Posted on 04/06/2025 5:50:29 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Residents in Rockport, Massachusetts are dealing with an unlikely vandal: a woodpecker causing chaos across the neighborhood and shattering windows.
While many initially thought the culprit was a person, the true identity of the "vandal" is far more feathery.
Damage to car mirrors
Janelle Favaloro was the first to notice strange damage to her car, with two mirrors destroyed. At first, she suspected her husband, who in turn blamed their son. However, when the same thing happened to her brother-in-law's car, parked next door, Favaloro began to piece things together.
"People from the neighborhood responded and they said, 'Oh my god, I just lost two mirrors too!'" said Favaloro. "But they didn't know that it was the woodpecker. So we started putting it all together and realizing that he was canvassing the neighborhood."
The woodpecker's mischievous antics quickly turned into a local sensation.
"He came into the yard and he started hopping around on the vehicles and we weren't thinking that he was doing anything wrong," said Favaloro.
Why is woodpecker damaging mirrors? Donna Cooper, president of the Merrimack Valley Bird Club, explained the woodpecker's violent and destructive tendencies. According to Cooper, it's all about mating season.
"Of course, they're not interested in the other males hanging around, so they will attack males and try to scare them away, get them to go away or go somewhere else. And this often or can include attacking mirror images of themselves, including windows and cars," explained Cooper.
Despite the damage, Favaloro and her husband have taken the situation in stride. They said they find the bird quite entertaining and said his new partner needs to teach him some manners.
"I think she's following him around, trying to keep him out of trouble and she's really embarrassed and if she could speak to us, I'm sure she'd say, 'I'm really sorry, I'm sorry,'" said Favaloro.
As for the woodpecker, it seems his behavior isn't slowing down anytime soon. Residents are advised to keep an eye on their vehicles as the feathered vandal continues his rampage on car mirrors throughout Rockport.
Where do you find a pecker expert?
San Francisco or West Hollywood, would be a good place to start the search. They should not be hard to find.
Were these Teslas?
And was it Woody Woodpecker? I hear he’s an instigator.
DC is full of them.
Search: Ma Decker’s pecker checkers “We Can Handle It”
It’s the bluebirds where we live. They sit there and peck at the mirror and poop a lot. LOL
put a sock on the mirror
The very definition of Bird brained.
At first the car owner thought her husband may have done it.
Really? Just when did your husband stop smashing car mirrors before this?
Song Sparrows, here, in coastal Oregon. There was a Northern Flicker, years ago, that used a parabolic microwave antenna to broadcast its drumming. Very impressive.
Should have known that the woodpecker was a male.
It was a pecker that turned into a dick
Darn. My first thought was to market a bag to go over the mirror and make millions. “The Pecker Protector!”. But yeah - a sock is a good idea. (Heh - cross-country ski racing wearing the thin suits we would had put a sock in our undewear when it got real cold).
Put a plastic bag over the mirror with a bungee cord to hold it when parked. That will screw up the reflection sufficiently the bird will leave it alone.
I’ve had Cardinals ‘fight’ with my truck mirrors, but there was no breakage.
Woodpeckers have amazing beak strength!
It was Woody!
Everyone has a sock lying around...or cut up a black plastic bag, ad a twistie...or threaad a string through it and make a pretty bow.
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