Have you ever heard a strange knocking or tapping sound coming from inside or outside your home during the day? If so, you may be wondering what on earth is making that odd noise. Well, you’re not alone – Many people have heard these mysterious knocks and want to get to the bottom of what causes them.
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer: The pileated woodpecker is the animal most likely to make a knocking or tapping sound during daylight hours. This large woodpecker makes holes in trees to get at carpenter ants, its favorite food, and the hammering noise can often be heard resonating through the forest.
In this comprehensive article, we’ll identify the usual daytime culprits behind knocking noises, explain what makes the pileated woodpecker’s knock so loud and distinct, detail when and why it pecks at trees, and provide audio clips so you can compare noises and solve the mystery happening in or near your home once and for all.
Common Daytime Knocking Noises and Their Sources
Woodpeckers Searching for Food
One of the most common sources of daytime knocking is woodpeckers searching for food. These colorful birds will tap their sharp beaks against tree trunks over 5,000 times a day to find insects and larvae hiding in crevices under the bark.
The loud, repetitive knocking sound can be annoying for homeowners but it’s just a woodpecker’s natural foraging behavior.
According to a recent Audubon survey, Downy Woodpeckers and Northern Flickers cause the most property damage while feeding. Luckily, there are some humane solutions like suet feeders that can lure them away.
Squirrels and Raccoons Living in Attics or Walls
Another possibility are squirrels or raccoons nesting inside attics or walls. They are very common intruders that enter houses for warm shelter. The daytime knocking noises come from their claws scratching and their movements through rafters and wall voids.
According to wildlife removal experts, there are over 50 million free-roaming squirrels in the United States that potentially cause property damages. And Check 24/7 Pest Control states that 25% of attic noises can be from hiding raccoons.
Their knocks and scratches are even louder at daytime when they are most active.
| Squirrels | Raccoons |
| – Claws scratching and tapping | – Bodies brushing against wood and pipes |
| – Teeth chewing on wood | – Toenails tapping on attic floor |
Birds Pecking or Drumming on Houses
Lastly, random pecking or drumming noises may come from birds perched on the exterior of homes. Common culprits are Northern Flickers, Downy Woodpeckers, Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, and White-Breasted Nuthatches.
These birds communicate and mark territory by hammering on house siding with their sharp beaks. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, they prefer to drum on dead tree snags which make sounds that resonate over long distances. Houses likely mimic these acoustics.
Bird-control expert Michael Minor with minormodus recommends trimming trees around the home: “Reduce natural drumming posts and nesting cavities to make your home less attractive for birds to hang around all day drumming.”
The Distinctive Knock of the Pileated Woodpecker
What Does a Pileated Woodpecker Sound Like?
The pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) is the largest woodpecker in North America and makes quite a distinctive noise as it hammers away on trees. Its knocking sound is often described as a loud, machine gun-like “rat-a-tat-tat” that resonates through the forest.
The pileated woodpecker has a very powerful bill that it uses to hammer and chisel wood. This creates extremely loud noises that can be heard from quite a distance away. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the drumming of a pileated woodpecker can reach up to 100 decibels – as loud as a motorcycle from 15 feet away!
The drumming is mostly territorial, letting other woodpeckers know that this area is occupied. It also serves to establish bonding between mated pairs and to attract a mate. So next time you hear extremely loud knocking coming from a forest, it’s likely a pileated woodpecker!
Why Do They Hammer on Trees So Loudly?
As mentioned above, pileated woodpeckers hammer loudly on trees for a few reasons:
- To establish and defend a territory
- To attract and bond with a mate
- To create nesting and roosting holes
Pileated woodpeckers need large territories as they require a lot of habitat to meet their needs. The louder they can drum, the more effective they are at warning away intruders. Research has shown that woodpeckers will increase knocking volume when they detect other pileated woodpeckers encroaching on their territory.
In addition to drumming territorial messages, the knocking also helps attract female pileated woodpeckers looking for a mate. Males and females may even engage in drumming duets, taking turns knocking to strengthen the pair bond.
All that loud hammering also serves a very practical purpose – excavating holes in trees for nesting and roosting. Pileated woodpeckers use their powerful bills to hammer large, rectangular holes into the trunks of dead trees.
According to the Audubon Society, the entrance hole can be up to 4 inches wide and 3 feet long!
