Woodpeckers
Woodpeckers gained their English name because of the habit of some species of tapping and pecking noisily on tree trunks with their beaks. This is both a means of communication to signal possession of territory to their rivals, and a method of echo-locating grubs under the bark of the tree.
Identification
Woodpeckers belong to the order Piciformes and the family Picidae, which also includes flickers and sapsuckers. Twenty-one species inhabit the United States. Woodpeckers have short legs with two sharp-clawed, backward-pointed toes and stiff tail feathers, which serve as a supportive prop. These physical traits enable them to cling easily to the trunks and branches of trees, wood siding, or utility poles while pecking. They have stout, sharply pointed beaks for pecking into wood and a specially developed long tongue that can be extended a considerable distance. The tongue is used to dislodge larvae or ants from their burrows in wood or bark. Woodpeckers are 7 to 15 inches (18 to 38 cm) in length, and usually have brightly contrasting coloration. Most males have some red on the head, and many species have black and white marks. Identification of species by their markings is quite easy. In most species, flight is usually undulating, with wings folded against the body after each burst of flaps.
Range and Habitat
Woodpeckers are found throughout the United States. The three most widely distributed species are the hairy woodpecker (Picoides villosus), the downy woodpecker (P. pubescens), and the yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius). Different species are responsible for damage in different regions.
Because they are dependent on trees for shelter and food, woodpeckers are found mostly in or on the edge of wooded areas. They nest in cavities chiseled into tree trunks, branches, or structures, or use natural or preexisting cavities. Many species nest in human-made structures, and have thus extended their habitat to include wooden fence posts, utility poles, and buildings. Because of this, woodpeckers may be found in localities where trees are scarce in the immediate vicinity.
Fun Facts
Woodpeckers are an interesting and familiar group of birds. Their ability to peck into trees in search of food or excavate nest cavities is well known. They prefer snags or partially dead trees for nesting sites, and readily peck holes in trees and wood structures in search of insects beneath the surface. One common misconception is that they peck holes in buildings only in search of insects.
Many species will drill holes in sound dry wood of buildings, utility poles, and fence posts where few or no insects exist. The acorn woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) drills holes in wood simply to store acorns. When sapsuckers drill their numerous rows of 1/4-inch (0.6-cm) holes in healthy trees they are primarily after sap and the insects entrapped by the sap.
Woodpeckers have characteristic calls, but they also use a rhythmic pecking sequence to make their presence known. Referred to as “drumming,” it establishes their territories and apparently attracts or signals mates. Drumming is generally done on resonant dead tree trunks or limbs; however, buildings and utility poles may also be used.
Woodpeckers breed in the spring, commonly laying in the range of 3 to 5 or 4 to 6 eggs. The incubation period is generally short, lasting from 11 to 14 days. Most species are born naked; some are born downy. All are tended by both parents. Having 2 broods per year is fairly common and some species may have 3 broods.
Damage Identification
Houses or buildings with wood exteriors in suburbs near wooded areas or in rural wooded settings are most apt to suffer pecking and hole damage. Generally, damage to a building involves only one or two birds, but it may involve up to six or eight during a season. Most of the damage occurs from February through June, which corresponds with the breeding season and the period of territory establishment.
Woodpeckers can be particularly destructive to summer or vacation homes that are vacant during part of the year, since their attacks often go undetected until serious damage has occurred. Barns and other wooden outbuildings may also suffer severe damage.
Damage to wooden buildings may take one of several forms. Holes may be drilled into wood siding, eaves, window frames and trim boards. Woodpeckers prefer cedar and redwood siding, but will damage pine, fir, cypress, and others when the choices are limited. Natural or stained wood surfaces are preferred over painted wood, and newer houses in an area are often primary targets. Particularly vulnerable to damage are rustic-appearing, channeled (grooved to simulate reverse board and batten) plywoods with cedar or redwood veneers. Imperfections (core gaps) in the inter-core plywood layers exposed by the vertical grooves may harbor insects. The woodpeckers often break out these core gaps, leaving characteristic narrow horizontal damage patterns in their search for insects. If a suitable cavity results from woodpecker activities, it may also be used for roosting or nesting.
The acorn woodpecker, found in the West and Southwest, is responsible for drilling closely spaced holes just large enough to accommodate one acorn each. Wedging acorns between or beneath roof shakes and filling unscreened rooftop plumbing vents with acorns are also common activities.
Relatively new damage problems are arising where damage-susceptible materials such as plastic are used for rooftop water-heating solar panels or where electrical solar panels are used. Woodpeckers have also reportedly damaged elevated plastic irrigation lines in several vineyards in California.
Drumming causes little damage other than possible paint removal on metal surfaces; however, the noise can often be heard throughout the house and becomes quite annoying. Drumming is predominantly a springtime activity. They often include metal surfaces such as metal gutters, downspouts, chimney caps, TV antennas, rooftop plumbing vents, and metal roof valleys. Drumming may occur a number of times during a single day and the activity may go on for some days or months. Wood surfaces may be disfigured from drumming but the damage may not be severe.
Sapsuckers bore a series of parallel rows of 1/4- to 3/8-inch (0.6- to 1.0-cm) closely spaced holes in the bark of limbs or trunks of healthy trees and use their tongues to remove the sap. The birds usually feed on a few favorite ornamental or fruit trees. Nearby trees of the same species may be untouched. Holes may be enlarged through continued pecking or limb growth, and large patches of bark may be removed or sloughed off. At times, limb and trunk girdling may kill the tree.
Cultivated fruits and nuts may be consumed. Birds involved in orchard depredation are often so few in number that damage is limited to only a small percentage of the crop. The crop of a couple of isolated backyard fruit or nut trees may, however, be severely reduced prior to harvest.
In recent times, controls against woodpeckers to protect commercial crops have only rarely been necessary. Published accounts suggest that these isolated instances occurred mostly in the fruit-growing states of the far West where the Lewis’ woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis), whose flocks may number several hundred, is most often implicated.
Legal Status
Woodpeckers are classified as migratory, nongame birds and are protected by the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) and the ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) are on the Endangered Species list and are thus offered full protection. When warranted, woodpeckers other than the endangered species can be killed but only under a permit issued by the Law Enforcement Division of the US Fish and Wildlife Service upon recommendation of USDA-APHIS-Animal Damage Control personnel. Generally, there must be a good case to justify issuance of a permit.
Woodpeckers are commonly protected under state laws, and in those instances a state permit may be required for measures that involve lethal control or nest destruction. Other methods of reducing woodpecker damage do not infringe upon their legal protection status. Threatened or endangered species, however, cannot be harassed.
Damage Prevention and Control Methods
Exclusion
Netting. Metal barriers.
Frightening
Visual. Sound.
Repellents
Olfactory. Taste. Tactile.
Toxicants
None are registered.
Fumigants
None are registered.
Trapping
Rat snap trap.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The above information was adapted from PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF WILDLIFE DAMAGE with permission of the editors, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Robert M. Timm, and Gary E. Larson (Cooperative Extension Division, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources University of Nebraska-Lincoln, United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Animal Damage Control, Great Plains Agricultural Council Wildlife Committee).
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