For months I watched the woodpeckers hollow out the telephone pole in front of my house to build their new home. The problem was that the hole they were working on was their fourth attempt at nest making and I wondered just how many holes that pole could take before it snapped. I wondered if male woodpeckers face the same problems as male weaver birds (Ploceidae), which have to “try, try again” until their lady loves say, “Yes, this is perfect for my nest.”
Woodpecker homemaking seems to involve more destruction than construction and I’m amazed their species is still with us.
The day after the telephone pole broke in two, Telmex came out and replaced it – with a brand new wooden pole identical to the previous one.
“Isn’t that funny,” I said to our sagacious gardener, Don Pancho. “You’d think they’d put up a concrete pole, wouldn’t you?”
*Restricted Article* - To view rest of this content, please login or register..
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
