A Yellow Bellied Sapsucker has been drumming on house, this week, he has been tapping on the stucco, but prefers the metal gutters and fascia.  Located in central Ontario.

I love kayaking the rural swamps in South Carolina.  Early morning missions are the best because it is so quiet and then all at once you hear drumming off in the distance.  It is amazing how far the sound carries in these areas.  Sometimes it is a surprise to hear and other times it is a welcoming sound.  I have always believed they are Pileated woodpeckers and now learning from this class I believe I can confirm that these are drums from a Pileated woodpecker.

Had a doctor's appointment today and he was telling me about a woodpecker who has been drumming on a small hurricane-resistant glass window for a month!

We don’t have woodpeckers where I live (other than sporadic occurence of Great Spotted). The descriptions of the different kinds and purposes of drumming has given me much more understanding of what is going on when you hear a woodpecker drumming, and will be really helpful when I travel to places with woodpeckers.

I am lucky to have a Wonderful World of Woodpeckers right in my yard. Really great learning about all these calls and drumming patterns that I have observed for years. My next step will to be to start really listening and see if I can figure out some context!

Years ago, I was teaching a class at Bellevue Community College (WA state) during the spring time. The class and I were regularly entertained with the drumming of a woodpecker (either a pileated or northern flicker) on a light post in a parking lot across campus! I didn’t know then what the significance of this communication was, but assumed it had something to do with the mating ritual.

In my area, the drumming communication of Downy Woodpeckers being answered from others around the neighborhood is a common sound. The woodpeckers also visit my suet and sunflower seed feeders throughout the year and are one of my favorites visitors.  Their perky chirps often announce their presence. About three springs ago, a pair of Downy Woodpeckers chose a branch of our aged Siberian Elm to build a nesting cavity.  The first indication that they were working on a cavity were the bits of wood found underneath the branch.  The cavity entrance was underneath the limb, which helped prevent the persistent European Starlings access to the nest.  The woodpeckers successfully fledged two young, which they would bring to the feeders for food gathering instruction.  Unfortunately, the branch with the cavity fell during a wind storm the next winter.  However, I couldn't resist sawing the section with the cavity from the branch and displaying it in one of our gardens.

I did not know that the rapid drumming is a form of comunication and not for excavating or dining.

We  have lots of Flickers that drum on the cottonwood trees and even the chimney. The downy like the cottonwood outside our bedroom window.

I have a flicker that likes to drum on the metal flashing on my chimney. My partner thought that our furnace was malfunctioning! I was on a walking trip in England last week (the Cotswolds) and my sister and I both heard a woodpecker drum in a nearby treed area. Not sure which woodpecker it was, but we both immediately IDd it as a woodpecker drumming.

In our condo complex, every year, at about this time (early to middle April), one species (Northern Flicker?) enjoys drumming where the stove vent exits the roof. Quite alarming at first, but now we view it as the first rites of spring!

Love all the different drumming and songs

We have quite a few woodpeckers in the provincial park where I live and when they are active, they are ALL active. Last week, there was a northern Flicker drumming away on a metal roof  of a bird blind. Very insistant, impossible to miss!

In Arizona, I had a Gila Woodpecker that took delight in drumming on my metal chimney.  It would drum in the morning so you would have to wake up. The first time I heard it, I was quite surprised.

I was surprised when I listened for the first time the sound of the Middle-spotted Woodpecker, which sounded like a suffering pig.

It amazes me how loud the downy can drum! At times I hear a loud sound and expect a bigger woodpecker, but sure enough it's one of these little guys.

One I went on vacation to Florida and I saw a woodpecker drumming on a coconut! I assumed he was trying to get to the coconut milk.

I once watched a downy or hairy woodpecker drumming on a power line box. I thought it was very dumb and confused. Now I know that it was a very deliberate choice. I've heard woodpeckers drumming all over my neighborhood where I've seen up to 5 species. I find it almost impossible to know where the drumming is coming from and rarely spot the bird doing the drumming. I enjoy hearing their back-and-forth communication.

Years ago we were in Yosemite National Park and heard the drumming of a woodpecker, within a minute my group heard similar drumming coming from three different directions and it was not an echo we were hearing. The day after at the Nature Conservancy location near El Portal we heard and saw Acorn Woodpecker's drumming on metal and again some other drumming coming from different directions. The metal sound was incredible, it carried farther than the others drumming.

I had no idea about the different types of drumming and communication!

I learned a lot about woodpecker drumming and calls.  It's fascinating.

Yes, I agree that drumming can be annoying when it's on metal. A red-shafted flicker on my street chose to drum on a metal chimney spark arrester. Now that really woke up the household there, and I could easily hear it several houses away. Alas for those flicker competitors that drummed only on wood!

I had no idea that the drumming was not associated with searching (drilling) for food. I always thought that a woodpecker drumming on metal was a bit "off" and perhaps not too sharp! Guess I'm the one who is not too sharp! Sorry, woodpeckers. :)

I commented before about how drumming sounds help me locate a woodpecker. I neglected to mention how annoying it can be when the woodpecker chooses to drum (and make holes) on my house siding or uses the metal exhaust pipe on my roof early in the morning.