David always jokes that we have a soccer team of pets between the cats, the dogs, the horses and the goats. Three hours ago this little beauty smacked into our kitchen window and landed with one wing outstretched on our deck. Her neck looked fine and her eyes were bright so I held her in a towel until she stopped panting. When I opened the towel she skittered across the deck, flapped haphazardly down the 10 foot drop, and proceeded to skitter across the lawn and into the horse paddock. I managed to get the towel back over her and now she is in soft-sided dog crate sipping water and snacking on sunflower meats. We'll hold her for observation overnight, so keep your fingers crossed for a safe flight tomorrow.
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5 comments:
Is that a woodpecker?
Is there a wildlife rehab place near you? They would be glad to take it if you can't. I know around here we are REQUIRED to turn certain animals over to rehab due to rarity, special needs, or other reasons (some squirrels in SoCal have fleas that carry BUBONIC PLAGUE!). And dead birds should be turned over to vector control... When my male parakeet died suddenly I turned his poor little body over to them. They only tell you if there IS a problem, so I guess his old heart gave out.
Broken wings can be easy to 'fix', as long as there isn't obvious deformity or protrusion. A splint tied on will stabilize it, and as long as you can confine it in a safe place, and don't let it try to flap or fly for a few weeks, it should recover ok... But you'll have to get bugs and such for it!
Good luck!!
Nice looking flicker. Hope he/she recovers.
My sister-in-law thought she was a flicker from description alone, and Liz has confirmed it. Said sister-in-law is a vet and she advised to see how her vertical flight is doing tomorrow, and to bring her to a rehab center if she still can't go upwards. She also advised to feed canned dog food mixed with water through a syringe -- gross! The little lady is looking very perky this evening, so I feel optimistic about her long-term outlook.
I didn't know flickers had such big horns! Pretty, though. Wishing for a speedy recovery.
David's brother (an avid birder) confirms this to be a female red-shafted flicker (a member of the woodpecker family, so Brandy was kind of correct). They hop around eating ants on the ground, mostly. Our is looking perky this morning and we will see how she flies when I get home from some errands.
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