Woodpeckers
Red-bellied woodpecker © Gerry Farquharson
Most everyone is acquainted with the signature sound of the woodpecker. In the give and fall, specially, one can hear the discrete sound of a woodpecker drumming or boring nearby.
Reading: Woodpeckers
Woodpeckers are wonderfully adapted to life in the trees. Their feet have two toes pointing forward and two pointing rearward with sharp luff claw. This enables them to scale vertical tree trunks and other vertical surfaces to look for food and protection. Their uncoiled pointed bills and reinforced skulls help them to absorb the constant shock of nag, chiseling, drill, and drumming. firm tail feathers act as props ( like a third gear leg ) when the birds climb .
Species in Massachusetts
seven woodpecker species breed in Massachusetts. They range in size from the bantam downy to the crow-sized pileated .
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)
Downy woodpecker © Rosalee Zammuto
This is the most common woodpecker in North America—and besides the smallest. It inhabits open woods and urban and suburban areas. This shuttlecock eats insects and, less frequently, berries and other plant products, a well as sunflower seeds at bird feeders. It has a black and white checkered design, a short beak, and black markings on its extinct chase feathers. Its calls include a high peep and a loud rattle ; as in many woodpeckers, it drums on trees rather than singing a song. Learn more about downy woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)
Hairy woodpecker © Ano Lobb
The hairy woodpecker prefers mature forests, and is less likely to be seen in built-up areas than the downy. It consumes by and large insects with some establish material. This bird and the downy search alike, but the hairy ’ mho beak is larger than the downy ’ randomness, and it has all-white outer dock feathers. It makes piercing and rattling calls and drums quickly on trees .
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
Northern flicker © Richard Johnson
Unlike our early woodpeckers, this species has grey-brown feather, and its wings flash yellow when it flies. It inhabits woodlands, wetlands, and built-up areas. It eats insects and other invertebrates, american samoa well as seeds and berries. This shuttlecock makes piercing single and repetitive calls and drums on trees .
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)
Red-bellied woodpecker © Rene Laubach
This bird has only become common in Massachusetts during the past two decades. Despite the name, the most visible area of crimson on this dame can be found on its head and nape. It is approximately the size of a hairy woodpecker and has beige underparts and a blacken and white barred back. This bird inhabits many types of forests and will visit feeders. Listen for a diverseness of sounds, from trills to loud chuckles to a steadily drum .
Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)
Red-headed woodpecker © Ken Lee
This species breeds only erratically in Massachusetts. The pornographic has a completely red point, a black second, and a solid white patch on its wings, and the immature has a brown head. This shuttlecock has strange feed habits for a woodpecker ; it stores food in corner crevices, frequently covering it with bark, and it catches insects in the publicize. You may hear it drumming relatively lento on trees.
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Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)
Pileated woodpecker © Richard Johnson
The energetic, crow-sized pileated woodpecker is always a noteworthy sight. It has a bright crimson cap and a black body with white patches on its wings. Look for the large orthogonal holes that it excavates in trees to find carpenter ants, its preferred food. It makes forte notes and has a insistent call like a flicker ’ mho, but slower. Listen for a potent drum that is slow at first, then speeds up, and then slows again .
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)
Sapsucker © Rosemary Mosco
This small woodpecker has a complex black and white design, a loss brow ( and a bolshevik throat in males ), and a yellow blush underneath that is much not immediately obvious. It drills rows of small holes around a tree ’ s torso from which it sips sap. Listen for repetitive squeaking calls a well as erratic drum, about like a person typing on a typewriter. While it only breeds in the western separate of Massachusetts, it can be seen throughout the state during migration and occasionally in winter .
Food
chiefly insectivorous, woodpeckers consume beetles, ants, aphids, flies, and caterpillars. They use their long tongues with barbed tips to extract insects from holes in wood. Woodpeckers besides rely on sound to locate prey. They can hear the rustling and chewing sounds that insects make in the wood. Flickers feed chiefly on the labor, much seen hopping about lawns looking for ants. Woodpeckers will besides eat acorns, pine seeds, nuts, and berries. The hairy and downy woodpeckers normally come to feeders for suet and sunflower seeds .
