Demolition Time

  Rat-a-tat-tat!  The jackhammer started work about six o'clock in the morning.  Ugh!  Why can't noisy work be done a bit later in the day and not at the break of dawn!  With my mug of coffee in hand, I had just settled into the comfy lawn chair when the racket began.  Contrary to what some may believe, this was not some construction crew but rather a demolition one at work.  That "work" was being done on my house!  Yep, the Little Bayou House was in the process of being demolished or at least damaged by this one-man, er, one-bird crew.  I have had my time with Redheaded Woodpeckers as of late and this one was being a royal nuisance! Between his being bossy at the feeders and his raiding the Red-bellied Woodpeckers' nest, I am fully beginning to think this bird has an attitude problem.  Now, he has decided to "de-shingle" my house!  I rose from my chair and shooed the bird away.

  This bird has been pounding away at the roof for the past few weeks.  I was worried that it was termites but now have decided that it is the Carpenter Bee larvae that the bird is seeking.  Close inspection of the roof edge showed the neatly drilled holes of the bee not the erratic tunneling of termites.  Whew!  Not termites in my rafters....but....I suppose I should be just as worried about those bees.  Still, the damage at hand is being rendered by that woodpecker!

  His pounding is not the only way he is damaging the roof.  I noticed today that he is literally tearing off the roof!  The edge of the shingles have been pulled back and the metal edging has been pried away from the board.  I did not know these birds were that strong!  If I do not find a way of keeping the bird away from the housetop, I may not have protection from the rainstorms much longer!  Silly bird!