TAMPA, FL — The woodpecker normally prefers softwood deciduous trees…except in one south Tampa neighborhood.
“Oh my god I am so devastated”, Brittany Jones told me when I met her outside her house. “You would think people would commit a crime and it’s just a measly little bird.”
Yes, a crime, a senseless act of vandalism. And Brittany isn’t the only victim of their feathered friend. “I can’t believe it actually happened,” said neighbor J.R. Gaskin.
Car mirrors are now cracked and shattered, all the result of a woodpecker. Brittany Jones’ mother, Dorothy, first spotted it. “I heard something pecking outside and I thought they were doing construction work. And I looked up and went, ‘oh my god that’s a woodpecker.'”
The red-crested fowl has been very busy, because in one south Tampa neighborhood near MacDill Airforce Base, he has hit at least six vehicles.
Thinking he is seeing another woodpecker in the vehicle’s mirror, he has been breaking them out, which doesn’t sit well with the victims. “I’m not too happy about it,” Jennifer Lyle told me, “especially with this kind of vehicle you can’t just replace the glass you have to replace the entire component which is kind of expensive.”
Found by MJ.
Nothing my trusty ol’ Red Ryder carbine-action, 200-shot, range model air rifle can’t handle.
This looks like the work of a single Pileated woodpecker that has a problem with the ‘other’ bird in the mirror. If a bird has a problem with a specific window or mirror, print out a picture of an owl and tape it to glass. The bird will leave it alone.
Pileated woodpeckers are slightly bigger than Blue Jays, they are legally protected from hunting, but I would recommend asking Red Ryder to solve this problem.
We have a male cardinal doing the same thing in our neighborhood. I’ve taken several pictures of him next to the car mirror. I’ll try to post a picture of him tomorrow morning.
Geese flying into plane motors
woodpeckers destroying cars
Alfred Hitchcock was prescient
🙂
J/P=?
Most people dont know this but we have some huge woodpeckers in Florida. Much bigger than ones I have seen in the rest of the country.
I live outside of Daytona in the woods. About 15 years ago we had a Ivory-billed Woodpecker destroying trees on are property. It sounded like a jackhammer hitting the tree. I wish I knew where one was today there is a reward out for proof of it. I have seen these things they do exist.
I am going to hell for this, but… that bird was obviously not satisfied with the pecker he saw in the mirror.
[Go straight to Hell; do not collect $200. – ed.]
“Thinking he is seeing another woodpecker in the vehicle’s mirror, he has been breaking them out, which doesn’t sit well with the victims. “I’m not too happy about it,” Jennifer Lyle told me, “especially with this kind of vehicle you can’t just replace the glass you have to replace the entire component which is kind of expensive.”
Isn’t that what comprehensive auto insurance coverage is for?
Can’t embed HTML images huh? Oh well, the URL to the cardinal looking in the mirror is here:
We have woodpeckers banging away at lampposts where I live. What they are doing is marking territory. They do that with the sound of their drumming instead of by singing as most other birds. Hence the comment nesting season. The better drummer gets a mate and other woodpeckers stays clear of the best drummers.
Clever woodpeckers have discovered that pecking on manmade objects give a better sound than the traditional tree trunk, that’s all.
I found this out by resarching why the woodpeckers in my neghbourhood was waking me up in the mornings. I thought they only pecked for food and couldn’t understand why they were banging away at the lampposts.
Other birds, blackbirds I belive, have started mimicking car alarms and cellphone signals. Especially the chirping sound that a lot of cars have when you lock them.
“Oh my god I am so devastated!” I can just hear that opening JCD’s next Tech5 podcast. I wonder what would happen if you walked down that street in mirror shades? Ow.
#7 Ovenmaster
Ever hear of deductible? $500 deductible and a $450 mirror assembly and I’m sure you will opt for a .410 shotgun or a Crossman pellet gun to resolve the problem.
Of course my friends Mercedes mirror was around $1200 but he would still be out the deductible.
Oh come on… geez… take 2 seconds and put a small bag over the mirror. The answer to such a tiny problem isn’t to kill it.
About time wildlife started getting even with us for all the damage we do to their homes!!
“Oh my god I am so devastated!”
Wow…. what a wuss. I’d hate to see her in a real disaster. Its just a car. They will make more of them.
My advise? Put on a tall steel mirror with a handle for the bird to put on his feet, don’t forget to connect a car battery to the mirror and problem solved.
Don’t kids have BB guns anymore? I remember once there was a Woodpecker than kept pecking the wall of my bedroom early in the am when I was about 12. That lasted about two days before I nailed him.
The woodpeckers in my neighborhood used to peck on the lids of garbage cans. Man, did that make a racket.
Ron Larson – the devastated remark Britt made is just an expression you dumbass.
Some of you don’t get it because u don’t have to pay over $300 worth of damage that some stupid bird did. You guys wouldn’t be calling other people wusses because you’d be busy bitching about the situation.
I hope they all get their vehicles fixed. Some of you can be insensitive jackasses.