And I used to love woodpeckers
- Thread starter Kermit
- Start date
Hope he's insured by Farmer's. They've seen a thing or two. Might make it to a commercial.
Did you scare the bird away?
Did you scare the bird away?
Last edited:
Took one look at me and ran like hell. Must’ve been female.
When I lived out west, I had problems with the Gila Woodpeckers taking chunks out of my house. A single bird can ruin several square feet of wood per week.
I had a big Suharo cactus in my yard. Those things are like woodpecker magnets for two reasons. First, the birds like to nest inside them & second, they throw a fruit annually that is like candy for the woodpeckers. When a woodpecker claims territory over a Suharo, they fight hard to keep it. If you get rid of that one woodpecker, then a flock of them will descend on you the following day & fight over who is going to take over the territory.
After dealing with them for a few years, I got to understand most of the different sounds that they make. There are probably not more than a dozen or so. I also came to understand how to evict the troublemakers that attacked my house & keep doing it until I got a good one in the yard that stuck to the cactus & left my house alone. A good woodpecker, in residence, will keep the destructive ones away.
I had a big Suharo cactus in my yard. Those things are like woodpecker magnets for two reasons. First, the birds like to nest inside them & second, they throw a fruit annually that is like candy for the woodpeckers. When a woodpecker claims territory over a Suharo, they fight hard to keep it. If you get rid of that one woodpecker, then a flock of them will descend on you the following day & fight over who is going to take over the territory.
After dealing with them for a few years, I got to understand most of the different sounds that they make. There are probably not more than a dozen or so. I also came to understand how to evict the troublemakers that attacked my house & keep doing it until I got a good one in the yard that stuck to the cactus & left my house alone. A good woodpecker, in residence, will keep the destructive ones away.
Haha, I don't know their real name, but I have been referring to those as "Doofus Woodpeckers" for years. They'll hammer away at a metal stovepipe (or anything else!) all morning, thinking they'll get food from it. Amusing to watch. We have those and Pileateds.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 24,516
Interesting.
In your opinion @Kermit will he replace the Sailrite machine in restitching the sun cover on the Genoa?
Looks like he is doing a pretty thorough job of it. Focused on spots that need extra pecking...
In your opinion @Kermit will he replace the Sailrite machine in restitching the sun cover on the Genoa?
Looks like he is doing a pretty thorough job of it. Focused on spots that need extra pecking...
John, ever on the sunny side! Maybe the boat owner should sail more often and shake the bugs out of the sun cover.
My father who was a birder held that woodpeckers make holes in trees so insects can get in. Then they come back and harvest the crop. In that sense he said they are like farmers. Pretty smart for a bird that we study to try to understand why they don't have concussive brain injuries. We used to have one who would hammer on our aluminum gutter. The noise reverberated badly. The first time I ran throughout the house looking for some electric short circuit or other calamity. Never did find one. Weeks later I was chilling on my deck and the bird landed nearby on the eave and started hammering on the gutter. Aha! You're the little bas***d that made me jump out of bed and tear around the house. But they are awesome critters and while my gutter suffered some, I was happy to see it come around. I'm not sure my Dad was right about the farming thing.
The yellow bellied sapsucker is the one that's well known for the first part of your post. You can tell he's been there by the line of holes he leaves in the tree, to come back later and harvest the bugs.
On the second part, when they are breeding and calling for a mate, the male will often hammer on loud things, like your gutters. I've seen them hammer on road signs. The noisy bird gets the hot chick.
Yea Kermit, your friend needs to sail more and blow out those spiders and bugs! Either that, or give the bird some thread so he can sew up the sun cover when he's done.
Your answer could land you in jail
These birds are known as federally protected migratory birds. You can't kill them without a special license. Woodpeckers – known as wild birds – are protected by state and federal laws. This means that you cannot kill, poison, shoot or capture woodpeckers without a permit.
Actually folks, now for the real story. Green frog called and hung up upon arrival at the marina. I sent my secret weapon, Woody Wood Pecker, to give him a hard time. I was surprised chasing off that flippin bird with his green color instead of using that green tongue to catch that bird for breakfast.
Woodpeckers peck metal to establish territory. I hope I never see anything like Kermit's video around here. As far as I know they have not caused any damage in the marina.