. Much more common is drumming behavior, essentially the woodpecker’s springtime “song,” and this may cause scrapes or holes. “Every year in the fall I hear from people who are upset about woodpeckers making holes in their siding to roost in during the winter,” says Kraig Kelsey, owner of a wild bird store in North Oaks. In extreme cases, investing in man-made siding for the affected area should put a stop to hole drilling. Then, bird deterrents may prevent return visits if not, covering the damaged area with plastic netting stops further probing. If the woodpecker has been excavating a hole for a roosting or nesting site, plug this quickly. Things designed to scare birds, such as aluminum foil strips, reflective tape, eye balloons and windsocks may deter food-seeking downies from further pecking. (A few bee species, such as the carpenter bee, can cause damage, and it may be worthwhile to call an exterminator in such cases.) Still, a young, inexperienced woodpecker might dig small holes on the off chance an insect lies inside the wood.Ī red-bellied woodpecker, a sunflower seed held firmly in its beak, heads away from a feeder to cache the food for later consumption. Think like a woodpecker for a minute: A wood-sided home resembles a very large, very flat tree, and woodpeckers spend their days pecking at trees.Ĭontrary to a common belief, a woodpecker’s assault on a home’s exterior almost never indicates an infestation of wood-boring beetles. In many cases the woodpecker’s probing causes little or no harm, but sometimes a particularly persistent bird can cause damage. While other species, from hairy to red-bellied to pileated woodpeckers, also hammer at wood siding, downies are the most plentiful woodpecker and are the more usual culprits. In one case, a woodpecker drilled through the siding right into a home’s interior wall. Several readers contacted us recently, asking for suggestions for getting woodpeckers to leave their homes alone. Drumming (more about this later) is important to springtime territorial and mate-attracting activities. “They’re fairly inquisitive, and they’re constantly testing surfaces in their search for food and drumming sites,” says Stephen Kells, urban entomologist at the University of Minnesota. The culprit - the downy woodpecker - problematically lives up to its name: These diminutive birds (6 inches long) peck at wood, usually trees, but downies sometimes switch to wood siding, and can inflict considerable damage to a home’s exterior. One participant even marked different lengths on his peanut feeder.How does a small black and white bird, weighing only about an ounce, drive some homeowners around the bend? Some participants have measured their feeders to help them judge size. Size is a reliable field mark, but it can be difficult to judge in the field. Furthermore, although Downys never have completely white outer tail feathers underneath, some Hairy Woodpeckers have the barring, so seeing bars does not necessarily mean you have a Downy. Sometimes black barring shows on the outer side of these feathers, but not always, and it can be difficult to see the underside of the feathers. If you can see the under side of the outer tail feathers, and they are completely white, then you can be certain that you have a Hairy Woodpecker.
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