So while the incessant knocking may seem irritatingly loud to humans, it is vitally important communication for pileated woodpeckers as they establish territories, attract mates, and create homes to raise the next generation of little woodpeckers!
| Decibel Level | Sound Sample |
|---|---|
| 100 dB | Pileated woodpecker drumming |
| 90 dB | Motorcycle from 15 feet away |
| 60 dB | Normal conversation |
When and Why Pileateds Drum
The pileated woodpecker is one of the largest woodpeckers in North America, known for its distinctive, loud drumming sound that echoes through the forest. Understanding when and why these birds make this remarkable noise can provide fascinating insights into their behavior and ecology.
Communicating Territory and Attracting Mates
One of the main reasons pileated woodpeckers drum is to establish and defend their territories. The loud, rhythmic hammering resonates through the woods, warning other birds not to intrude on their area. This drumming also helps attract potential mates each breeding season.
It’s one of the ways these birds find each other in the dense woods.
Drumming peaks during late winter and early spring as pairs begin to bond and excavate nest cavities together. The male woodpecker often drums near potential nest sites, both to strengthen the bond with his mate and proclaim ownership of the area.
Studies have shown that drumming is linked to higher reproductive success, likely because it deters rivals and attracts healthy, compatible partners.
Throughout the year, drumming continues as pileateds maintain their large territories of up to a square mile. Interestingly, not all drumming serves the same purpose – slower, less frequent rolls are used in territory proclamation, while faster drumming communicates alarm or aggression if an intruder is detected nearby.
Searching for Carpenter Ants and Other Prey
In addition to communication, drumming helps pileated woodpeckers find food. These birds often hammer on dead trees to locate delicious carpenter ants deep within the wood. The vibrations caused by their hammering may cause ants to move, revealing their presence.
One study found over 50% of pileated woodpecker foraging taps were done to search for prey rather than communicate.
This feeding drum is faster and less rhythmic than territorial drumming. Pileateds may also drum on metal items like roofs, downspouts, and street signs, as the reverberations help them detect cavities where ants and other insects hide.
Their powerful hammering often provides audible clues that food is near!
So next time you hear the mesmerizing call of the pileated woodpecker, listen closely. Is it a slower, spaced out drum declaring a territory? Or a quicker tap-tap-tap honing in on a tasty ant feast? Learning to distinguish these patterns provides a window into the daily routines of these remarkable forest excavators.
Audio Comparisons of Common Day Knocks
Pileated Woodpecker vs Northern Flicker
The knocking sound of a Pileated Woodpecker can be distinguished from a Northern Flicker based on tempo, pitch, and location. The Pileated Woodpecker knocks 8-16 times per minute, with a slower, more methodical pace compared to the Northern Flicker’s 20 knocks per minute.
The Pileated’s knocks have a lower pitch, resonating through trees or wooden structures, while the Northern Flicker’s higher-pitched knock echoes across open spaces or metal surfaces. Geographically, Pileated Woodpeckers frequent mature forests across North America, while Northern Flickers inhabit semi-open country in the western two-thirds of the continent.
Raccoon vs Flying Squirrel in Attic
It can be tricky distinguishing between raccoon and flying squirrel knocks and scrapes in an attic space. Raccoons create louder thumps, scrapes, and knocks as they move about, comparable to “something heavy being dragged above”. Flying squirrels produce light, quick, scurrying noises.
Unique to flying squirrels are the swooping “flutter” sounds of stretching their patagium when gliding between locations. Visually, raccoons leave behind feces while flying squirrels do not. Both species may be drawn to attics for warmth and shelter – deterrence involves sealing entry holes, removing food attractants, and using lights/sounds/smells.
An expert can identify species from attic noise recordings through pattern analysis.
Woodpecker vs House Siding Knocks
Knocks due to a woodpecker hammering on house siding have distinct characteristics from those caused by contracting materials. Woodpecker knocks occur in rapid bursts of 7-8 hits, usually in the same spot on wood, metal, or vinyl siding as they search for insects.
The strikes have clear spacing of a few seconds between bursts. In contrast, knocks from siding materials speeding up/slowing down with temperature changes manifest randomly across walls and may occur simultaneously on different sides of the house.
While frightening, woodpecker damage to siding is typically superficial. Solutions involve identifying and removing food sources attracting the bird.
Conclusion
Now that you know the typical culprits behind knocking noises during daylight hours, you can use audio clues and behavior patterns to deduce what critter is making noise in or near your home. If you hear a loud, fast-paced hammering interspersed with long pauses coming from a nearby woodland area, it’s almost certainly a pileated woodpecker hard at work excavating a tree for ants!
By familiarizing yourself with the sounds and habits of likely suspects, you can satisfy your curiosity about odd daytime knocks quickly without having to play detective. And if you’re lucky, you may catch a glimpse of North America’s largest woodpecker in action right in your own backyard forest.
