Drumming Lessons

["Kristin Purdy" <kristinpurdy at comcast dot net>]

Those of you seeking the American Three-toed Woodpeckers near Mirror 
Lake or at Soapstone Basin in the Uintas in the near future might 
benefit from what I and others have learned about the birds' drumming.  
In fact, learning the drumming cadence might make the difference between 
identifying and chasing the "right" woodpecker through the trees. 

While listening to and observing a male three-toed drum a couple weeks 
ago, Pomera Fronce, Jack Clark and I noticed the tempo of the drumming 
increased until the woodpecker finished that particular drummed phrase.  
The sound was hard and hollow and the tempo reminded me of a marble 
dropping on a countertop and bouncing until it stopped.  While watching 
the bird drum, I also noticed his head closed into the tree trunk as the 
tempo increased.  It was as if he was being pulled to the trunk by some 
force that made each stroke shorter and thus, quicker than the last.  Of 
course, the hollow sound might change based on the drumming substrate.  

Here's a link to Cornell's 'All About Birds' website and the sound of 
the American Three-toed Woodpecker.  If the link wraps to the next line 
in this post instead of appearing all on the same line, copy the entire 
link into your browser and it will work.  The entire link begins with 
http: and ends with .html.      

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/audio/Three-toed_Wood
pecker.html

The other possible woodpeckers that high in the Uintas are the 
Williamson's Sapsucker, the Northern Flicker and the Hairy Woodpecker 
(...I think.  Correct me if I'm wrong.).  The Williamson's (and the 
Red-naped, for that matter) also drum with a distinctive cadence, but 
the tempo is just the opposite of the American Three-toed Woodpecker.  
In other words, sapsuckers drum fast at the start and drift off to 
single taps at the end of the drumming phrase.  Both the Northern 
Flicker and the Hairy Woodpecker drum at a very fast and steady tempo.  

Another tidbit that might help locate the bird is that you hear drumming 
at all.  According to Cornell's Birds of North America Online 
(subscription service), American Three-toed Woodpeckers drum more 
frequently than other woodpecker species.  Several birders have reported 
hearing and/or seeing the woodpeckers drum and I believe our experiences 
parallel the descriptions in the literature.    

I hope this info helps.  I've drawn from both my own experiences and 
what friends have reported privately after visiting the area.  Please 
feel free to contribute to the discussion based on what you've heard and 
observed.

Thanks. 

Kris

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