Morning all.

 

Good Tuesday morning Andy and...

 

Good morning Oregon and everyone everywhere else. 24° and mostly a lite wispy overcast now. Some really heavy, uggly stuff building up to the west.

Went out woodpecker hunting just after dawn. Sounded like a jack hammer. I saw them this morning. A couple of big ones on the metal ridge cap. I'm not sure why they are hammering on the metal ridge cap, but it sure makes a racket. They have been working on the E Gable, but not this morning. I went out with the .410 this morning but didn't have a clean shot. I've already got a hole in the W Gable to patch as soon as I can climb a ladder again.

 

Good morning guys,

Jim, a few years ago a local Ham radio operator had a woodpecker that every morning it would peck on an aluminum antenna mast. I'm not sure how he got rid of it as he lived in town, so no 410. I use an air rifle and get them in the act.

 

I think I have gotten then trained too well. Usually, they fly the second they hear one of the doors open. I looked out the W Gable window Saturday afternoon and saw a Redheaded sap sucker going after the end post on the porch rail. I very slowly tried opening the window a crack, but the second the tip of the barrel of the shotgun poked out the window, the thing flew off.
The air rifles I have here are antiques - very old and I'm not sure the BB would make it to the ridge of the house. An old Red Rider, a couple of Daisy 94's and a Crossman M1 Carbine replica. We have to go down the mountain later today and I'm going to bring one of the "good" air rifles back from Alpha when we return. Those, however, may be quicker putting a hole in a metal roof than what the .410 with 'shorties' in it would be. The lowest powered one puts a .22 pellet out at 900fps on the lowest power setting.
Been around a lot of woodpeckers in my life. Can't recall one ever whacking away at metal. We had some real problems with them attacking the ornamental Holly Tree in the front yard of the farm house. We kept a .22 rifle by the front door for that. Can't even begin to count the number of sap suckers that were 'discouraged' from hammering away on that tree.

 

My air rifle is a Gamo .177 Shadow 1000. The woodpeckers are keen to the noise of the door, they here the door latch and they are gone. I sneak out the back door around the corner of the house and the rest is history. They don't bother our house it has hard board siding, but the garden shed out front has cider shakes, they sure like that stuff.

 

Jim - I'm assuming what you're calling a woodpecker is actually a Flicker? The hammering on the metal, they are trying to attract a mate. Had them up at Eagle Point. Good alarm clock. They are pretty wary. Real tough to get a shot off.

 

Flickers are what we have here as well.

 

Eagle Point or Eagle Crest???

The two I saw this morning weren't the true Northern Flickers, although I think might be related. We've got a ton of those around here and they have just started returning from winter hiatus. I didn't see the coloration this morning and their tales seemed to be way to short...like bob tailed short. I'll have to get my bird book out of the camper and research them. The only three types I've actually seen putting holes in the logs or gable ends of the house have been the red headed, red breasted and a yellow breasted woodpecker.
Once the machine gun goes off in the morning and I peel myself off the ceiling - then band aid up the track marks from the cat, if it's flickers or a cousin and they only bang on the metal roof, I live with that. But the kitchen porch logs look like a high school wood shop has gone around with drills making perfect little holes that I then get to fill in.
Unless the Flicker is caught on the gable or logs, they are safe. And so far, we haven't seen where they are going after the gables or the log sides.

 

Good evening Ford Drivers'.

 

Good evening Oregon and everyone else. Made it down to Alpha today. Have to look in on a security project at YCSA tomorrow morning.
We were supposed to get word on the camper we were going to pick up in 5 to 7 days from the 18th. They keep pushing completion of a 3.5 hour job out. Well today, when we were about half way to Salem, we were notified it wasn’t done. They are hoping to have it done tomorrow.
Should have just put the project off until after the medical stuff and when I had the time to do it myself.

 

Morning all!

 

Good Wednesday morning Andy and...

 

Good morning Oregon and everyone everywhere else.

 

Good afternoon Ford Drivers.
Roadside lunch break in Rockaway today.