Onlines Guides

Living With Woodpeckers in Dupage County


There are over twenty species of woodpeckers in the United States. Woodpeckers have chisel-like beaks and long, flexible tongues designed for drilling and probing under tree bark. They are equipped with powerful claws and stiff tails that help prop themselves up while climbing trees. Most species peck on dead and dying trees to feed on insects that bore into the wood such as carpenter ants, bark beetles, and wireworms. Others may eat plant material such as nuts and seeds. They may store these foods in tree cavities for later consumption. Some may be attracted to suet and sunflower seeds from local bird feeders. Woodpeckers use their beaks to dig out cavities in trees for nesting sites where they lay their eggs in spring. During the fall they dig cavities for roosting sites. There are nine species known to peck on man made structures. This pecking behavior can be broken down into three categories with three separate causes and explanations.

Drumming

When a woodpecker is persistently hammering at a specific area in the springtime and it does not result in the production of a cavity, it is probably a behavior called drumming. Rather than singing to attract mates or announce their territories, woodpeckers drum at specific sites within their domain to announce their presence. They usually choose something that will produce a loud, resonating sound when they peck at it. They then visit these sites regularly to announce their presence to other woodpeckers in the area. If you muffle the resonating quality of the object they have chosen, they will not achieve the desired effect by drumming on the particular object. To do this, you can cover the object with a blanket or foam rubber padding. Drumming is a seasonal behavior occurring only in springtime. Continue using this deterrent technique until this behavior has stopped.

Feeding

Woodpeckers locate their prey by hearing the sounds they make while burrowing into wood. If a structure is infested with insects, the woodpeckers will drill small holes to extract them. However, woodpeckers cannot distinguish the difference between the noises an insect makes while burrowing through wood and the sound that electricity makes while going through the walls of our houses. Therefore, a woodpecker will drill holes in the siding of our houses looking for insects when it is actually hearing the sounds of electricity. If the cause for this problem is an insect infestation you need to remove the insects. You may wish to consult an insect pest control specialist. If they are attracted to the sound of electricity running through the walls of your house, you need to muffle these noises by hanging foam rubber padding or a blanket over the area. You should use this technique until they discontinue this behavior.

Cavity Building

Woodpecker holes are round and deep and often occur at loose knots in the cedar siding of houses. Woodpeckers often start a hole and then abandon it to start another. In some cases, they may be confused when the hole penetrates the board and they encounter insulation. Sometimes the cavity is completed and nesting will continue in the wall of the building. This could be the most difficult behavior to try to control but it is also the most uncommon. Be sure to keep in mind that this is another seasonal behavior and it will only be temporary. If the cavity building can be discouraged before the cavity is fully built, the woodpecker may try to relocate and excavate elsewhere. However, they may return the following year and try again. Usually a combination of scare tactics and prompt repair of the excavation areas are somewhat effective in trying to discourage cavity-building activities. You should fill shallow holes with caulking or wood filler as soon as they are created. Larger holes and loose knots can be filled with wooden plugs or hardware cloth and then caulk. You also mat try to offer a ready-built nesting box, which they might choose to use rather than making their own.

Deterrent Techniques

Deterrent techniques can be effective in discouraging all three behaviors.
  • Twirled Mylar ribbon
  • Hanging windsocks
  • Beach balls with circles painted on (eyespot balloons)
  • Stretched out metal Slinky®
  • Aluminum foil strips
  • A sheet or tarp hung where the woodpecker has been drumming or pecking
  • Mylar windmills
These items will flutter in the wind and their movement frightens woodpeckers. In addition to movement shiny objects will reflect the sun and the eyespot balloons also frighten by having large predator-like eyes. Anything that would blow in the wind or shine in the sun will frighten the birds.

What To Do When You Find a Baby Bird
  • If you find a featherless, downy or incompletely-feathered young bird, called a nestling, locate its home and place the bird back in the nest. Birds have a poorly developed sense of smell, so the parents will not reject the bird because you touched it.
  • If you find a completely feathered young bird on the ground that looks healthy but is unable to fly, leave it alone. These birds, called fledglings, are out of the nest and live on the ground for approximately 2 weeks (depending on the species). The parent birds are still feeding and caring for them, and during this time the fledglings are learning how to fly. If you watch, you may see the parents make their presence known by squawks or swoop attacks when you approach the young. It is always in the best interest of the bird to be raised by its parents. Remember to leave the fledgling alone, unless a neighborhood dog or cat is attacking it.
  • If you have a fledgling bird in your yard and you are concerned about neighborhood pets, turn on a sprinkler in the yard to deter pets from the fledgling.
Bird Lose in the House
  • Confine bird to one room, turn off lights and open a door or window. Leave the room, the bird will instinctively fly towards light and escape. Then determine how it got in and seal or screen entryways.
Public Health Concerns
  • The Illinois Department of Health has shown that a small number of birds in DuPage County do carry equine encephalitis viruses. These are transmissible to humans through mosquitoes. Humans are not at risk simply due to the presence of birds in your area, but the presence of mosquitoes is a risk factor. It is recommended that mosquito repellent be worn during outdoor activities in the summer months.
What Not To Do
  • All native birds, including woodpeckers, are protected by the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It is illegal for any person to possess birds, dead or alive, nesting material, egg(s), feathers, bones of a bird, without the proper permits from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the State of Illinois. It is also illegal to harm or kill a protected bird species, and it is illegal to remove or destroy nesting material from a nest once an egg is laid. The law does not protect three non-native birds: Pigeon (rock dove), English house sparrow and the European starling.
  • Please remember that it is illegal to keep wild animals even for a very short time and that they have specialized nutritional, housing, and handling needs that you are unlikely to be able to provide. Inexperienced individuals who attempt to raise/treat them inevitably produce an unhealthy, tame animal that cannot survive in its natural habitat
  • Never move young from the nest. Contact Willowbrook Wildlife Center for advice at (630) 942-6200 between 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM daily.
  • Do not use poisons. They are inhumane and may be illegal. They can result in secondary poisoning of raptors, wild scavengers and neighborhood pets.
When to Call Willowbrook Wildlife Center
  • If you come across a wild animal and are concerned, leave it alone. Call Willowbrook Wildlife Center at (630) 942-6200 for advice 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM daily. Young wild animals are not like human babies. Their parents do not constantly watch them, and they spend large amounts of time alone or with brothers and sisters.
  • If you find a bird with visible wounds, please call Willowbrook Wildlife Center before bringing an animal to the center 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM daily. Call (630) 942-6200.
  • Willowbrook is open daily from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
  • If you find an animal with visible wounds and it is after Willowbrook’s business hours, please follow the instructions below (Willowbrook does not recommend these techniques for raptors.):
    • Throw a towel over the entire bird. Pick it up firmly but carefully. Make sure the wings stay properly tucked in.
    • Place the animal in a box or animal carrier using heavy gloves. We do not recommend using a birdcage; feathers can be damaged from the wire.
    • Keep in a dark quiet space, away from people & pets.
    • Place a heating pad on low underneath ½ of the box/carrier.
    • Do not feed. Improper food or drink can harm them.




 
Willowbrook Wildlife Center • 525 S. Park Boulevard • Glen Ellyn, IL 60137-6932
Phone: (630) 942-6200 • Email: willowbrook@dupageforest.com