get a mean a$$ cat.

Paint your windows with fresh paint or replace them (if an option) with vinyl, fiberglass or metal clad. The paint might also repel the bugs a bit too. A cat inside would be a good deterrent as well or encourage neighbors cats or predator species of birds.

I had this very same problem--and the woodpeckers' favorite time to peck was about 6am on a Saturday morning, right outside the wall from my pillow.
Because woodpeckers are protected where I live, the landlord had a company come and hang shiny strips of mylar from the roofline above this wall of the house. It looks a little funny, but I like to think of it as festie. And, I haven't been pecked awake since!

Wow that is a strange problem! Unfortunately I don't really have any concrete ideas for you. I wonder if there is some sort of natural pesticide/whatever that you can use in an attempt to kill the bugs without hurting the woodpeckers?

Awww, but that's the cutest univited guest I've ever seen.

It looks like a Northern Flicker. Apparently they're partial to insects--maybe try putting up a bug-filled feeder to distract them?

BrieBrie - Hence the pictures instead of a pellet gun :)

Heh. Gila woodpeckers eat those? So I'm double glad that I hung the hummer feeder that attracts them. I've noticed I have a lot fewer milkweed bugs.

Mine, thankfully, aren't territory sounding on the house, or eating my windows.

Not much help from this quarter, but thanks for identifying something in my yard that I hadn't recognized!

Don't replace wood windows with vinyl or aluminum clad crap. Test out some new glazing products that won't attract the bugs, once you find one that doesn't, have someone repaint your sashes and redo the glazing. I'd go with a couple fake owl ornaments, I mean once you solve the bugs, the bird problem will go away with it.

LMAO @joeshack

It's always about the source of the problem, which are the bugs. Can the windows be treated to repel them?

Since this is AT, why not hang beads like you would in a doorway.

I also believe it is a flicker. They love our bird feeder, which is designed for much smaller birds. One of these days a flicker is going to knock that thing down.

I happen to know that they love sunflower seeds, so perhaps providing a steady supply of easy eats will keep them from pecking for bugs.

I would work on getting rid of the bugs: I have never had the kind of bugs you have but it sounds like the bugs are the real issue, especially if they are burrowing in the windows because that sounds like it might damage the wood with or without birds pecking. (We had wood-eating bee things once and my ex's parents had ants so bad in their 200 year old farm house they didn't' know until the ants reached a critical quantity, grew wings, and flew out of the wall.)
so my point is: the bugs might actually be damaging the house more than if looked at first and focus on getting rid of them. Then the birds will leave. But of the options you listed - I like the fake owls.

Oh, poor, sweet, unwanted Northern Flicker!

FIRST, I'd suggest contacting the AUDUBON SOCIETY. You're not the first with this problem, and they help people find solutions. They'd rather help people than have harm come to the birds. They have regional offices, but even if you can't find a # for them, go to the national one.

Kimatdc's suggestion of a feeder with bugs would be a solution, maybe until you find a permanent one. The flicker will probably take the easier choice (if they're yummy enough). If they do, then cost of this solution would have to be weighed against the others. I think you can get bugs (dead/dried? live?) online.

Why are the hackberry bugs on & in the house? What attracts them? Is there a way (that won't kill the birds) to disconnect that attraction? If you don't have the bugs, you don't have the bird problem.

Good luck. And if you can't get rid of the problem, feel good you're supporting the native fauna. (:

Flickers frequently feed at ground level, so first check to see if they might be doing you a favor by pointing out an insect problem. Mylar tape, like MtnChicha mentioned, is probably your best deterrent. It is readily available from many garden supply companies.

While investigating origins of bug problem, make a movie. This would be GREAT cat tv. Then use proceeds from DVD sales to re-grout windows with less deliciously bug-filled material.

Is your window looking a little buggy and bland? PUT A BIRD ON IT!

Another vote for joeshack!

LOL @ angie_marie!

Get a Honey Badger.

Honey Badgers eat everything.
Honey Badgers dont' give a sh*t.

Get a less delicious house.

Northern Flicker is a type of woodpecker.

maybe read through this, (and then continue on to part 2)
There might be some good suggestions for you.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/4-types-of-woodpecker-control-and-woodpecker-deterrents-part-i.html

My family had a similar problem with a bird that would repeatedly fly into our sliding glass doors as the sun came up.

Solution, I got up early in the morning and hid in the bushes, when the bird came and flew into the window I shot it with a blow gun. No more bird!

The solution to this problem, however, is to get rid of the bug problem you have. Without a large buffet of food the birds will go away.

Honey Badger takes what it wants!

Mylar is good. Or old CDs It works on basically any kind of bird. My aunt did that to keep birds out of her cherry tree. I guess you could do little bird spikes too.

Don't assume an inside pet is going to deter anything. All my local birds know the cats can't come through glass.

I've even got a little lizard that sits on the screen EVERY NIGHT while my frantic cat paws desperately at the glass. It's the best show in town!

Get your house inspected. Your problem is not the flicker but the insects and the associated damage that the insects cause.

Once the insects go away, the flicker will stop coming around.

We have a bunch of these flickers that love to bang on the vents of the house and it sounds like a machine gun all throughout. The owls, bubble wrapping the vents, shiny streamers nothing worked. We finally tried this kite and it worked, they don't come anywhere near the house.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/akajustg/4438791459/in/photostream/
Now you may not be able to use the kite but I think they can also be flown as windsocks and perhaps you could do that? Not a cheap solution but it has worked for us and the kite is just kinda cool.

LOL @ joeshack and Shadlyn. literally, my boss is sitting across the room wondering what is so d@mn funny.

move to the city. :-( we don't have any birds where we live and i'm oddly jealous of the pickle you're in.

My grandparents used to have a problem with birds nesting on one of their porch pillars. The nest made a mess & there was bird poo all over the chair under the pillar. They put a small, creepy statue (that used to scare me as a child) on the pillar and they haven't been back since!

I would call a professional pest control company to take care of the bugs, then the birds wouldn't come.