• Thursday-What'sUP December 6 - 08:38 pm

Mike Schneider went for a walk around Presque Isle Park recently and spying this beautiful vista from the overlook, he recorded it in time with the click of his shutter. It really is a good example of the cloud cover of winter that hovers over us this time of year.

As he walked along, he spotted the tree in the second photo and thought it was pretty neat to have all those holes in a row like that. He figured the woodpecker was searching for something with the holes spaced such as that, probably some juicy bugs for dinner.

Traveling just a little further down the trail, Mike could hear the hole maker, tap, tap, taping away, so he quickly looked up and there the woodpecker sat. He thought it would take flight immediately, but it actually stayed there pecking away, so Mike took the opportunity by snapping away!

Mike said he really enjoys hiking all around, since you just never know what you'll find here in the U.P. He hit the nail on the head with that statement and today's photos. Thanks, Mike!

Interesting pictures! I can not understand why the woodpeckers don't get a headache pounding on the trees like that. Thanks for the pictures.

Really enjoy seeing the pictures of Presque Isle.... always enjoyed Winter out there!

Wish those woodpeckers would stick to pounding on the trees rather than the front of my house!

That first picture is almost unreal!

Love that first picture!! When I first saw the bird in the last picture, I thought it was a nuthatch. But nope, it's a woodpecker. What a fun walk that must have been. Thanks, Mike!

Hi
Nice pictures. As Yogi Berra is reputed to have said, "You can observe a lot by looking".

Do any birders out there know if the wodpecker inthe picture (downy or a hairy, I think)makes holes of the size in the photo?

LOL, Kathyl, I love Yogi's quotes!;)
Looks like winter is returning UP there.
How can such a small bird make such LARGE holes! Fascinating.

Gee I posted a response to the hole s into the tree on the wrong page, Sorry bout that.

WE have a tree in Bootjack in the same shape, what we have observed is Pileated woodpeckers doing the work. They also have an awesome screech as the fly.

From the size comparison between bird & balsam needles, I'd say that's a downy.

I agree with RCW that it's a pileated doing the excavation in the cedar. (Which would be a holEy tree...)

Really nice photos,they are of professional quality. Good job Mike.

Good stuff! Mike was lucky in photo #3...could have been a bombs-away moment.

Beautiful pictures today! The first has a painting look to it.

jbuck; someone had a problem with a woodpecker pecking on his house and he put up some ribbons where the woodpecker was doing his thing and it stopped the bird from coming around.

Nice photos today. I especially like the lighting and cloud effects in the first photo. Thank you, Mike and Mary!

AWESOME!

Walkin' in the Winter Wonderland.

For what it's worth, I have a cure for pesty woodpeckers. Got it from a lumber dealer out west about 1977. And it works. Get a rubber snake from the dime store and nail it's head to the outside of your house. Don't nail it tight to the house, but pull it back toward the nail head. This allows it to move in the breeze and the birds think it's real. I did this and my neighbor didn't and he had to repair dinner plate sized holes in his siding (usually plywood with small spaces in the plys where bugs live). I did that in1977 and haven't had another hole, but you'll have to replace the snake every few years. Tell your new neighbors what you are doing because I learned I scared several over the years.

Some great hints to keep the woodpeckers at bay!
Worth a try....... and we're not above scaring the
neighbors too! Sounds like fun! We actually have
some rubber snakes we got to put in the garden...

"Sleigh bells ring, are you listnin'"
After your post, Thomas, that song's been on my mind all afternoon. Thanks!;->

jbuck; good luck with all the hints and suggestions....let us know if any of them worked for you.

We have a territorial style house here in Arizona, with exposed wood headers over the windows. There is this one woodpecker that just keeps attacking one window header on the north side of the house. Year after year. I wonder how long they live?