Tweeters,



I have a puzzle that one of you may be able to help me solve.



Yesterday, my neighbor showed me some tree damage and I'm at a loss to
explain it. Her home is in a rural development. She has planted a row of
deodar cedars on her property line. The trees are now about fifteen feet
tall and have quite dense foliage. Some critter is chiseling away the bark
on the trunks and larger branches. The bark is removed in strips about a
quarter-inch wide and between one-half and one and one-half inches long.
These defects are beveled downward at the top and cut straight across on the
bottom. Small defects are square to rectangular. The heartwood has no
scratches or holes. I couldn't detect any rodent tooth marks on any of the
trees. I searched the piles of bark strips under the trees for droppings or
hair and found none. The neighbor described a nest she knocked out of one of
the trees. It was composed of cedar fans woven together, enclosed, wide at
the top and tapering at the bottom. I searched the wreckage of this nest
and, once again, found no hair or droppings. Does the nest belong to the
culprit?



I'd appreciate any input into this mystery. My thoughts are; woodpeckers?
Rodents? Please note that we don't have porcupines or mountain beavers on
our part of Whidbey Island. Norway rats have been seen on the property. None
of the neighbors have seen grey squirrels in the neighborhood.



Thanks!



Dave Parent, Freeland, WA