That’s a beat I can dance to Photo credit to Missouri Department of Conservation.
Photo credit to eBird.org.
the sound of drumming woodpeckers
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
I
f you happen to be listening to your birds singing these days, you might also be hearing a lot of drumming noises too. Unlike many of your backyard songbirds, woodpeckers chirp and vocalize, but they do not sing. They do however drum. Drumming, or sometimes called tattooing or tapping are the various ways that woodpeckers communicate with each other. Just like songbirds, each species of woodpecker has its own unique drumming patterns which are recognized by their own species. They vary how fast they drum and for how long as well as rhythm. For example, a downy woodpecker will drum 16 to 17 beats per second and for a quarter to one and a half seconds. This spring could provide an opportunity to witness a “Drumline” performance as we are fortunate to have many species of woodpeckers each with their own rhythms. You might hear a Downy, Hairy, Red-bellied, Redheaded, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker,
Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker, Red-shafted Northern Flicker or even the Pileated woodpecker each playing their own drum solos. Woodpeckers use their drumming to communicate sources of food, territories, call for help to the nest, alert about predators, or to attract a mate. They’ll use a variety of substrates for drumming and not just the trunk of a tree. They have been known to drum on fence posts, house siding, chimney caps, gutters, trash cans, and fallen logs to name a few. How is it that all that drumming doesn’t give them a terrible headache? As you might guess, their anatomy is uniquely suited to enable their drumming. Some of these characteristics include an extra thick skull to provide padding. Their long tongues are anchored at the base of the top of their beak, then wraps around their skull and up through the bottom of their beak bone for additional shock absorption. Their beaks are thick, straight
NIK HIREMATH Birding Expert 8
March 2021 | kcgmag.com
and sturdy. Plus, they have stiff bristles at the base of their beak to disperse small pieces of wood and dust to protect their eyes. In fact their anatomy was so intriguing, that it inspired sport equipment manufacturer’s designs of football helmets. One of the unfortunate side effects of their drumming behavior can be damage to our homes. They can leave dents and dings on chimney caps and gutters and flashings but that’s not as bad as when they leave even greater eyesores on the siding or trim pieces when they make holes. But there are ways to deter this behavior without harming the woodpeckers. The simplest and where I would recommend you start, is by hanging something shiny near where they are pecking or drumming. You can use household items like an aluminum pie plate, old CDs or strips of aluminum foil. Alternatively, you can purchase shiny reflective mylar tape which can be hung. Another
technique is to hang a woodpecker decoy near where they are doing damage. Because they are territorial, they will assume that territory is taken and find another place. You will likely have to move the decoy occasionally, so they don’t wise up and figure out it’s just plastic! If the woodpeckers are making a large size hole, you can place a woodpecker nesting box to cover it and hope they use it instead of trying to make one in the side of your home. The most certain and extensive is to install netting which they can’t penetrate in front of the area they’re drumming. The other strategy that has a hit or miss result at best, is to offer bird food for them in the hopes they’re just looking for food on your home and will go instead to your feeders. So, the next time you’re in your backyard or on a walk in nature, see if you can guess what the woodpeckers are saying to one another. Happy birding!
Local birding experts Nik and Theresa Hiremath own and operate Wild Birds Unlimited of Leawood at 11711 Roe Avenue, Leawood, Kansas. Contact them at 913-491-4887.
