‘Evil’ woodpeckers keep attacking man’s trail cameras in Arizona — so he gets creative
Gila woodpeckers won’t stop damaging an Arizona resident’s trail cameras, forcing some creative solutions.
But nothing seems to deter these unrelenting birds, Keith Cannataro told McClatchy News.
Cannataro lives in northeastern Tucson, where he has nearly a dozen trail cameras set up behind his home.
He started setting up cameras when he moved in 2017, and he shares footage of the wildlife he’s captured on camera to his YouTube page, including sightings of coyotes, javelinas, bobcats, squirrels and hawks.
Woodpeckers started becoming a problem in 2022 when he noticed the animals pecking holes through the plastic sensor covering on his cameras, he said in a July 12 interview.
“I think every spot has been hit at least once,” Cannataro said.
But the damaging pecking doesn’t happen throughout the year and it’s not constant, he said, suggesting it could be happening during mating season.
Woodpeckers are more likely to “disturb” Arizona residents from March through June when the birds are asserting their territory, attracting mates and creating nests, according to the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
Cannataro said the first woodpecker attacks of this year started in March, resulting in two damaged cameras.
More recently, Cannataro said he sent five cameras to be repaired in June and another one this month. He said he’s not sure what’s attracting the woodpeckers.
“It’s taking the fun away from this hobby,” he said in a July 8 Facebook post to a trail camera group.
He turned to the group to get insight on how to stop the birds from pecking his cameras after catching one “evil” woodpecker on his camera 45 minutes before retrieving the memory card.
Cannataro said he’s tried several things, including adding bird spikes, shiny Mylar strips and rubbing peppermint oil on the devices.
But nothing has solved the problem.
“Am I doomed to the wrath of the woodpecker?” he said in the Facebook post.
He’s not giving up yet.
His next attempts to fend off the woodpeckers will include adding aluminum sheets to the top of the camera, along with rubber rattlesnakes and shiny pinwheels.
What attracts woodpeckers?
Woodpeckers may continue to return to someone’s home if there is food, water and shelter, the game and fish department said.
“Homeowners should either accept wildlife or modify their situation to remove whatever is attracting the animals,” the wildlife agency said.
Wildlife officials offered multiple solutions, including adding padding to areas they often peck and placing owl models or silhouettes to scare the birds off.
Where do Gila woodpeckers live?
Gila woodpeckers are found in “southeast California, southwest Nevada, southern Arizona, southwest New Mexico and south into central Mexico,” according to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
They have a brown face and zebra-like print on their backs with visible white coloring on their wings when they fly. Males have a splotch of red on the top of their heads.
The birds also have a strong neck and head and a long pointed beak to peck into trees and other things.
In the Sonoran Desert, they make a nest inside a cactus, the museum said.
This story was originally published July 14, 2023 at 11:45 AM with the headline "‘Evil’ woodpeckers keep attacking man’s trail cameras in Arizona — so he gets creative."
