Opportunity Knocks
One of our clients called our Service Team this fall with an interesting problem. It seemed a pileated woodpecker had become a frequent visitor to their backyard. This was mostly a good thing, because our clients are nature lovers. The new house we built for them several years ago is surrounded by a naturalistic garden of native plants with a stream running through it. The house has huge walls of glass, perfect for observing wildlife in the garden. The pileated woodpecker was putting on a stunning show.
One of the more unusual features of the garden is an ancient cedar stump that juts into the air near the back patio. A pipe runs up the inside of the trunk to an embedded showerhead, making it possible to take an outdoor shower. The problem was, the woodpecker was pecking holes near the top of the stump. What to do to keep the bird from damaging the stump shower . . . without in any way hurting the bird!
Our client suggested that perhaps there was an opportunity to introduce some art into the solution. A little back-and-forth between her and one of our Service managers, and it was decided to block access to the pecked-out holes with bronze leaves that might appear to have floated in on a breeze. If the woodpecker returned, it would not be able to reach the old holes; if it started new holes, we could move the leaves or add a few more. It was worth a try.
The hero of this little tale is metalwork artisan Bart Turner, who runs a fabrication shop in Ballard called Flying Anvil Studio. Bart crafted three beautiful leaves that are unobtrusive from a distance and delightful upon closer inspection. They glint in the sunlight and radiate life. No further woodpecker damage has been reported.
