Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Not a Casualty!

So there I was, sitting in front of the big picture window, watching Bones, when I see something out of the corner of my eye and then here a big THUNK.  Then I hear something moving around out on the porch.  By the time I got out of the chair, I could see something on the front step.  At this point, I'm thinking 'oh crap, our first casualty' - because birds hit that window all the time.

So, I grab a towel to wrap the bird in and head out.  There on the step is a red-bellied woodpecker lying on his back, blinking up at me.  I wrap him in the towel and carry him to the trunk of my car - as a flat space to evaluate him from. 

He laid there while I checked his wings and his neck and his belly.  Nothing felt broken.  I tried to get him to sit on the towel, but he kept tipping over, so I held him in my hand with his feet wrapped around my finger like a branch.  I petted him and talked to him.  I walked him over to the birdfeeder and tried to get him interested in some suet, but he was too stunned.

Over the course of 15-20 minutes, he slowly got more alert.  The other birds chirping got his attention, which I took as a good sign.  Eventually, he hopped off of my finger to the back of my hand, and then whoosh, he took off.  Hanging off the side of the big oak, he still looked a little stunned, so I gave him space for a few more minutes.  Then I slowly walked toward where he was hanging.  As I got closer, he scooted higher until I was right next to the tree and he was up at the crown.  They he went up into the leaves. 

I told him not to flew into the window anymore.  Let's hope he listens.  I would be sad if he didn't.

Have I mentioned how much I love living here? 

10 comments:

  1. Wow! Talk about a close encounter of the wild kind. That's amazing, B.E. And very, very cool.

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    1. Definitely cool. I just wish Hubs hadn't been napping, so he could see Buddy, too. (We call all Red-Bellied Woodpeckers 'Buddy'.)

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  2. Good thing it was a woodpecker. His head is specially built for daily concussions. Probably not as severe as what he just experienced, but a lesser built bird would've died.

    My entire house is surrounded by floor to ceiling windows. We had accidents (and deaths) all the time until I invested in shades.

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    1. Absolutely, Maria. I think if he hadn't been built with a hard head and a stiff neck, he'd be buried in the back now. We do have curtains on those windows, but they still fly into it. It's the reflection of the oak on the glass. They keep trying to fly to that image of a tree.

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  3. I'm so glad you were home and got to him before any of your other 'residents' did! I hate it when birds hit the windows - I have heard that if you tape foil pie plates to the windows, the reflection (shiny) will be enough to stop the birds from thinking there's a tree there.

    In our 'Nature News', we have a robin who's built a nest in the wood shed - The Husband has been fixing the shed/woodshed, so I'm out there every day to make sure babies are fine and parents are returning when work has been completed (also making sure The Husband is not working for hours on end so parents can get back regularly).

    Isn't living in the 'country' fabulous?

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    1. Yep, Janet, it was a huge 'whew' moment. The only thing worse than finding it dead from hitting the window would've been finding it munched. I don't know about taping anything to the window - although I did consider the idea of window clings.

      Yay for your robin nest! I'll keep my fingers crossed they all fledge out and fly away.

      It's definitely fabulous. =o)

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  4. I don't know where you live but it sounds fascinating. And how cool to actually hold a woodpecker! Good to know he's OK now though. Last time I heard a loud banging it was the Police raiding my next door neighbour - on a Sunday morning too. I want you to know I live in a usually peaceful block of flats so this was unexpected. Scary as anything but at the same time totally absorbing to see "CSI" in action as they search through the plants outside my windows! You definitely got the better deal ...

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    1. Southwest of Springfield, Missouri, U.S., Fran. In the Ozark mountains. It's pretty much country living out here.

      LOL, and that's partly why we moved away from cities - to escape the sound of police raids and neighbor noise. CSI in action would be cool, though. ;o)

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    2. I just googled you and it looks like a lovely part of the US. I can definitely see why you moved there. One day when money is not such an issue I'd like to visit the US and I'll put Springfield on my bucket list, along with Savannah, New Orleans, Hamilton, Boonsboro, the Cascades and a million other places I've read about. My town is north west of London - by train its 55 minutes to the city - but we're in the heart of Chilterns so its surroundings are rural and very green.

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    3. It is gorgeous here, Fran. And there are a lot of beautiful places in the U.S. to visit. I've always wanted to see the UK. The countryside looks lovely there, too.

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