Tree damage

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M

mustash29

Minister of Fire
Feb 6, 2012
701
SE CT
Standing dead pin oak due to caterpillar damage a few years ago.

I'm 5'9" so this is about 7+ feet off the ground.

WTF did this to this tree?

Bullwinkle? We've seen moose while sledding in Maine but have never seen moose in SE CT.

Bambi's daddy? We have deer in the area but we haven't see any bucks with big racks. And it would have to be a huge rack.

I'm thinking it's Woody Wood Pecker? I've seen about a half dozen little guys fluttering around, but they are the size of little sparrows, nothing bigger than a robin.

[Hearth.com] Tree damage
 
Interesting....
Coyote or wolves or bear? Got a game camera you could set up? Starting at ground level doesn't seem like a bird typically? But I really don't know?
 
Reminds me of porcupine damage that I've seen. Not sure if that's it?
 
mustash29 said:
I'm thinking it's Woody Wood Pecker? I've seen about a half dozen little guys fluttering around, but they are the size of little sparrows, nothing bigger than a robin.
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It looks like Woody Woodpecker damage on a large scale. Woody Woodpecker was based on the Pileated woodpecker, they're not the little guys you've seen, they're much larger and can do some serious damage.

How's the bark on the rest of the tree, is it loose enough to peel some off with your fingers?

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At first I was thinking black bear clawing at it, then I saw the little patch of missing bark on the low left of the pic, and then noticed that all the shredded area's were more or less the same depth which makes me think woodpecker.
 
Woodpecker for sure. As long as there are bugs beneath the bark the packers will get them. Even at the base of the tree. Time to take that tree down.
 
Pileated woodpecker For sure. Have some dead standing Maples in my bush
and the Pileated woodpecker takes big chunks out of them from top to bottom
You would almost think someone with an axe went at the tree
 
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My first thought was a moose shedding its velvet. Woodpecker possibly but at least in my part of the world, the pileated woodpeckers put some holes in the trunk as well, not just stopping at the bark layer. I suppose that it depends on where the insect is living.
 
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Rock Crusher said:
Reminds me of porcupine damage that I've seen. Not sure if that's it?
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After looking up porcupine damage, it does look like that, apparently there are some porcupine in Connecticut, but rarely. A game camera as mentioned would be a good idea.
 
That's almost certainly Pileated woodpecker. We've had them for years in my woods and they raised a family this year. They're fun to watch and listen calling to each other. A pileated can turn a tree branch into mulch in an hour or so, no sweat, and I've watched one work over a rotting stump and turn it into chips and powder over the course of a couple days. They're gigantic as woodpeckers go, 16+ inches tall, and have chisel beaks.
 
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