ROCKPORT, Mass. (AP) 鈥 Rockport residents have a history of fighting off invaders, but not this time.
During the War of 1812, townsfolk in the tiny fishing village hurled rocks at British soldiers using their stockings as slings. Now, they鈥檙e slinging trash bags and towels over the side mirrors of their cars to protect them from a destructive and determined pileated woodpecker.
Over the last few weeks, the bird has broken more than two dozen mirrors and at least one vehicle鈥檚 side window. But residents are taking the violence in stride.
鈥淓verybody鈥檚 having a good laugh about it,鈥 said Ben Favaloro. 鈥淣obody wants harm to the bird. He鈥檚 always welcome back.鈥
Favaloro, who has lived in the neighborhood for nearly four decades, said he鈥檚 seen the occasional woodpecker on the side of houses in years past and he removed several trees last summer that were damaged beyond recovery. But the attacking of glass is a new phenomenon.
鈥淚nitially, we just noticed that all the mirrors had been adjusted. It looked like maybe there鈥檚 a child in the neighborhood that was going around pushing the mirrors down,鈥 he said. But then his sister-in-law spotted the roughly 21-inch (53-centimeter) tall woodpecker on Favaloro鈥檚 truck, pecking at the side mirror.
Given their enormous size, piliated woodpeckers are plenty strong enough to break mirrors, but such behavior is 鈥渄efinitely weird,鈥 said Pamela Hunt, senior biologist for avian conservation at the New Hampshire Audubon.
鈥淟ots of birds will be aggressive against reflections in mirrors, but I don鈥檛 usually hear about woodpeckers,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 usually peck at their opponents, they kind of chase them around.鈥
She said the woodpecker might be 鈥渁 little stupid鈥 and is trying to defend its territory and scare away what it sees as competition. The damage coincides with the mating season for pileated woodpeckers and resident Barbara Smith said she鈥檇 be fine with 鈥渓ots of little woodpeckers鈥 around, though she hopes they won't be as destructive.
鈥淲oodpeckers have to do what woodpeckers do,鈥 she said. 鈥淕ood luck, woodpecker.鈥
Favalro said the woodpecker and the media attention it has attracted has been a fun distraction from everything else going on in the world.
鈥淭his small town of Rockport that I live in is one of the safest communities around,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 think this is probably one of the biggest crimes in years. It鈥檚 kind of funny, but it鈥檚 nice as well.鈥
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Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire.
