I spent Sunday and Monday at our lakehouse doing some belated spring cleaning and maintenance. Between a hectic schedule and the drought (the lake level is down so much that only one boat ramp on the entire lake still reaches the water) we haven't been up there since last fall.
In addition to the expected spider webs and wasp nests, I found that a woodpecker has decided to move in.
Woodpeckers peck holes for a variety of reasons - to get at food, to build nests, and to mark territory and attract mates. This last activity is known as drumming, which was what was going on. A young male had moved into the neighborhood and was looking for a little female companionship. The only problem is that he left holes - lots and lots of holes - in the 4x4 support beams that hold up our second floor balcony.
The picture only shows one side of the beam. The other sides were in the shadows and I couldn't get good shots of them, but they were much more riddled.
The largest of the holes are about the diameter and depth of my thumb. I wasn't too worried about structural damage (I don't think the holes went in that deep - at least I hope they didn't) but I did want to prevent future wood rot from water getting past the surface sealant and penetrating into the beam through the holes. So I spent a couple of hours filling the holes with wood filler. Next trip up I'll sand and paint. In the meantime I put up strips of reflective mylar foil (aka scare tape). Hopefully that will discourage our young feathered Romeo.
Ain't nature wonderful...
1 comment:
My trees look like your post. Too bad I can't fill and paint the oaks. They particularly like the trees with bird feeders, so the tape would defeat the purpose, scaring away the birds we like to have around. We have three baby red-headed woodpeckers hammering away right now.
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