David,



Your message made me laugh, because my wife and I had a very similar experience to you with a flicker noisily drumming for a few days in April, here in Delta, BC (just outside Vancouver). However, it lasted only 3-4 days before the flicker found another place to drum. If it has been going on for a month at your place, you have my sympathy!



I would suggest that you consider trying George Heleker's suggestion of adjusting your sleeping hours, getting up just before the avian alarm clock, and enjoying early morning in your yard. However, take heart-; the drumming season should be drawing to a close before long, and you should be able to sleep in again.



All the best,



Wayne C. Weber

Delta, BC, Canada

contopus at telus.net





From: Tweeters [mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman11.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of David A. Armstrong
Sent: Sunday, May 03, 2020 11:31 AM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: [Tweeters] Avian alarm clock



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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