Derek,

The holes you describe were made by a sapsucker
http://www.ancientforest.org/sapsucker.jpg Although sapsuckers are members
of the woodpecker family, they feed on living trees, because it's the sap
(and the insects it attracts) that is their target. To the best of my
knowledge, sapsuckers don't usually kill the trees they're using -- after
all, if the tree died, there would be no more sap!

[in response to a subsequent post] Interestingly, when I walked near my
blooming Bradford Pear yesterday, I would have sworn that it had a very
subtle, pleasant odor -- although I had not noticed it in previous years.
My tree survived the ice storm intact, surprisingly, so I did not need to
worry about trimming it. It also seems to be popular with the birds in my
yard, who *seemed* to be eating the buds, but were probably after insects &
caterpillars in the tree. And, frankly, since the tree is a favored perch
of the bluebirds nesting in the box next to it, there's no way I'd cut it
down!

Anne Lurie
[somewhere east of Tom G. ]

"Derek Mark Edding" wrote in message
...
Hi Folks,

While doing yardwork yesterday, I happened to notice a strange pattern
on the trunk of the large Bradford Pear tree we have in our front yard.
This tree is about 12 years old, less than a foot through at the
thickest part.

Anyway, what I noticed was that there were literally thousands of holes
through the bark of the tree, evenly spaced in circles all the way
around the trunk. They start at ankle height and go higher than my
head, where the lowest branches start.

They're about the size of a pencil eraser and go in maybe twice as deep.
It looked as if there wasn't even a square inch without this pattern
of holes in it over the entire main trunk.

The tree doesn't appear to be sick otherwise. It blooms completely
every year - in fact it's in bloom right now. Up until the big ice
storm in December it hadn't lost any branches, other than the low ones
I've trimmed. During the ice storm it lost a few large branches from
higher up, but it still looks full and healthy.

I'm not sure the damage was done by a woodpecker because I haven't seen
it happening, but the regular pattern makes me think that's what it is.
It's taken less than a year because I look at this tree fairly often,
and this is the first I've noticed it. When I was clearing away the
broken branches in December I didn't see them.

I'm wondering if the tree is likely to die from all this damage, and if
anyone can confirm that there are neurotic, single-track minded
woodpeckers that do this!

Thanks,

-dreq