Woodpecker

[Trillipse]

my mum gets lots of woodpeckers on her birdtable, but i've not had one on mine.

HOWEVER

do they really make that rata-tat-tat sound on wood? or is it a cartoon myth?

if they do, then i think i've got one that pecks the back of my garden fence, but HOW do i tempt it to come and eat from the birdtable
?

[Clanad]

Yes, the birds do make the noise you describe.  It actually serves two purposes, depending on the time of the year.  In the spring, the noise is one way of establishing territory (and attracting a mate).  Around our place, they will peck on raingutters and other metallic surfaces to accentuate the sound.  It is also a by-product of finding food.  A neighbors house is sided with cedar wood.  Although usually insect free, some insects lay larvae in some small cracks.  The woodpeckers, (4 varieties) search these out and the result is a row of small holes left by the the "drilling". 

As far as attracting the birds, make sure they have some sort of perch to cling to.  While thay may eat off a flat surface, they do much better on a feeder.  Our best one is a wire mesh covered tube (to deter squirrels) that is filled with shelled sunflower seeds.  The other one they prefer is a mesh cage holding two or three suet cakes.  The cakes we use have cracked sunflower pieces imbedded within.  Our largest is a family of Pileated Woodpeckers, perhaps 16 inches long, and the smallest is the Downy, about 5 inches in length... Good luck!

[SteveD]

Go to this site:

http://www.10x50.com/sounds.htm

then scroll down to Great and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and click on the first WAV file.

[spudqueen]

I don't think you'll be able to attract a woodpecker to your birdtable. I'd try a mesh peanut feeder or a special woodpecker birch wood log with holes in filled with a suet and seed treat suspended from a tree. You can make one of these feeders yourself or buy them. My neighbour regularly has a great spotted woodpecker visit her peanut feeder. It also comes occasionally on mine and I once (only the once) had a lesser spotted visit my garden. Never had a green woodpecker though, even though my garden is literally crawling with ants.
As to the noise, yes they do do the drilling noise, I liken it to the sound of a pneumatic drill in the distance!
Good luck with tempting it into your garden!

[Chessman]

We have a rather long peanut feeder hanging from a tree, and we regulary get a Greater Spotted on it, it actually curls irself round the feeder to get at the nuts, so possibly thats the way to go, if you've got somewhere to hang it.

[mfewell]

Yes, the hanging nut feeders do the trick. I regularly get a Greater Spotted and I am in S London. I think they live in the nearby cemetery mainly.

[Hamish]

We get about 3 at our peanut feeders. they seemed very nervous initially, so give them space at the start and dont rush to the window when it first turns up. Also had a nuthatch the other day, thought it was a small woodpecker to start with. Can sound like wood peckers!