This pileated woodpecker has been having a grand time drilling into my mother's cedar shingled house and cedar trees in her yard. These are such beautiful birds that seem to be rather curious and mischievous. I have had them turn up while I have been using an axe to cut down a tree. Maybe my hacking away at a trunk is "saying" something in woodpecker language which causes them to check me out.
Okay, that brings up a question I have. My dad considers woodpeckers "the enemy" and swears they are destructive. So when I got into birdfeeding, I was hesitant to feed peanuts and things that would encourage woodpeckers to come around our new house.
The guy at Wild Birds Unlmt however, says that they only drill into homes when there are already bugs in the wood and otherwise, they are "drumming" which is just a signal to other woodpeckers.
So which is it? Do they cause destruction, or just let people know there are bugs in their eves?
What a lovely friend you have! I guess your axe is the equivalent of a dinner bell for him:-)
Bev
Nice pic Wayne!
To my knowledge the guy is right, my in-laws had one making a hole on the side of their house even though plenty of trees were available.
I think they finally had to put a rubber snake or owl on the house in that area and that stopped the woodpecker.
So Pelle, did your in-laws have termites or anything? The WBU guy was saying that woodpeckers don't bother houses unless there are bugs to get.
I drilled some holes in an old stump and put peanut butter in it the other day, but haven't seen a woodpecker on it yet, although there are lots of ants on the peanut butter now.
I did see a woodpecker out front yesterday though. Ladderback, I think. Even got some pics.:
This message was edited Jan 6, 2008 9:34 AM
Yep, Ladder-backed Wp.
Resin
yeah David maybe your hacking away on a trunk is awakening their territorial instinct and they think you're an intruder (or maybe new partner) :)
Here a male for your female :)
Not termites but bugs getting on the house from the trees.
I have one frequenting my suet feeder this winter. He can hardly balance on the small feeder, and almost drags the pole down. Fun to watch!
If I had them around my yard (I wish) I would get one of those long tail prop suet feeders.
We almost saw one today. We met a woman on the trail that said she saw one and described where. By the time we got there there wasn't a bird in site. Darn it!!
This is torture!!! Where is my Pileated!!!!
Great pic!
For me too! Where is our Pileated? Went out today and tramped around in the woods for an hour looking for one--also checked out our neighbors' feeders--but none to be seen.
So different from past years when we had them coming to our feeders twice a day at least...weird that they just disappeared... )-;
We have had no signs of them either. Last hear you could hear them drilling the trees first thing in the mornings, but not this year
Nice bit of pileated "handy" work! Must have thought that the posted sign was something to make a comment about.
David
LOL,Wow!
Geesh!! You've got some serious pileated pecking going on there!
Great pic!
BTW, we found our pileateds in the woods the other day. Took some looking but they were there pecking. We tried to call for them to come to our yard, but they wouldn't hear of it! Maybe I'll put up a sign to attract them!
As some of you know, the Pileated Woodpecker (PW) is my favorite woodland bird. Over the past few years, a lot of people have shown interest in my personal experience and subsequent photos of the PW's. More recently, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology expressed interest in perhaps using some of my photos which reflect a somewhat unusual behavior. Rather than repeat any of these photos on this thread, anyone who may be interested can click on the following link ......
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/686927/
Oh I well remember those great pics Linth!
Congrats on the Cornell interest!
Do you still see them around at all?
linth, we'll watch on the Cornell site for your pileated photos! That will be fun-- Congratulations!
(I remember the wonderful pics of the pileated's bonding with your car mirrors too!)
Are they coming to your yard this year?
Mine just flat out went away from our yard this year after coming to my window right here by my desk almost every day in past winters. (Makes me sad that I got dumped.)
Congratulations on the pics, linth!! wish ours would stop by.
This message was edited Jan 19, 2008 3:24 PM
May I add one of mine?
Beautiful Dave!
I have to admit I'm really envious of you guys that have Pileateds around. :-)
Nice one, Dave ........ perfect pose.
Pelle, I hear them on occasion but rarely see them. Although their call is distinct, my local Blue Jays do an awful lot of other bird imitations which can be confusing.
tabasco, they visited two years in a row and performed their similar behavior. But, not recently. Nonetheless, I anxiously await their presence. Just maybe ............
.
Great pic, Dave. Even horizontal! You should send it in to the bird calendar companies!
