Not that this helps solve it but this time of the year is when there is a lot of courtship and territorial advertising going on.
Male woodpeckers know there are no bugs to eat when they hammer on metal. It's the noise they're looking to make. Gutters, tops of chimneys and other metal things.
It probably sounds different than if it is hammering on clipboard siding. If it does sound like wood, that could be a sign that the woodpecker is going after bugs in decaying wood somewhere. Not likely though.
We saw the woodpecker loudly banging away on a metal chimney cap far above the house, which is why we can hear it drilling through the pipes all the way down to the first floor. So, it's pretty clear that he's sending out a spring mating call rather than pecking for food. Now, we're not as concerned about the house, though wondering if we can adjust the metal cap to tone down the hammering.
For the past several weeks a downy woodpecker has been woodpeckling each morning and evening on a hollow branch in our neighbors sycamore. With the rain and storms I hadn't heard it for about a week. This am... he's back. I'm so happy.
Is this the solution? I don't think so, but at least I don't feel so alone. I'll start by purchasing some reflective bird scare tape for $12.00, and use on top of the chimney cap.
Kind Italian Au Pair Seeking A Host Family
Mar 9, 2025 at 9:12pm
Feb 28, 2025 at 9:23am
Feb 24, 2025 at 9:19pm
Feb 23, 2025 at 10:05pm
cleaner/organizer 908-536-0041
Feb 14, 2025 at 2:29pm
If you want your house sparkling for weeks ...please call me...9739917600
Feb 5, 2025 at 4:26pm
Jan 31, 2025 at 2:04am
Jan 31, 2025 at 2:04am
Jan 31, 2025 at 2:04am
Jan 31, 2025 at 2:04am
Full-Time Nanny Position in Paramus, NJ
Mar 6, 2025 at 9:04am
Mar 3, 2025 at 9:47am
Part-Time Nanny Opportunity In Jersey City
Mar 3, 2025 at 9:47am
Mar 3, 2025 at 9:47am
Mar 3, 2025 at 9:47am
Infant Nanny ~$30/hr Maplewood M-F 8am-6pm
Feb 6, 2025 at 8:51pm
Full-Time Nanny Position in Far Hills, NJ
Feb 3, 2025 at 12:53pm
Caregiver Position in Summit, NJ
Feb 3, 2025 at 12:53pm
Part-Time Nanny Position in Bridgewater, NJ
Feb 3, 2025 at 10:23am
Weekend Nanny Position in Short Hills
Feb 3, 2025 at 10:23am
A woodpecker, identified by a sound recording as either Red-bellied or Pileated, has been banging something that sounds like metal on the house, intermittently during the last two weeks, usually in the morning around 8:00, sometimes lasting a few hours. It almost sounds like rapid bursts of an automatic weapon going off, and sometimes echoes down the chimney pipe, so that I hear it in the pipes near a furnace and hot water heater. I don't know exactly where it is, maybe in a metal gutter, chimney guard, by a metal attic window guard, or somewhere else, but it's somewhat unsettling, and also I don't know if I should or could do anything about it. Thoughts?