Page 20 - Sentinel May 2017

WILD SIDE Continued from page 18 creating a barrier with a sheet, tarp, burlap, birdnetting, or other
material. (Drawing by Jenifer Rees.)
a rope or section of twine (Fig. 6). Run one end of the rope to a
convenient window and fasten it to an object inside the house.
Whenever you hear drumming, jerk on the string to make the
pans move.

Note: A house decorated with these deterrents may attract the
ire of the HOA.
Some people have had success with stapling large rubber spi-
ders in the vicinity of the drumming birds. Large, black rubber Having been on a canoe camping trip to the border of Maine
spiders are available from most party stores. The Birds Away and New Hampshire, I can attest to the drumming of the very
Attack Spider® is vibration/sound activated and will respond to large pileated woodpecker. Talk about waking the dead. One of
the drumming of woodpeckers, by dropping down on a “web” these birds had us hunkering down in our sleeping bags to block
cord. Batteries then retract the spider back up the cord, where it out the mega jackhammer noise outside our tent.
waits for the next unsuspecting woodpecker to arrive.

*****
Scaring the flicker by shouting and banging pans outside a near- That’s all, folks, for this month. Gotta run. The first bird of the
by window may provide temporary relief. A squirt of water with season has literally come down the chimney of our wood stove.
a garden hose can have a similar effect. Again, flickers living in I can’t see the red wings on this blackbird for all the soot he has
urban areas likely will have grown accustomed to such noises accumulated.
and activity, and the results will be short lived. (Note: Scaring
flickers away from a nest containing eggs or young is illegal.)
How to Contact Me: Email is best at susan@larskpurconsulting.
com. Alternatively, call my cell phone at (303) 725-6868 or
Create a barrier by covering or wrapping the gutter, down-spout, send a short write-up to 2255 Quartz Mountain Drive.
or other drumming site with a sheet, tarp, burlap, or other mate-
rial. A large area of siding can be protected by hanging a sheet,
tarp, or bird netting from the roof gutter or eave (Fig. 7).

Be sure to cover any ledges or cracks the bird uses as a foothold
while drumming. If you cannot fasten the material to the gutter
or eave, attach it to a board that has been temporarily fastened
along the top of the wall.
If a single board on the house serves as a toehold, heavy
monofilament fishing line or stainless steel wire can be tightly
stretched approximately 2 inches above the landing site to pre-
vent the flicker from perching.

Repel flickers by applying a commercially available, nontoxic
woodpecker-protective coating spray where activity is taking
place. The spray exudes an aromatic and taste deterrent when
pecked.

Figure 7. Prevent flickers from accessing the side of a house by

Page 20 - May 2017 Perry Park Sentinel