In this case, closing the holes meant removing the bird's access to the enormous hidden cavities.
The woodpecker could then seek a more appropriate location for its food-storage behavior.
The Bird Wasn't the Villain
It would be easy to frame a story like this as a battle between a homeowner and a destructive animal.
But that misses one of its most interesting aspects.
The woodpecker wasn't behaving maliciously.
It didn't know the siding belonged to someone.
It didn't understand construction, property boundaries, repair costs, or wall cavities.
It simply recognized a surface that could be used.
Wild animals make decisions based on survival opportunities.
Does this place offer shelter?
Can food be found here?
Is there somewhere to nest?
Can something valuable be stored safely?
Human buildings often accidentally answer "yes" to one or more of those questions.
An attic may resemble a protected nesting space.
A chimney can resemble a hollow tree.
A gap beneath a deck can provide shelter.
And, apparently, holes in siding can look like excellent places to hide acorns.
The conflict begins because the animal and homeowner assign completely different meanings to the same space.
Wildlife Is Remarkably Good at Adapting to Human Environments
This incident also illustrates something broader about wildlife.
Animals can be remarkably adaptable.
As towns, suburbs, roads, and homes expand into natural habitats, many species learn to take advantage of human-built environments.
Some birds nest on buildings.
Other animals use sheds, crawl spaces, roofs, garages, drainage systems, or landscaping for shelter and food.
These adaptations aren't necessarily deliberate in the human sense.
Animals simply exploit opportunities that help them survive.
The California house offered the woodpecker an unusual opportunity: a surface into which it could place food and a vast hidden cavity behind it.
The bird couldn't understand that the cavity belonged to a house.
It simply discovered something that appeared useful and continued using it.
That is what makes the story simultaneously funny, fascinating, and frustrating.