Woodpecker-damaged electricity poles have emerged as an issue in parts of Ireland's electricity network, particularly in the southeast, ESB Networks has said.
The species is a new addition to Ireland in the past 20 years and has led to increased costs for the operator.
In a statement, ESB Networks said: "In the Aughrim and Tinahely areas of Wicklow for instance, ESB Networks carried out substantial upgrade work to sections of network earlier this year, some of which required the replacement of woodpecker-damaged poles.
"This caused obvious inconvenience to customers in the area with scheduled maintenance outages, and we thank them for their understanding during the recent interruptions."
Head of Communications at Birdwatch Ireland Niall Hatch has said infrastructure may need to be adjusted to metal poles as a result.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Hatch explained that the great spotted woodpecker, which is a very common bird across Britain and most of Europe, began moving across the Irish Sea as the population in Britain had grown to such a high level.
"Woodpeckers are generally very reluctant to fly across water but having reached a point in Britain where it was impossible for these young woodpeckers to find a place to live for themselves.
"From Wales they could see Co Wicklow and from Scotland they could see Co Down and they've moved across and came into a country where there were no woodpeckers," he said.
"They had it all to themselves in that point of view or filling this vacant niche."
Mr Hatch said Birdwatch Ireland has been tracking the spread of the bird over the last 20 years in the Irish Garden Bird Survey.
"In fact, we've had increasing numbers of people reporting woodpeckers to us in their gardens over the last 10 years. In particular, we're seeing the spread away from the east coast into other parts of Ireland."
He said that woodpeckers peck on wood, excavate and nest in cavities inside tree trunks.
"And as far as they're concerned, an electricity pole made of wood, to them it's just a dead tree trunk like any other. And they think that it's a good place for them to excavate and to nest in," he said.
Mr Hatch explained that part of the issue in Ireland is that there is "a remarkably low level of tree cover".
"Very few of those trees are actually suitable for woodpeckers and there are some areas of Wicklow where it's actually quite good for them. But what they'll do is they like particularly dead or dying trees and we have very, very few of those in Ireland they tend to avoid in big numbers, at least, the big commercial plantations.
"You'll find them there, but it’s not very suitable for nesting. They're looking for more mixed woodland. The mixture of pine. They like oak, things like that, but they like, particularly for excavating their nest holes. They like to have soft wood, partially dead or dying trees, and for them, electricity pylons make a good substitute, and that may be one of the factors why this is a bigger issue in Ireland at the moment than in other parts of Europe."
Mr Hatch said that a few years ago, other countries had similar issues.
"In some parts of Scotland, in many parts of Europe where woodpeckers are common they use different type of electricity poles. You'll find metal pylons for example, in some areas where there is particularly high density of woodpeckers."
He said similar changes may have to be considered in Ireland.
"It's great to have it here. It has so many benefits for biodiversity. It creates nest holes for other birds and roosting sites for baths. And it's a wonderful bird. But we may have to adapt slightly the way in which we roll out our infrastructure to take account of this new arrival."
