Most of us at one time or another in our lives banged on a toy drum, tambourine, or some sort of percussion instrument in the high school band—or even played a full-fledged set of drums for a band. 

When performing as percussionists, we were playing to a beat or a rhythm. 

Nature has many sopranos and baritones (a bullfrog might be a good example of the latter), but the job of the percussionist definitely goes to the woodpecker.

Woodpeckers are of the family Picidae. This describes the significance of their long beak and what they use it for. 

If you go out to walk in the woods, you might hear some woodpeckers drumming. Drumming happens when they tap on a tree in rapid succession and make a lot of noise. Drumming is used to attract a mate and establish a territory; many times, a woodpecker will pick a hollow tree trunk or large branch for more sound volume. 

Even though it is winter, various species of woodpeckers can be heard. This past January, I’ve heard mostly downy and hairy woodpeckers

Like bird calls, different species of woodpeckers have different cadences of drumming. Some species have drumming that fades out with time. Sometimes the drumming is irregular, more like Morse code than drumming. 

The sound of a woodpecker drumming can carry for a long distance, and is easy to hear; as spring approaches, drumming woodpeckers will be more abundant.