Observations by baggywrinkles

A not unfamiliar sound vibrates the fireplace door and rouses me from my chair. Is the Sunshine Propane person delivering gas? I go out on the deck, look down at the tank, call “Anybody down there?” Then the noise again, more metallic when heard outside. A Northern Flicker is drumming on the chimney vent! Wings and feet in the concave surface, damage from wind and a crash with the ground. The avian percussionist performs again, tries the adjacent drum, calls to a mate, returns to the largest, louder drum, and finally hearing a response to the call flies off.