Pole-wrecker woodpeckers blamed for power outages as crews repair damaged electricity infrastructure

Rising numbers of woodpeckers, new to this country over the past 20 years, are proving a big headache and an increasing cost for the State’s electricity network operator.

Relentless pecking at ESB poles by the great spotted woodpecker – becoming increasingly spotted in the country, across Leinster and as far afield as Kerry and Mayo – has emerged as a problem in parts of the ESB network, particularly in the southeast.

Woodpecker-damaged electricity poles have even led to power outages as ESB crews work to repair the damage caused by the “drumming” by the hard-beaked bird.

ESB Networks confirmed that “performance issues” can occur in parts of the network from time to time as a result of birdlife damage to electricity poles.

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“In the Aughrim and Tinahely areas of Wicklow, for instance, ESB Networks carried out substantial upgrade work to sections of network earlier this year, some of which required the replacement of woodpecker-damaged poles,” said a spokesman for the company.

“This caused obvious inconvenience to customers in the area, with scheduled maintenance outages, and we thank them for their understanding during the recent interruptions.”

The woodpecker’s “drumming” can lead to holes in poles, which leaves the wood vulnerable to rot, forcing the network to remove and replace the poles, resulting in the scheduled power outages.

Earlier this year, ESB Networks told a meeting of Wexford County Council’s Rosslare Municipal District that woodpecker damage to poles was “a big issue” in the southeast.

“They’re starting to migrate further inland and, from an ESB perspective, we’re inundated with this type of damage,” said an ESB spokesman.

[ Hot on the trail of the Wicklow woodpecker ]

Woodpecker sightings were first recorded in Ireland 20 years ago, as a food shortage drove the bird south and west from their traditional home in Scandinavia.

Woodpeckers were found to be breeding in Co Down in 2007, according to the Irish Naturalists’ Journal, while the bird was spotted in Cape Clear, Co Cork and the Saltee Islands off Co Wexford in 2008.

Brian Burke, scientific officer with Birdwatch Ireland, said there were probably about 100 nests in the Republic. The birds would normally be reluctant to cross the Irish Sea, he said, but they have started to appear across the State following a dramatic growth in numbers in the UK in recent years.

“They have been seen as far away as Kerry and Mayo but they would be most concentrated in Leinster and, inside that, around counties Wicklow and Wexford,” he said.

Woodpeckers are protected legally and their nests should not be interfered with, said Mr Burke.

He said the birds’ drumming on poles was a territorial signal, warning others to keep away and were a sign of a healthy forest.