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Silly Saturday Post: Woody Woodpecker Trashes Home in Madera Canyon, AZ

Acorn Woodpecker fills the gable end of a cottage with holes, acorns! I loved Woody Woodpecker when I was a kid! That's before I knew he really did things like this!

The Acorn Woodpecker really works at his craft. Wikipedia says the bird is a "larder hoarder." Say THAT three time fast! I was hiking in Madera Canyon this morning and took this photo. What's amazing is that the cabin is owned by the Park Service!

All those little dots you see on the gable end of the house? They're acorns! The little guy drills holes, finds acorns, and fills the holes with food for the winter! Pretty ingenious!

Someone once told me that "I'm for the birds." Don't know if that was a compliment... LOL

I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, Arizona mortgage lender.

Think of me as your Local Expert.

Posted by Mike Jones on 05/17/2008 10:07 PM

Comments (18)

localism, mike in tucson, tucson mortgage, madera canyon, acorn woodpecker

Originally posted at: Tucson By Choice!: Silly Saturday Post: Woody Woodpecker Trashes Home in Madera Canyon, AZ

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18 Comments on Silly Saturday Post: Woody Woodpecker Trashes Home in Madera Canyon, AZ

MAY

2008

We have holes in the siding of our enclosed porch I keep filling the holes and they keep coming back what fun.

Mike: I had a home with cedar siding and the woodpecker only chose to use one side of the home (luckily) but, he just drilled...and drilled...and drilled! We found no acorns but, it was a pain to keep the holes filled and stained. That may be why we've only bought full-brick since then!

Debe in Charlotte

Too fun! The things you see on a daily basis have got to make your life so fulfilling!

Susan

That is a riot! I didn't know they did that...brings new meaning to the term "bird brained"!

MAY

2008

I have a nest in the side of my house. What was interesting was when I heard the mother teaching them, almost immediately after they hatched, to whistle a certain 'tune'. After that, I heard them screaming it when they woke up and any other time they were hungry. I also heard them making the sound once they were out of the nest learing life. I could tell difference when they were hungry or distressed/scared. Now I have to deal with a hole in the wall.

How did I miss this? Love that little larder hoarder, and his determination.

This is exactly why I prefer squirrels to woodpeckers. Kind of crazy and amazing at the same time what some of nature's creatures will do to sustain themselves.

Mike, that little fellow is working up a storm. We discovered a woodpecker in our back yard last week... We were sitting on the back porch and kept hearing a call that sounded like we were in the jungles of Africa. Turns out it was just a very vocal (and possibly displaced) Alaskan woodpecker. :)

Mike, I am thinking that you REALLY, REALLY love the Tucson area. You always have some good photos of your area. Thanks

Don R.

Mike -- Woodpeckers are destructive little things, aren't they?

A friend of mine put cedar siding on his house because a builder told him that cedar repels insects and that's what woodpeckers go looking for. The builder claimed the cedar would keep the woodpeckers away. It didn't work too well..the woodpeckers made the west side of his house look like a piece of Swiss cheese.

MAY

2008

Mike, When I lived in PA, I had woodpeckers all the time! Luckily, my house was brick and aluminum so they gave up on the house and just worked on the trees. I used to love watching them!

placeholder to return comments; it's been a long day, and I need sleep!

MAY

2008

This was quite insightful. I know animals have some amazing things that they do. I guess there must have been a tree there before.

James,

This is an instinctive action on the part of the Acorn Woodpecker. Check 'em out on Wikipedia for some more photos.

Mike in Tucson

MAY

2008

How ingenious for the bird to stash away a future dinner - unfortunate for the building. We have woodpeckers here drill wood siding looking for lunch - insect larvae.

Mike - I said Larder Hoarder 3X real fast and got kicked out of the office. Thanks a lot! :)

JUN

2008

Virginia,

I still don't get it. You'll have to send me an email.

Bonnie,

They DO make a mess!

Mike in Tucson

Mike - I dunno....too much coffee, not enough coffee? Punch line to a joke I can't remember about getting kicked out of the office. Some things strike me as funny that no one else finds even mildly amusing. Life is grand when you are easily entertained.

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