I have "Heavy Metal" drumming competitions on my morning walks through our
Twin Lakes/Federal Way neighborhood frequently this time of the year. As
David stated, gutters, drainpipes, chimney covers etc., but the top price
goes to ... (drum roll) the flicker drumming on a satellite dish! What a
sound! The only thing close to it, is a Pileated Woodpecker drumming on
wood! Fortunately we don't have one close by this spring for a rude
awakening!

Good birding and stay safe!

Hans

On Sun, May 3, 2020 at 11:31 AM David A. Armstrong <davearm at uw.edu> wrote:


> It started about a month back, and continues daily to this morning.

> Anywhere from 5:30-6:30AM, we are jolted from deep sleep by the staccato

> jack-hammer drumming of northern flickers on metal rain gutters all around

> the neighborhood on Mutiny Bay, S Whidbey Island. When just 5' outside the

> bedroom window, there's no place to hide....you are instantly awake. And no

> way to sleep again as you wait for the next burst that will follow in 20-30

> seconds. But they are a tricky bird, and a minute might elapse...you think

> "OK, they're done", close your eyes, drop to the pillow, and then they let

> lose again in response to a distant drum from another bird.

> We have never in 16 years encountered such frequent, incessant drumming on

> metal surfaces. Compared to some old tree, the metal drumming really

> projects far and wide. You come to realize that the "musical" quality of

> the drumming surface (rain gutter, satellite dish, hard- or soft-wood tree)

> isn't the species-specific attractant, it's the absolutely precise

> frequency of the cadence/rhythm of the drum. Dennis Paulson emphasized use

> of drumming as a species trait last year in the master birding class. He is

> right; and I dread 5:30 AM tomorrow.

> david armstrong

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--
*Hans Feddern*
Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA
thefedderns at gmail.com
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