Those of you who thought my little guy was a downy woodpecker--you were
right!

At first I was not sure it was a nest they were building in the wood siding
(or whatever you call it) on my house, because the drumming only happens
intermittently. It would stop for as much as a week before resuming.

Then I began reading about the mating and nesting habits of these neat
little creatures. It seems the drumming is done to attract a mate, who then
drums back. After doing little dances and stuff, the couple mates and the
male commences to build a nest by making a hole just like the one in the
side of my house in a tree. Or apparently a house.

What is really cute, is I have seen the couple playing together. And
sometimes after a morning of steady drumming, I see the female join the
male, and little peeps
come from the hole, like she is commenting on his handiwork. The babies will
come in the early spring. Apparently these birds have a long winter
courtship.

I am leaving them alone, and will get with the local wildlife people later
on. I will probably decide to plug the hole and attach a house to the spot.
Otherwise, they might just keep making new holes.

They are really fun to watch.

Great update! Thanks for keeping us posted, and have fun with your
"wildlife project."

Jo Ann

cybercat wrote:
Those of you who thought my little guy was a downy woodpecker--you were
right!

At first I was not sure it was a nest they were building in the wood siding
(or whatever you call it) on my house, because the drumming only happens
intermittently. It would stop for as much as a week before resuming.

Then I began reading about the mating and nesting habits of these neat
little creatures. It seems the drumming is done to attract a mate, who then
drums back. After doing little dances and stuff, the couple mates and the
male commences to build a nest by making a hole just like the one in the
side of my house in a tree. Or apparently a house.

What is really cute, is I have seen the couple playing together. And
sometimes after a morning of steady drumming, I see the female join the
male, and little peeps
come from the hole, like she is commenting on his handiwork. The babies will
come in the early spring. Apparently these birds have a long winter
courtship.

I am leaving them alone, and will get with the local wildlife people later
on. I will probably decide to plug the hole and attach a house to the spot.
Otherwise, they might just keep making new holes.

They are really fun to watch.

"cybercat" writes:

I am leaving them alone, and will get with the local wildlife people later
on. I will probably decide to plug the hole and attach a house to the spot.
Otherwise, they might just keep making new holes.

This echoes my experience with the little *******s waking me up most
mornings. They did start new holes once you attempted to patch one
they were working on.

My fix was to replace the cedar ciding with vinyl. The Woodpeckers
were actually the catalyst for performing this long overdue task.
The **** brown cedar siding was SO 1970 and not 2003 at the time.

--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/

cybercat wrote:
Those of you who thought my little guy was a downy woodpecker--you
were right!

At first I was not sure it was a nest they were building in the wood
siding (or whatever you call it) on my house, because the drumming
only happens intermittently. It would stop for as much as a week
before resuming.
Then I began reading about the mating and nesting habits of these neat
little creatures. It seems the drumming is done to attract a mate,
who then drums back. After doing little dances and stuff, the couple
mates and the male commences to build a nest by making a hole just
like the one in the side of my house in a tree. Or apparently a
house.
What is really cute, is I have seen the couple playing together. And
sometimes after a morning of steady drumming, I see the female join
the male, and little peeps
come from the hole, like she is commenting on his handiwork. The
babies will come in the early spring. Apparently these birds have a
long winter courtship.

I am leaving them alone, and will get with the local wildlife people
later on. I will probably decide to plug the hole and attach a house
to the spot. Otherwise, they might just keep making new holes.

They are really fun to watch.

The couple are just trying to get by - and have as much enjoyment as they
can - while bringing a new generation to the age of responsibility.

They're fortunate they found an understanding and patient "landlord."

Get some pictures for your scrapbook. Then you can enjoy them in the years
to come.

Hire a professional

On Mon, 11 Dec 2006 12:52:55 -0500, "cybercat"
wrote:

Those of you who thought my little guy was a downy woodpecker--you were
right!

At first I was not sure it was a nest they were building in the wood siding
(or whatever you call it) on my house, because the drumming only happens
intermittently. It would stop for as much as a week before resuming.

Then I began reading about the mating and nesting habits of these neat
little creatures. It seems the drumming is done to attract a mate, who then
drums back. After doing little dances and stuff, the couple mates and the
male commences to build a nest by making a hole just like the one in the
side of my house in a tree. Or apparently a house.

What is really cute, is I have seen the couple playing together. And
sometimes after a morning of steady drumming, I see the female join the
male, and little peeps
come from the hole, like she is commenting on his handiwork. The babies will
come in the early spring. Apparently these birds have a long winter
courtship.

I am leaving them alone, and will get with the local wildlife people later
on. I will probably decide to plug the hole and attach a house to the spot.
Otherwise, they might just keep making new holes.

They are really fun to watch.

They're fortunate they found an understanding and patient "landlord."

He definitely is a generous soul.

I hope the birds "take the hint" and use other quarters next year.

Here's a link that might be handy for a winter project:
http://www.bbspvo.org/woodworking/downywoorpecker.htm

Jo Ann

cybercat wrote:
Those of you who thought my little guy was a downy woodpecker--you were
right!

At first I was not sure it was a nest they were building in the wood siding
(or whatever you call it) on my house, because the drumming only happens
intermittently. It would stop for as much as a week before resuming.

Then I began reading about the mating and nesting habits of these neat
little creatures. It seems the drumming is done to attract a mate, who then
drums back. After doing little dances and stuff, the couple mates and the
male commences to build a nest by making a hole just like the one in the
side of my house in a tree. Or apparently a house.

What is really cute, is I have seen the couple playing together. And
sometimes after a morning of steady drumming, I see the female join the
male, and little peeps
come from the hole, like she is commenting on his handiwork. The babies will
come in the early spring. Apparently these birds have a long winter
courtship.

I am leaving them alone, and will get with the local wildlife people later
on. I will probably decide to plug the hole and attach a house to the spot.
Otherwise, they might just keep making new holes.

They are really fun to watch.

wrote in message
ups.com...
Here's a link that might be handy for a winter project:
http://www.bbspvo.org/woodworking/downywoorpecker.htm


Hey, cool, thanks!