ROCKPORT, Mass. (AP) — Rockport residents have a history of fighting off invaders, but not this time.
During the War of 1812, townsfolk in the tiny fishing village hurled rocks at British soldiers using their stockings as slings. Now, they’re slinging trash bags and towels over the side mirrors of their cars to protect them from a destructive and determined pileated woodpecker.
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I've got one of those suckers working over an old pecan stump in the backyard as I'm typing this out. It's by far the biggest woodpecker I've ever seen, just a little over a foot tall, and it's not ratta-tat-tatting like any other woodpecker, it's just ripping chunks of dead wood out of the stump and flinging it over its back.
