Posted on 11/18/2008 2:48:35 PM PST by nickcarraway
Walnut Creek Residents Cry Foul Over Woodpecker Kill
Birds have drilled holes into houses for food storage Updated 11:03 AM PST, Tue, Nov 18, 2008
Related Topics: Rossmoor | Birds | Nature and the Environment | Wildlife | Jassin-O'Rourke Group LLC
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AP Some of the homeowners have tried using nets, Mylar, and fake owls and spiders to keep the birds away.
A controversy is mounting in the Walnut Creek community of Rossmoor, where two homeowner's associations have obtained permits to have up to 50 acorn woodpeckers killed.
The birds have damaged properties by drilling holes into houses to store food and homeowners have been in a "long battle" with the birds, said Maureen O'Rourke, a spokeswoman for Rossmoor.
Audubon California, part of the National Audubon Society, issued a release Tuesday, expressing concern over the move to kill the birds.
"I know these residents feel they have tried everything to persuade the birds to not use residents' home, but they there are better options," Graham Chisholm, director of conservation for Audubon California, said in the statement.
Two of Rossmoor's 17 homeowner's associations obtained the permits to have the birds killed from the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife Service in June, according to O'Rourke.
Property that falls into the jurisdiction of the two homeowners associations includes some of the newest buildings in Rossmoor.
"They're in hilly open space areas," O'Rourke said.
She said homeowners spent years trying to rid of the birds before applying for the permits to have the birds killed.
"They've spent about $170,000 over the past eight years to fight them in other ways," O'Rourke said, adding that amount of money included repairs to buildings and bird proofing.
Some of the homeowners have tried using nets, Mylar, and fake owls and spiders to keep the birds away.
O'Rourke said personnel from U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to come out to kill the birds within the next couple weeks.
Audubon California has offered assistance to the homeowners associations in considering other options and O'Rourke said representatives of the associations are expected to meet with Audubon staff.
Brian Murphy, a board member of the Mount Diablo Audubon Society, said members of the society are scheduled to meet with representatives of the homeowners associations Wednesday.
Murphy said the acorn woodpeckers are using the sides of homes as artificial granaries because old dead oak had been removed from the area during development.
He said by bringing in large pieces of dying oak and attaching them to trees in the area, the woodpeckers could make natural granaries, a possible permanent solution for keeping the woodpeckers from storing their food in homes.
Acorn woodpeckers are a relatively common bird in California that store food in large granaries drilled in oaks and other trees, according to Audubon California.
Hey Al Gore, even the woodpeckers know it’s getting cold.
Ha ha ha HAA ha!
My neighborhood in Colorado has a serious woodpecker problem. The only way I know of to get rid of them is to stucco your house, which is what I eventually did. It worked perfectly.
Pecker wood..!!
Murphy said the acorn woodpeckers are using the sides of homes as artificial granaries because old dead oak had been removed from the area during development
they shouldn’t have taken the woodpeckers homes
Woodpecker?
sounds like a prosthetic device for John Wayne Bobbitt.
woodpecker pie....yummy....
Boilerplate response from animal rights nuts. Animals only create problems for humans when humans caused the trouble first.
If animals are wrecking your home, you have the right to shoot them. If animals have a problem with this, they need to learn to shoot back.
Law of the suburban jungle.
Spritzing the area the woodpecker is pecking with a urine based deer repellent works. The odor goes away in a couple of days but the woodpecker knows for a long time that the homeowner has marked his territory.
Beautiful birds, but can cause alot of damage if left unchecked. Still preferable than NYC Flying Rats (aka pigeons).
What do you plan to do about the Stucco Peckers?
Ding-Ding, Winner, by inches!
PECKERS UP PING!
You mean preferable by taste?
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