If you've been awakened by the sounds of an avian drummer boy – or girl – these early spring mornings, you’re not alone.
Several people in town have noticed the insistent drumming of woodpeckers on their roofs, with the favoured surface often being metal pipes for maximum volume.
“They’re marking territory and, if they’re not mating, they’re calling for a mate,” says naturalist Tom Brighouse. “They’re saying, ‘you guys stay off my territory.’”
Woodpeckers are nesting in willow trees near Brighouse’s home. As well as drumming, there’s lots of singing.
“This one has the biggest lungs for a small bird,” Brighouse says, smiling, regarding one of his feathered neighbours. “He can sing much longer phrases than I can… I’ve tried to sing alongside him but he’s got bigger lungs than I have.”
Brighouse says the red-shafted Northern Flicker is responsible for much of the drumming residents hear. The red-shafted flicker is found on this side of the Rocky Mountains while, to the east, is the yellow-shafted version.
“Sometimes in the middle you’ll get hybrids which are sort of orange-shafted – which is quite interesting.”
Also among the woodpeckers in this area is the Pileated Woodpecker, a large red-crested bird, the namesake of Salmon Arm’s Pileated Woods Park. It’s not known for being an avid drummer.
At Haney Heritage Park, Northern Flickers have taken a liking to the walls of Haney House.
Not only do they drum, sometimes they’ll punch a hole right through to make a nesting area high in the eaves, says Ted McTaggart, keeper of the park.
He leaves the nest area alone, as he says the flickers use it over again and, when they’re done, the barn swallows move in.
He’s noticed that the flickers come to feed on the larvae of Mason bees, who also call Haney House home.
McTaggart was planning to repair any of the smaller holes the flickers have created and then hang up some old shiny fishing lures on corners of the house to help scare off the birds.
He said he’d be discerning.
“You don’t want too much bling hanging off Haney House.”
The Internet offers several possible solutions if drumming is a problem. Some can be found at: http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/woodpeckers.html.
They include: • Scare the flicker by hanging strips of Mylar flash tape or floating Mylar party balloons in front of the area of activity. When using flash tape, strengthen each strip by attaching a piece of duct tape or nylon packing tape to each end. Tack or nail one end to the outer end of the roof soffit, just under the gutter, and attach the other end to the side of the house. Before attaching the bottom, twist the tape six to seven times and keep the tape loose enough to provide some slack. The slack and twisting are necessary to produce the shimmering effect. Apply these tape strands at parallel intervals of two to three feet.
• You can also try hanging aluminum pie pans horizontally along a rope or section of twine, states the website. Run one end of the rope to a convenient window and fasten it to an object inside the house. Whenever you hear drumming, jerk on the string to make the pans move. (Scaring flickers away from a nest containing eggs or young is not a humane practice.)
• For those who can venture onto the roof, one solution is to create a barrier by covering or wrapping the gutter, down-spout, or other drumming site with a sheet, tarp, burlap, or other material. The website also says some people have had success with stapling large rubber spiders in the vicinity of the drumming birds.
These methods can also be used to disturb woodpeckers who are digging holes in roofs or walls in their search for insects. The website notes that flickers may be doing you a favour by drawing attention to an insect infestation. In the long term, you’ll need to get rid of the bugs, and then make any necessary repairs with wood filler, caulking, or other materials.
Regarding drumming, the unfailingly witty Brighouse offers another sure-fire solution.
“The answer is earplugs. Not for the birds, but for you.”