Page 12 - IAV Digital Magazine #618

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
A Woodpecker Has Invaded A Massachusetts Neighborhood. Residents Are Taking It In Stride
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qzr93hB7lms
adjusted. It looked like maybe there’s a child in the neighbor- hood that was going around pushing the mirrors down,” he said. But then his sis- ter-in-law spotted the roughly 21-inch (53- centimeter) tall wood- pecker on Favaloro’s truck, pecking at the side mirror.
Given their enormous size, piliated wood- peckers are plenty strong enough to break mirrors, but such behavior is “defi- nitely weird,” said Pamela Hunt, senior biologist for avian conservation at the New Hampshire Audubon.
“Lots of birds will be aggressive against reflections in mirrors, but I don’t usually hear about wood- peckers,” she said. “They don’t usually peck at their oppo- nents, they kind of chase them around.”
She said the wood- pecker might be “a lit-
tle stupid” and is try- ing to defend its terri- tory and scare away what it sees as com- petition. The damage coincides with the mating season for pileated woodpeckers and resident Barbara Smith said she’d be fine with “lots of little woodpeckers” around, though she hopes they won’t be as destructive.
“Woodpeckers have to do what woodpeck- ers do,” she said. “Good luck, wood- pecker.”
Favalro said the woodpecker and the media attention it has attracted has been a fun distraction from everything else going on in the world.
“This small town of Rockport that I live in is one of the safest communities around,” he said. “I think this is probably one of the biggest crimes in years. It’s kind of funny, but it’s nice as well.”
By
Holly Ramer and Rodrique Ngowi
ROCKPORT, Mass. (AP) — Rockport resi- dents have a history of fighting off invaders, but not this time.
During the War of 1812, townsfolk in the tiny fishing village hurled rocks at British soldiers using their stockings as slings. Now, they’re slinging trash bags and towels over the side mirrors of their cars to protect
them
from a destructive and determined pileated woodpecker.
Over the last few weeks, the bird has broken more than two dozen mirrors and at least one vehicle’s side window. But resi- dents are taking the violence in stride.
“Everybody’s having a good laugh about it,” said Ben Favaloro. “Nobody wants harm to the bird. He’s always welcome back.”
Favaloro, who has lived in the neighbor- hood for nearly four decades, said he’s seen the occasional woodpecker on the side of houses in years past and he removed several trees last summer that were damaged beyond recovery. But the attacking of glass is a new phenome- non.
“Initially, we just noticed that all the mirrors had been
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine