When birds go bad: Northern flickers peck away at Vernon's arts centre
Regional district budgets $150,000 to woodpecker-proof exterior stucco walls from nesting marauders
The Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre has some unexpected vandals racking up thousands of dollars in damages.
Woodpeckers — northern flickers to be exact — are pecking into the exterior of the building, plucking out insulation and making nests in the Northern Okanagan city.
Tannis Nelson, community services manager for the Regional District of North Okanagan, says this isn't the first time the building has been targeted by the birds — and the damage is adding up fast.
"The big issue for us, besides the aesthetic concerns is that these holes expose the interior layers of the building to moisture and put it at risk of more significant damage," Nelson said.
The art centre is not the only building to be under attack in the area, but Nelson thinks part of the problem lies in the building's close proximity to a creek and the materials used on its exterior.
The outside of the building was finished using layers of insulation covered by waterproofed stucco which is easy for the flickers' beaks to poke through.
"They are starting to infiltrate areas around the doors and while they build their nests, they actually make quite a mess with the insulation as they're burrowing through," said Nelson.
A recurring problem
This issue is not new for the arts centre. Nelson says they had a similar problem in 2012 when woodpeckers focused their rapt attention on the top half of the building. The district fixed that problem by installing mesh under the stucco to stop the woodpeckers from getting at the insulation.
"Now that they're here, having experienced it five years ago, we know they're not going anywhere," Nelson said.
This time, they are looking for a different solution. The district has budgeted $150,000 and put out a request for proposals to fix it..
Nelson says theatre operations haven't so far been interrupted by any rat-a-tat-tatting and they will do their best to minimize impact on shows once repairs are underway.
"At this point we've been fortunate, the noise hasn't really impacted any of our performances, but they can hear it from inside of the building."
With files from Daybreak South