Thursday, October 1, 2026
Woodpeckers are not songbirds — they do not perch on branches and sing their hearts out each spring. They’re drummers. They drum their bills into tree trunks and branches, making a racket to announce their dominance over a breeding territory. And right now, early April, is prime drumming season.
We have five right species of woodpeckers in Thurston County. There are 23 species in North America. All woodpeckers have chisel-like bills suitable for tearing into wood in search of insects, their main food source. For the most part they do not migrate and are active here year-around. But it is their spring drumming that attracts our attention.
A woman who has a metal chimney reports she can’t sleep past dawn right now; a woodpecker’s drumming is her spring wake-up call. Most of the year, woodpeckers drum to find food, but during this season it’s primarily about territory and attracting mates. And the louder the better, which is why metal is so attractive.
A male northern flicker.
Liam Hutcheson | For The JOLT News
You are likely to have one or more of the woodpecker species living near you, but they are seldom seen. The exception to this is the northern flicker. These birds, which are larger than robins, will venture onto lawns and open areas in pursuit of their prey. They’ll even harvest ants and other insects hidden in cracks in the sidewalk.
In contrast with our other common woodpeckers, which are primarily black and white, the flicker is a warm brown with black flecks on its feathers, which Liam’s photo shows perfectly. It also has a white rump patch which flashes prominently as it flies off. These birds are also often noisy, making loud "kerr" and "wicka, wicka" calls and, in spring, loudly drumming. They drill at a rapid 25 strikes per second and sometimes will use a metal object, like part of a utility pole or your home’s gutter, as their drumming object.
A Downy woodpecker.
Liam Hutcheson | For The JOLT News
Other woodpecker species spend much of their time in trees or fallen logs and, for the most part, are fairly quiet. The smallest, the Downy woodpecker, is about 6 inches in length (slightly larger than a sparrow). It is the smallest of the North American woodpeckers. Its drilling noise, either when looking for food or declaring territory, is especially quiet. It seldom vocalizes except for a sharp "pik" alarm note when it flies. If you hear a quiet knock overhead, look up in the nearby tree, and it likely will be this bird.
A hairy woodpecker.
Liam Hutcheson | For The JOLT News
The Downy and a similar and larger species, the hairy woodpecker, are black and white, with males having a red slash on the back of their heads. The hairy is about 9 inches in size and has a much bolder bill (Liam’s photos show this contrast well). At this time of year both these two species will drill on prominent branches to proclaim their territories, but the noise of their drilling is modest compared to the racket produced by the larger species.
A pileated woodpecker.
Liam Hutcheson | For The JOLT News
The largest of our woodpeckers, checking in at about 18 inches, is the pileated woodpecker. It is easily the most striking bird of the forest, black with bold white stripes down the neck and a flaming red crest on its head. And, during breeding season, its territorial drumming is by far the loudest, with three-second intense and repetitive blasts. Both sexes drum and also will use drumming for alarms year-around.
Pileated woodpeckers’ vocalizations are also loud, a high-pitched piping noise lasting several seconds. And even when they are feeding, they can make a racket as they tear apart rotting trees or logs in search of prey. They are big, bold and unafraid to announce their presence. If you come upon them as you walk in wooded areas, you will not miss them, nor will you forget the encounter.
A red-breasted sapsucker.
Liam Hutcheson | For The JOLT News
Our final regular local woodpecker is the red-breasted sapsucker. It’s a robin-sized bird often seen drilling parallel holes on old fruit trees. It feeds on the sap that oozes out from the wound and on the insects that are attracted to the sap. Its drilling is slow with an uneven pace, quite different from all the others. I love Liam’s sapsucker photo because it not only shows this bird’s dramatic red head and breast, but also how it uses its stiff tail to brace against the tree trunk when drilling.
Drumming for woodpeckers seems functionally to take the place of singing for songbirds and, like singing, the drumming patterns vary by species and those with a good ear can distinguish between species by drumming alone. Several years ago the public radio series BirdNote had a nice account of woodpecker drumming. You can rehear the broadcast here.
George Walter is environmental program manager at the Nisqually Indian Tribe’s natural resources department; he also has a 45+ year interest in bird watching. He may be reached at george@theJOLTnews.com
Photos for this column are provided by Liam Hutcheson, a 17-year-old Olympia area birder and avid photographer.
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sunshine39
I've had a yellow breasted sapsucker which took such a liking to my clump birch trees that it lead to a serious decline in the trees over a few years
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