For the last week, I’ve been waking to the sound of “ra-ta-ta-ta-tat” coming from outside. Initially, I thought this was the sound of the metal flu on the furnace moving in the wind. This morning, a work-from-home day, the sound was really loud from inside my office. I stuck my head outside and listened again.
“Ra-ta-ta-ta-tat.”
I looked up, and this is what I found.
A male yellow-bellied sapsucker pecking away at our old television antenna. He flew off, and I returned inside to work.
A half-dozen more times he returned. Out I went with my camera. “Ra-ta-ta-ta-tat” and then he’d look around, studying the area before pecking at that noisy antenna some more.
I wonder if that pretty boy is searching for a mate? If it’s just territorial drumming? I’ve considered climbing up there to remove the antenna. But then, he might resort to drumming on the steel roof. That would be quite the wake-up call!
Years ago I had a flicker do the same thing with my anttenna, what a racket it made! He kept it up for almost a week.
Very nice shot . We’ve had some checking out our gutters this week. I’ve had an Indigo Bunting and a Towhee in the yard the past 2 days here in Central Va.