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April 07, 2005
when woody woodpeckers don't peck wood
This morning when I was leaving the gym, I heard this strange drilling sound. At first I thought it might be a jackhammer in the distance or perhaps in the weird gravelpit place next door to the gym but as I walked out to the car, I realized that the sound was in the little woody area on the edge of the parking lot. I stopped and looked to see where it was coming from, suspecting it might be one of the woodpeckers I saw there last year.
After a bit of searching through the trees, I heard it again. And realized it wasn't in the trees. It was on top of the lightpost. The big huge metal lightpost. Drumming on the top. How odd is that? I mean, it's not like he's going to do much to the metal. After looking into it a bit, it seems that it could be territorial or a mating call of some sort. I suppose that makes sense. But how on earth can it hammer away at solid steel without hurting itself? That's what I want to know!
Posted by crystallyn at April 7, 2005 07:59 PM
Comments
My buddy has a summer place in Maine, and every morning there's a woodpecker bashing away at the metal ducting at the end of the chimney (and thereby waking us up). We figured it was trying to shake loose some bugs that were inside it.
As to how it doesn't hurt itself, I vaguely remember something from a biology class about a spongy area between the mandibular joints (if that's what they're called on birds) and the rest of the skull that prevents them from giving themselves a concussion.
Posted by: Matt at April 8, 2005 03:12 AM
The woodpeckers peck at anything that produces a nice loud sound. They like metal drain pipes on houses around here. They are establishing territory and calling for a mate - not looking for food. This behavior stops in a month or so.
They can bash away without hurting themselves because they have extra "insulation" in their brain cavities. If we were to bash are heads with relatively equivalent force on a tree, we'd be dead in 30 seconds. Pretty cool what nature can do?
Posted by: niki at April 8, 2005 09:01 AM
I should have just come to you first Nicole!!! You and the birds, well... ;)
Posted by: Crystal at April 8, 2005 11:03 PM