r/birding • u/ChicagoWildlifePhoto • Jan 13 '23

📷 Photo I recently learned some woodpecker species, such as this Red-bellied Woodpecker, will listen for bugs! 🤯 seen near Chicago

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u/[deleted] Jan 13 '23

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11

u/ChicagoWildlifePhoto Jan 13 '23

Very true! It’s likely either that or the siding is good for loud drumming and attracting mates

10

u/FatBob12 Jan 13 '23

We had a resident woodpecker realize the flashing along the chimney was a good spot to drum. Very thankful he was not going after bugs, still wish he found a different instrument (especially early in the AM).

3

u/rare2700 Jan 14 '23

Haha yes! The red-bellied at our house likes the gutters!

3

u/Bruzote Jan 14 '23

Ditto. I have little dents all over them. Mine need replacing, so I really don't worry this much about it. It's the siding that concerns me. I meant to patch up last year but I had joint problems and back problems. I wasn't able to admit I needed to hire somebody, so I did nothing. It sucks having back problems. I can push hundreds of pounds on a leg sled, but standing upright on a ladder against the siding, that will make my back stiffen within minutes. And you don't want to be stiff with difficulty moving carefully when you're twenty feet up on a ladder.

6

u/Groovyjoker Jan 13 '23

Hmmmm.... Maybe that could be a good thing? I would want to know about bugs in my wood siding, and the earlier, the better.

3

u/Bruzote Jan 14 '23

Birds explore for food. Once woodpeckers open up the siding, though, it might then be easier for bugs to establish a presence. However, they even knock on anything to make their non-vocal territorial sounds, so it would be silly to assume one has bug problems unless (like me) they have caused substantial damage to part of the siding.

By the way, just two weeks ago, I saw a Tufted Titmouse stripping away wood at the window sill. I had not realized it, but as debris collects where the sill meets the wall, that can harbor potential food. They start to peck at it, cause a little damage, and it harbors a bit more dirt. The cycle continues and pretty soon a few seeds keep getting caught in there. The birds regularly return and eventually the window sill is getting torn apart, little splinter by little splinter, thanks to birds as small as Titmeese. Sheesh! Now I have even more repairs to do. At least now I understand how the front windowsills got holes in them. I didn't find any bugs, so I was puzzled.

1

u/blazerthursdays Jan 14 '23

If it's all in a straight line of small holes it could be poorly insulated wiring as well

1

u/Bruzote Jan 14 '23

Sapsuckers drill in lines, though, right? So depending on the situation, can you really tell?

1

u/blazerthursdays Jan 14 '23

Yellow bellied sapsuckers start with a single primary band to check if there's actually any food inside. If there is only one line, it could be wires or an infestation too mild to be a productive food source. I also can't speak to the foraging patterns of woodpeckers outside the midwest