Breeding Behavior
Downy and hairy woodpeckers lay an average of four to five eggs in a tree or ramify pit during the calendar month of May. The male and female accept turns incubating the eggs ( the male pensiveness at night ) for about 12 days. once offspring have hatched, both parents feed the young for 20-22 days and for another three weeks after offspring leave the nest .
Situations & Solutions
downy woodpecker © Donald Perkins
In the spring and fall, hundreds of homeowners are awakened by a woodpecker drumming on alloy outside their firm or have become mindful of holes in their side created by a bore woodpecker. Four New England woodpeckers are known to drill and drum on houses : hairy woodpeckers, downy woodpeckers, pileated woodpeckers, and northerly flickers. Downy woodpeckers appear to be the most common wrongdoer in Massachusetts .
Drilling vs Drumming
When woodpeckers drill, they actually chip out wood and create holes in search of food or to create cavities, potentially sites for nesting or roosting. In the fall, woodpeckers excavate respective roosting holes in preparation for the coming winter. In the form, a revival of boring activity occurs in readiness for the nest season. Drumming, on the other hand, is what a woodpecker does to attract a mate or mark its territory by alerting the contest. Drumming occurs most normally in jump .
Woodpeckers Attacking Homes
Although woodpeckers serve as beneficial members of the wildlife community, they can come into dispute with people at times. To a woodpecker, a wooden house is simply a large, queerly shaped tree, and the birds frequently choose it as boring or drumming sites. Woodpeckers tend to attack homes that are much black in discolor ( browns and grays ) or naturally stained cedar or redwood. Damage normally occurs in shingling or corner posts, and the holes are by and large quarter- to half-dollar size and fairly deep.
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You may find one to dozens holes, and the damage can be extensive. Often there is no particular design to the placement of the holes. Most of the drill on houses occurs in the fall ( September through November ). While it ’ south true that woodpeckers drill for insects, it doesn ’ thymine base that you have a harmful infestation of insects. alternatively, a boring woodpecker could be an inexperienced juvenile stressed for food in the fall .
Deterring Woodpeckers
Woodpeckers drilling on homes is seasonal, so in many cases nothing needs to be done. If they are causing significant damage, there are some deter options .
- Tack a large sheet of plastic, such as a drop cloth or heavy-duty garbage bag, over the wood or metal on your house. Attach the plastic sheet at the top and leave the bottom free to bunch and blow in the wind. The birds won’t be able to get a good footing on the plastic, and the movement of the plastic will help scare them away.
- Try hanging several, six-foot long mylar streamers (found in party supply stores) 10 inches apart over the damaged area to create movement. In hard to reach or inaccessible areas, extend helium-filled mylar balloons (with very long strings) directly in front of the area. Supplement these scare tactics by squirting a hose near the bird before it gets settled in to work in the mornings.
- In corners or under eaves, you can stretch bird netting (i.e., fruit tree netting, available at garden supply centers) so that the woodpecker can’t reach the wood or metal (keep it at least six inches from the surface).
- Leave dead trees and snags around the yard to help provide natural feeding, nesting, and drumming sites for the birds.
I am broadly interested in how human activities influence the ability of wildlife to persist in the modified environments that we create.
Specifically, my research investigates how the configuration and composition of landscapes influence the movement and population dynamics of forest birds. Both natural and human-derived fragmenting of habitat can influence where birds settle, how they access the resources they need to survive and reproduce, and these factors in turn affect population demographics. Most recently, I have been studying the ability of individuals to move through and utilize forested areas which have been modified through timber harvest as they seek out resources for the breeding and postfledging phases. As well I am working in collaboration with Parks Canada scientists to examine in the influence of high density moose populations on forest bird communities in Gros Morne National Park. Many of my projects are conducted in collaboration or consultation with representatives of industry and government agencies, seeking to improve the management and sustainability of natural resource extraction.