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The flickers may be responding to loss of habitat as many natural wood homes are being built in woods or in clearings.
Of course, it’s fine to know why the birds do such things, but it’s more important to know how to prevent it. Some suggestions from the Audubon Naturalist Society are:
1. Have your house checked by a reputable pest-control company to make sure it is not harboring unwanted insects. Nearby trees should also be checked. Painted, stained or treated wood is less interesting to woodpeckers than raw wood.
2. Check your grandfather’s clock. Such clocks or other machines with loud ticking noises can mislead a flicker into thinking that insects are nearby.
3. Offer alternatives. A suet bag might tempt away an insect forager and a woodpecker box might offer a good alternative to a nester.
4. Discourage. Rather than use poisons (it’s illegal for homeowners or exterminators to kill woodpeckers), stuff rags soaked in vinegar or Clorox in holes. Use other forms of discouragement: bobbing balloons, strings of pie pans, rubber snakes, silhouettes of hawks, owls or crows.
We hope that these recommendations will help your readers combat the more annoying behavior of flickers and enjoy their more endearing qualities.
KATHY RUSHING
Audubon Naturalist Society
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