The woodpecker that really loved acorns

ESL Lessons: True Stories

A printable worksheet for story-based English conversation classes.

Difficulty: Elementary A2

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Warm-up

Do you know what a woodpecker is? (Yes, it's a bird that...)

Vocabulary Match

discovery •• find
spoil •• about
roughly •• smart
intelligence •• go bad
environments •• changeable
adaptable •• surroundings

Vocabulary Answers

discoveryfind
spoilgo bad
roughlyabout
intelligencesmart
environmentssurroundings
adaptablechangeable

True Story

Listen and fill in the blanks with words from above.

In 2009 near San Luis Obispo, California, workers at a phone antenna made a surprising ________. Inside the antenna, they found about 300 pounds (136 kilograms) of acorns. That's ________ 50,000 acorns! These were stored by acorn woodpeckers, a type of bird known for their ________.

Walter Koenig, who studies birds, explains that these woodpeckers usually hide one acorn at a time in tree holes. But in this case, they filled the antenna with a huge number of acorns. Storing too many together can ________ them.

Acorn woodpeckers are common in parts of California. They are known for being clever and ________. AT&T, the phone company, said the acorns blocked their wireless signal. After clearing the acorns, the signal worked again. AT&T then made the antenna stronger to stop birds from doing this again. This story is a great example of how nature can adapt to human ________.

In 2009 near San Luis Obispo, California, workers at a phone antenna made a surprising discovery. Inside the antenna, they found about 300 pounds (136 kilograms) of acorns. That's roughly 50,000 acorns! These were stored by acorn woodpeckers, a type of bird known for their intelligence.

Walter Koenig, who studies birds, explains that these woodpeckers usually hide one acorn at a time in tree holes. But in this case, they filled the antenna with a huge number of acorns. Storing too many together can spoil them.

Acorn woodpeckers are common in parts of California. They are known for being clever and adaptable. AT&T, the phone company, said the acorns blocked their wireless signal. After clearing the acorns, the signal worked again. AT&T then made the antenna stronger to stop birds from doing this again. This story is a great example of how nature can adapt to human environments.

Quiz

  1. Where was the surprising discovery made?
  2. Why were there acorns in the antenna?
  3. How do woodpeckers usually store acorns?
  4. What did AT&T do after clearing the acorns?

Quiz Answers (examples)

  1. The surprising discovery was made near San Luis Obispo, California.
  2. They were stored by acorn woodpeckers.
  3. They usually hide one acorn at a time in tree holes.
  4. AT&T made the antenna stronger to stop birds from doing this again.

True or False

  1. The acorns were found by Walter Koenig. T F
  2. Acorn woodpeckers are known for being smart and adaptable. T F
  3. AT&T said the acorns did not affect their wireless signal. T F

True or False Answers

  1. False
  2. True
  3. False

Conversation

A:Hey, come check this out. Something's not right here.
B:What's going on? Is the antenna stuck?
A:No, it's actually filled with acorns! Have you seen this?
B:Wow, those birds have been busy!
A:Well, we better clean this up and fix the antenna.
B:Yeah, but what are we going to do with 50,000 acorns?

Discussion

  1. Have you ever seen a woodpecker?
  2. Can you think of other animals that store food?
  3. Do you collect anything?
  4. When you were a child, did you ever hide anything?

Further Reading

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/151113-antenna-cache-acorn-woodpecker-california

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