On Sat, 17 Sep 2005 17:19:17 -0400 Bill Coleman <aa4lr@arrl.net> writes:
>
> Managed to squeeze in an hour on a busy Saturday to do a little
> tower
> work. I removed the rotator so I could lower my A3S down for an A743
>
> upgrade.
>
> The interesting moment came when I went to raise the mast up so I
> could pull out the rotator. I unbolted the rotator clamp, then
> raised
> the mast with a screwdriver. Soon I get a lapfull of acorns. In my
> 2"
> aluminum mast, there must have been hundreds of them.
>
> When I pulled out the rotator, I was greeted with about a hundred
> more. The top of the mast is uncapped. Apparently, birds have taken
>
> to dropping the acorns into the mast, thinking they'll come back and
>
> dig them out of the hole. Unfortunately, the acorns drop
> irretrivably
> 9 feet down to the rotator.
Perhaps your tower has been designated as a "granary tree" by a local
Acorn Woodpecker (Google it).
Here is an article excerpt:
------------------------------
All members of an Acorn Woodpecker group spend large amounts of time
storing acorns. Acorns typically are stored in holes drilled into a
single tree, called a granary tree. One granary tree may have up to
50,000 holes in it, each of which is filled with an acorn in autumn.
The Acorn Woodpecker will use human-made structures to store acorns,
drilling holes in fence posts, utility poles, buildings, and even
automobile radiators. Occasionally the woodpecker will put acorns into
places where it cannot get them out. Woodpeckers put 220 kg (485 lb) of
acorns into a wooden water tank in Arizona. In parts of its range the
Acorn Woodpecker does not construct a granary tree, but instead stores
acorns in natural holes and cracks in bark. If the stores are eaten, the
woodpecker will move to another area, even going from Arizona to Mexico
to spend the winter.
------------------------------
There are quite a few of the "granary trees" around here, pine trees with
thousands of woodpecker holes.
Dave Hachadorian, K6LL
Big Bear Lake, CA
_______________________________________________
See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather
Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions
and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
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