It's like a bad joke

[sholio]

This is the problem with living in a house made out of logs.



There are two of them that do this. A mated pair, perhaps? They don't make holes, thankfully ... they just tap on the walls. Oh, and they also screech a lot. From inside, it sounds like TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP *SHRIEK* TAP-TAP-TAP *SHRIEK* TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP...

It drives the cats to distraction. I'm more amused than anything else. They do seem to be eating something, so I assume they're finding insects in the cracks between the logs.

Comments

[droolfangrrl]

Good luck with them. I found a couple links about dealing with them.

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/natres/06516.html
http://icwdm.org/handbook/birds/woodpeckers.asp

At least they aren't nocturnal. We went camping and learned that Whippoorwills call at night. And that one of them was in the tree right above our tent. Lucky us.

[sholio]

Thanks for the links! Although, as long as they're not drilling holes, I don't actually mind them. They're a bit noisy, but they're cute, and they don't come around all that often.

[meridian_rose]

I'm glad you're finding them amusing rather than too annoying :D

[mrkinch]

A hairy woodpecker, I think? That would be so cool, though of course I've never been anything like as close to their sounds as you are!

[sholio]

*grins* Yeah, I think they're cool. It helps that they're not around all the time. If it was a 24/7 racket, I think I'd be looking into woodpecker traps ...

[sholio]

Yup, that's what we have around here (well, one of the two kinds, but the other is much smaller - these guys are pretty big!). And yeah, I do think it's cool, even though they make a racket. I love watching them.

[flingslass.livejournal.com]

Awesome! :)

[leesa_perrie]

Oh, that's cool!! Poor cats though!!! *g*

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

It can be maddening but there is something also whimsical about it eh??

[sholio]

Yeah, I think it's kind of neat actually. :D

[sholio]

*grins* Yeah, drives the cats bonkers, but I think it's neat!

[sholio]

I think so too! :D

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

I had a Woody Wood Pecker about his business on my Modesto Ash which was in my front yard at Rancho Cordova..........
When I looked out the guest bedroom this is what I saw:

(http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/Sharpes_Hussy/?action=view&current=redheaded.jpg)

The funniest bird I ever heard in a tree was when I was in Sydney Australia and we were in a botanical garden and heard first the famous Kookaburra:

(http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/Sharpes_Hussy/?action=view&current=kookaburra.jpg)

First we heard him and it does sound like laughing and then we saw him.

[sholio]

Oh, how cool! That's a beautiful woodpecker - it does look just like Woody Woodpecker. :D And seeing the kookaburra would have been so awesome!

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

YES just like Woody and you would have loved seeing that 'cheeky bugger' in that tree in OZ................
I was delighted as I had seen cartoons of them and knew how very popular they are in literature etc. in OZ............
It was same feeling as seeing the first 'roo' and koala.....

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

N'awww, Downy Woodpeckers... (I think it's a Downy, anyway.)

We used to have a yellow-bellied sapsucker that discovered it could make a much louder noise and attract lady sapsuckers from further away if it tapped its courting rythms on the drainpipe right under my folks's bedroom windows at dawn. A morning ritual was going outside to pick the shoes up off the back lawn.

[sholio]

I think it's a Hairy Woodpecker -- they look exactly like the Downies except they're bigger. But, yeah. Cute, but noisy. *g* And heh, I love your sapsucker story. :D

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

Gee, your house is made of big logs, then - I picked Downy because of the scale! My folks get both Downies and Hairies in their backyard. I used to spend winters watching them (and white-breasted and red-breasted nuthatches) at the fat feeder.

[sholio]

Well, it was a good thought! :D But yeah, the logs are big - they're about 10-12" in diameter.

I do love watching the wildlife around here. There's a fairly limited range of it, though, especially in the winter -- not a whole lot of animals can make it year-round this far north.

[fitzwiggity.livejournal.com]

Hi! this is Fitzwiggity's mom....your major problem seems to be water damage, and those cute little woodpeckers may be already causing damage, because if they aren't now, they will be after the bugs that get into the water damaged wood you have. My professional opinion would be: install facia, aluminum works best, and keeps water out, and soffit probly would not be a bad idea either, keeps the critters out. There seems to be a lot of water damage on that roof support; make sure it is actually behind the facia board to avoid more water damage. You may also seriously consider putting some Thompsons water sealer on that area if you don't do anything else. That will buy you a bit more time, but until the water issue is addressed, the wood will continue to become damaged. Hope this helps! Fitzwiggity's Mom (kimberly)

-Fitzwiggity here: mom's works as a consultant for the most part on Classic Cars and rebuilding houses, if you're curious. She's got her own business too. Showed her the pic, and that's what she came up with. ;) Anyway, got to go, bye.

[sholio]

Hi, thanks for the advice. :) We do already have some plans along those lines, trust me. The house is a log cabin, built by someone who did not really know what they were doing, and there are a LOT of problems with the general structure and design, particularly with the roof. So, yeah, we have long-term restructuring plans for the house if we continue to live here.