Female Downey Woodpecker Drumming

[Helen Beum]

On the top of our Red Maple there is a broken-off part where  this female Downey has been drumming now for over two weeks. She comes in the early morning and most evenings. The sound is quite resonate and neighbors are remarking on it. I usually hear drumming earlier in the Spring and I’m wondering if anyone can explain this behavior. 

Helen

South Central Salem

[Lisa Millbank]

Drumming is pretty much analogous to singing, so they are doing it mostly to proclaim ownership of a territory.  It's most common earlier in spring, but they drum all throughout nesting season and can do it occasionally at other times of the year.  My guess is that this Downy just found the perfect drumming spot and she likes the sound it makes, the louder the better!  It could be that she was drumming in a different part of the territory and/or on a less resonant surface before, so the sound wasn't as loud before in your location.  Or, this pair lost their territory to another pair, and have had to move to this new location.  The frequency of her drumming should subside in time, but once they have found a good place to drum, they usually make a habit out of it.

Lisa Millbank 

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[Joel Geier]

I guess what Helen thought was notable here was the fact that this was a female-plumaged woodpecker that was drumming.

It was interesting to me that female Downy Woodpeckers (and not just males) might drum as a territorial display. According to this link:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Downy_Woodpecker/sounds#

"Both sexes drum on trees to claim territories, attract mates, and signal readiness for mating."

I learn something new every day, especially from this list!

Joel Geier

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From: "Lisa Millbank" <millba...@gmail.com>
To: "Helen Beum" <hele...@gmail.com>
Cc: "Mid-Valley Nature" <mid-vall...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, May 29, 2022 4:56:31 PM
Subject: Re: [MidValleyNature:6613] Female Downey Woodpecker Drumming

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mid-valley-nature/CAEVJLM4crLFSMpwb07GbmOPutm5fpO5dD005nxE1ORqbFZBGAQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Lisa Millbank]

Good point, I forgot to mention that it's typical for female Downies to drum!  It does seem more common in certain groups of non-songbirds, for females to participate more in singing (like owls, even though females' songs are sometimes different than males') and non-vocal sounds (like woodpeckers).  I've seen female Downies drumming myself, but I'm not sure if they do it as often as males, and I've never looked into whether females of most other woodpecker species do it.

Lisa