Being a repair person can be a difficult job. They often come into random situations without being given much information and are expected to immediately diagnose and fix the problem. Most of the time, this is pretty easy; the problem is pretty straightforward and easy enough to solve. Other times the cause can be elusive; and in rarer circumstances, it can be downright bizarre.
They often come into random situations without being given much information and are expected to immediately diagnose and fix whatever problem has occurred. Most of the time, this is pretty easy; the problem is pretty straightforward and simple enough to solve. Other times the cause can be more elusive; and in rarer circumstances, it can be downright bizarre.
That’s what happened to one group of antennae technicians who were called to the Bear Creek Microwave site in Central California to fix a malfunctioning microwave antenna.
When the technicians arrived they noticed that the cover of the antenna was bulging out. So to them, this was an obvious place to start.
In a video filmed by the technicians and uploaded to YouTube in February of 2009, you can see one of the workers in a lifted bucket pulling off the antenna cover.
As the cover comes away from the backing, you can see stuff start to fall…
And it just keeps falling.
According to the technicians, some kind of animal had stuffed the antenna with over 300 POUNDS of acorns— but experts don’t think a squirrel is behind the job.
Walter Koenig, a senior scientist with the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, says (via National Geographic) this acorn stash is likely the work of Melanerpes formicivorus— or the acorn woodpecker.
National Geographic says acorn woodpeckers are found in a large part of Central and Northern California, as well as Oregon, Washington, and Colorado. And they are known for causing mass amounts of property damage.
Koenig says acorn woodpeckers hide nuts to protect them from thieving animals. Hiding them in this manner also keeps them nice and dry.
The number of nuts found in the antenna isn’t surprising either. Nationional Geographic says acorn woodpeckers have been known to hide as many as 50,000 acorns in a single Redwood tree.
As the technicians’ video demonstrates, however, they will also sometimes hide the entire stash in the same hole or compartment— like the one contained in the antenna.
Koenig thinks that whatever woodpecker was filling this antenna had likely been doing so for the past 5 years.
Luckily, according to Jim Greer, a spokesperson for AT&T California, the owners of the antenna, “As soon as the acorns were released, the signal came right back on.”
Since being uploaded on YouTube, the technicians’ amazingly bizarre video has been viewed more than 3 million times.
Watch it for yourself below!
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