In response to the outcry, the Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to survey the area's woodpecker population and determine whether the killing of 50 birds authorized under the current one-year permit is appropriate.
The permit, which gives the two homeowners associations until May to kill the birds, is based on the retirement community's unscientific estimate that 500 woodpeckers live in the woods around Rossmoor.
Taylor calls that number a "gross exaggeration."
Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Alexandra Pitts said the agency accepted the community's estimate without doing its own count.
"We don't issue depredation permits lightly," she said. "We were given a number, but we have come to wonder about the validity of that number."
Rossmoor, about 20 miles east of San Francisco, is a gated enclave within the city of Walnut Creek, where the average age is 76 and two-thirds of the residents are women. Built in stages over the last 45 years, it has a population of 9,300. There are two golf courses, and more than half the community's 2,200 acres is open space.
Woodpeckers didn't pose a problem until about seven years ago, when the last homes were built on a ridge overlooking steep canyons with hundreds of oak trees.
The developer used Styrofoam covered by a thin layer of stucco for window frames and other decorative trim. The woodpeckers soon found that pecking holes in the trim was easier than boring into an oak.
The problem was compounded three years ago when Rossmoor began clearing dead wood from the canyons to minimize the risk of wildfires. That reduced the number of places where the birds could store their acorns.
Rossmoor estimates the woodpeckers have bored more than 3,000 holes in the buildings. Some days, the woodpeckers hammer for hours. The birds also have a habit of dropping acorns into roof gutters and vents.
The community has 16 homeowners associations, but the two plagued by the birds bear the cost of deterrence and repairs -- about $170,000 thus far. Replacing the window frames and trim could prove even more expensive.
Audubon California says one solution would be to build wooden "granaries" where the birds could store their acorns. The group offered to help the homeowners design and construct them.
One association agreed to stop killing the birds, but the other voted 3 to 2 last month to continue. In response, Audubon California withdrew its offer of help.
Fearing a deluge of critical e-mails and phone calls, the three board members declined interview requests. Orum said the board took its stand in part because it didn't like outsiders telling it what to do.
Some in the community believe the board made the wrong choice.
Diane Freeman lives in a unit overlooking the canyon, with giant oaks nearby.
Woodpeckers visit her house frequently, and there are dozens of holes in her walls. But she says she enjoys watching them and doesn't want them killed.
"I think it's ridiculous," she said. "It's not going to help. If you kill some, others will take their place. The board made the decision. They didn't ask anyone's opinion."
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richard.paddock@latimes.com
