We have a flicker who is very persistently trying to enlarge one of the
small ventilation holes that sits up under the eaves on the side of our
house. This is one of a pair that has regularly visited our feeders for
about a year. About three weeks ago the male, I think, decided to make
an all-out assault on the side of the house. We've shooed him off
several times, but don't want to do anything so radical as to disocurage
him from visiting the yard. Shooeing is not the way to go. He's back
within a half hour.

One thought was to put a properly sized nest box over the hole and see
if he'd be interested in that as a subsititute. I haven't heard of
flickers using man-made roosts or nests however, so don't know if this
would just move him on to the next available hole on the house, of which
there are many.

Anyone have any thoughts as to what this guy is up to at this time of
year, and a suggestion as to how to deal with him?

Thanks

Jan Ray
Preston, WA
janray at oz.net