*** Another bird has been traipsing down my gutter guard just under the (slate) shingle edge until it gets to the main house where it starts pecking. When it flies off, it has very dark feathers, does not look like any of the woodpeckers around here although it flies somewhat like one. The pecking is slow & steady, not a rat-a-tat-tat. Yesterday, I was chasing it off all afternoon.***
Do you have the Merlin Bird ID app? It has sound ID now, which makes it easier to find out what birds are out there that you might not get a glimpse of before they take off again. Sometimes it only “finds” birds that are likely in the area, not unlikely ones, so it’s not perfect, but they improve it every year. It’s very helpful to me.
No, don’t have that app. After seeing a glimpse this morning, I am fairly certain it’s a ‘Northern Flicker’ woodpecker. They are all over the place, pecking the ground & trees.
At our other house, we had a problem with them pecking wood molding (cracks where bugs might be). I finally put a fake snake on the roof & that solved the problem. They would also ‘drum’ when we had the wood covered with aluminum.