Page 19 - Sentinel May 2017

WILD SIDE Continued from page 18 or to proclaim its territory and attract a mate. This typically
happens during the breeding season (mid-March to June), but
and fall is welcomed, whereas here, the fall here can be so brief, may continue into July. For reasons that are not fully under-
and I do not look forward to the too-long winter weather soon stood, drumming may also occur for a short time in the fall.
to come.
Drumming is the most common reason for flickers to use build-
ings, and while it may be annoying, the bird’s activity usually
Those Peckers
does not penetrate completely through wood siding.
Flickers will return year after year to the same house because
Woodpeckers of many species have been a curse to many a it works for them; they attract a mate this way. Thus, a flicker
home owner. And they can be like squirrels: once they have that has been using the same location for several years will be
invaded the homestead to bear their young, you will see them hard to move.
forever. I have transported squirrels to at least two miles away.
With a Have-a-Heart trap, I carry them off to the Bear Dance To discourage drumming, try a combination of the following
Golf Course and let them go in front of the restaurant. Perfect. strategies:
A few months ago, I told about the author of One Bird at a
Time, who had flickers peck through his outside wall and lay Scare the flicker by hanging strips of Mylar scare tape or float-
eggs. He put in a window on the inside wall to watch them. I ing Mylar party balloons in front of the area of activity (Fig.
am not quite ready to go there.
6). When using scare tape, strengthen each strip by attaching a
piece of duct tape or nylon packing tape to each end. Tack or
Usually stucco houses do not have the woodpecker problem nail one end to the outer end of the roof soffit, just under the
that houses with wood siding do.
gutter, and attach the other end to the side of the house. Be-
fore attaching the bottom, twist the tape 6 to 7 times and keep
John Coats, a long-time neighbor in Perry Park East has been the tape loose enough to provide some slack. The slack and
inundated with flickers and other woodpeckers. John and Car- twisting are necessary to produce the shimmering effect. Apply
ol’s house is stucco.
these tape strands at parallel intervals of 2 to 3 feet.
The state of Washington put out the following information: You can also try hanging aluminum pie pans horizontally along
“1) Drumming: A flicker drums to communicate with a mate
Continued on page 20

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Perry Park Sentinel May 2017 - Page 19