[Magdalen] Odd patrons at local eatery

[James Oppenheimer-Crawford]

When our house had ceder siding, we would get these wrapping noises, and
there were spots where the shingles were getting drilled through. I would
sneak out to the road and walk down far enough to see around the house (any
closer and the birds would leave before I could get a look at them.  They
were a tiny woodpecker, hanging on the shingles and banging away.  I called
the local Cornell extension and they said this was not uncommon. (What were
they after? Do I have bugs in my house?) No, that's just what woodpeckers
do!

We painted and their interest waned. We eventually got vinyl siding. Cute
little devils.

Today I was out walking and heard a bird calling, and could tell it was
nearby, and looked as I walked and finally saw a good sized Pileated.
Generally they fly away when I come within even a hundred yards, but this
guy stayed. Probably hoping for a meet-up with a potential mate....   Good
luck, P.

James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
*“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy

On Thu, Mar 31, 2016 at 10:04 PM, Cantor03--- via Magdalen <
magdalen at herberthouse.org> wrote:

>
>
> In a message dated 3/31/2016 6:15:29 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> gracecan at gmail.com writes:
>
> I've had  a Pileated hanging around near the house  >>>>>>>>>>
>
> We are seeing them less frequently than, say, twenty years ago.
> This is because the aspen trees that were pioneers here after the
> clear-cutting of the hardwoods for mining timbers have gradually
> died and disappeared from the woody flora.  While the aspens  were
> dead and dying, the Pileated woodpeckers had a field day and were
> a common sight here.
>
> The aspens have been replaced with some beech, maple, and oaks
> of several varieties, and they don't have dead wood for the birds.
> There're also hemlock and White Pine.
>
> Since the house is clothed in T-111 (wood) we have had some
> trouble with the Downey Woodpeckers, but they've been better since
> the house was repainted.  I guess the paint discourages bugs in  the
> siding, and the newly painted siding tastes bad for the woodpeckers.
>
>
>
> David Strang.
>