Once again I open the door, and my little "door knocker" (well actually he was knocking on the cabin walls!) flies away to the tree in front of our deck.
This is the Pileated Woodpecker, one of LARGEST Woodpeckers in N. America. And yes, he can do some serious damage to a log cabin! I put out some more suet cakes which I saw him feeding on later. Hopefully this deters him. Otherwise, I'm going to have to break out those aluminum pie plates and hang a few from our roof (I received this expert advice from some fellow bird friends - for some reason this works!)
Or maybe next time I'll invite him in for some tea and cookies....
33 comments:
We had a pair of them at my old house, but our house was vinyl sided, so they stuck to the trees. They are amazing aren't they?
We had one knocking outside my bedroom window last month...I love looking at them and following them as they go from tree to tree!
Good morning, Shelley!
Lovely pictures as always. We get alot of pileated woodpeckers here. Simon leaves some of the dead trees standing so they can eat the bugs out of them. They are beautiful. I see one almost everyday but never had one knocking on our house, course it's not made of logs.
Hugs,
Pam
Simular early morning sounds around here. YES, they can do damage. It's pretty scary when the house is quiet, you're alone, and all of a sudden someone is knocking. I LUV your beautiful log cabin and blog.
I hear one knocking on a tree in the woods by the house, they are huge and really loud. Hope you don't have any log wall damage!
We have one or two of them here too. I love watching them as long as they are on the trees. We have been seeing a lot of bluebirds lately and I love watching the pair of cardinals I have living outside my computer room window.
Debbie
Shelley we just bought suet for our Pileateds yesterday. I love their beauty and the comic character of them but I hate what they do to our trees. Our house, thank God, is rock and vinyl siding. Great picture of that Pileated.
You know, I HAVE seen those around here. What a grat pic you got of him! Must be the season, if we're both seeing them. I had one out on a tree about 8 feet from the road the other day!
Hahaha that's funny (well not funny for your house).
I have a funny story - When my parents lived in MN (they live in TN now) they had a ceder house. A pileated woodpecker kept coming to their house and was doing some real damage. Well, my step father got sooo frustrated, he actually took a shotgun (you see whats comin, right?) and shot at the bird! Well, he missed the bird but didn't miss the house!
Oh tea and cookies with a Pileated would be a treat! I can just hear the conversation now...
knock knock.
who's there?
Wow... he's gorgeous. But I can only imagine the damage he can do! I hope the treats you put out for him do indeed deter him. And if not, you'll need to bring in the bigger guns. :)
All good neighbors offer tea and cookies. Or wine and cheese.
We have woodpeckers. They think our metal gutters are actually WOOD. Dummies. :)
You're bringing back memories. When we first owned this house the woodpeckers were feasting on our wooden sides. We tried the alumninum pie plates and had pretty good success. We then put up wind chimes and have had no problems since (knock on wood!).
Oh My, Shelley... We had the same problem when we first bought our home. We did hang out the aluminum pie plates. We also hung lots of windchimes all around the house. We put up some 'fake' woodpeckers on the house --and even some small mirrors near where they were pecking. (They hate to see themselves in a mirror.) Our neighbor has a big fake owl hanging from his house. We haven't had anymore trouble. SO--hopefully you won't either.
Anything metallic that swings in the breeze and/or makes noise will help.
Good Luck.
Hugs,
Betsy
Love this post Shelley! wonderful photo of the pileated woodpecker! Wow! What a thrill to find him there just a-knocking on your door, uh, tree! Have a good one!
I don't know what 'suet cake' is, but I hope it does the trick for ya'll!
Very pretty bird. I know they can make some serious noise. A jack hammer sound. Ours don't have a red head.
Great post! He was probably so excited to see so many logs to choose from on your cabin. What a fun story. Please let us know what the next part of the story is.
Oh, wow! That's pretty big! I think we had one at our house. Or at least it looked like it, anyway. They are fast little climbers! I sat and watched the little dude for about ten minutes!
Love, Joy =D
Ahhh yes, we have these guys all over our property. They like to go to town on our garden fence posts. They're fun to watch and so bright!
The bird is beautiful! I think you should break out the pans because I'm sure he has a friend or two hanging around close by. I don't think Marvin and Scout would take to kindly to you inviting him in LOL
They are big we don't see them much here.
Patsy
Pretty neat looking woodpecker. But I can just imagine the damage they could do to a log cabin.
Better keep him full of suet.
I am SO jealous you got to see him but NOT jealous that he is knocking on your door. I just asked my hubby the other day if pileated (or other woodpeckers) would do that on our log home and he said..oh no..they don't like the taste of the sikkens (stain and varnish). Yeah,, right...wait until I tell him YOUR story!
They did a job on an old storage building we had all along the eaves a few years ago. yikes!
Hopefully this big boy will realize that the logs of your home do not contain any insects and are just too hard to excavate for a home of his own! I've watched one or two at work on rotted or soft wood trees and it's amazing the size of the chips that come flying out as they work.
The first time I ever saw a woodpecker was in Yosemite when I was a child. I remember it being pretty loud too. I hope the suet cakes work.
Blessings,
Marcia
Pheeww sounded like something out of a Stephen King novel till I scrolled down & read on further LOL!!
Great photo Shelly!! We have the pileated here but Ive never taken a good photo of one! Hope the suet works if now maybe a couple of those fake owls on the roof would work!
Hey Girl! I am looking at about 4 woodpeckers as I write. I love the BIRDS here in Michigan. I got to see my first Cardinal! Sally has 4 big trash cans in the garage full of different type of bird feed and corn for deer. She draws the birds to her porch each and every day (those little suckers can EAT!)It is so fun to just sit in her morning room and watch. We sit there for hours and just talk and watch. She even has a ground hog that comes up for the dropped seed. He is too cute!
Love it here! Hugs.
Happy Sunday! He came by to say "Hi!" and wanted his picture taken for all of your followers to see. He knows you like to bird watch!! You'll have to name him! :)
Connie
Beautiful pic of the house with the fall colors all around!
Beautiful picture of the woodpecker. I have a bird garden and the most joy I get thru the winter is watching all the different ones come thru and eat a take a bath in the bird hot tub (heated bird bath). They have a great life here too. Enjoy!!
I love woodpeckers. When I was small I would always call them POODWECKERS!LOL
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