There's a pecker in my hands

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

I was warned to watch out for snakes hiding in the brambles whenever I go on my blackberry picking outings. No one ever warned me about baby woodpeckers though.

I would have left him out there, but there was a storm rolling in, and with ants already starting to swarm him, I knew that if he stayed he'd either be overrun by ants, eaten by a snake, or taken by a cat. So I brought him to the front porch and set him up in the cleaned out pet taxi; made a little nest, made sure he had fresh water, etc.


http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh126/silancy/bird02.jpg

Read up on what to feed baby birds, and saw that wet dog food is perfect for making sure the little guy gets enough protein.
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh126/silancy/bird03.jpg

So that's what I got him, and holy moly he loved it.
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh126/silancy/bird05.jpg
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh126/silancy/bird06.jpg
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh126/silancy/bird07.jpg
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh126/silancy/bird08.jpg
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh126/silancy/bird09.jpghttp://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh126/silancy/bird10.jpg
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh126/silancy/bird11.jpg
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh126/silancy/bird01.jpg

No name yet, since I'm waiting to see if he'll last out the night. I go out and check on him every now and then, and another round of feeding is coming up. He's got probably 85% of his feathers, and what markings they have is gorgeous. Not to mention a red ring around his head, heh.

ps - woodpecker tongues are amazingly unsettling.

[Ilias Nytrau]

My mind quite clearly went in the wrong direction when I saw the title, but... this is just too cute. Hope the little guy is alright. :)

I love birds.:love

[Vipul Chandrashekar]

The debate now is whether we name him Peck, Peckerhead, Gene Simmons, or BIRD!

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Haha yeah, the thread title was Charley's idea :p

He's either a Downy or a hairy woodpecker, though we're leaning more towards a hairy woodpecker.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I think you have to name him Pecker. :p

[Kelly Perris]

I think I have to agree. :lol

[stevenvdb]

Very tweet. :p

[Khendon Sevon]

Name him Willow. Then you can call him Peck at will.

[Kazia]

It's very cool of you to take the poor thing in and take care of it. Kudos to both of you. :hug :hug

[Razielle Alastor]

Awwwww, such a cute little pecker you have. :D

[Dasquian Belargic]

Can... can I stroke it?

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Little dude died. Least it was in a nice warm spot with a full belly rather than sopping wet, cold, and eaten alive by ants.

[Redik]

:(

*hugs for Woody the Woodpecker*

[Razielle Alastor]

So sorry. :ohno

[Wyl Staedtler]

:(

Baby birds are notoriously hard to care for, no matter how awesome the people looking after them are. They just have stupidly delicate systems.

Good on you for giving him a fighting chance. :hug

[Lilaena De'Ville]

:( Sorry to hear about his passing. :hug

[Dasquian Belargic]

What a sad day for birdies.

We found a little baby bluebird, all mauled, in our back garden today... :shakefist our damn cat.

[Ilias Nytrau]

Aww. Poor birdie. :(

My sister's cat is too afraid to go outside for long enough to chase down a bird.

My father's cat seems to leave the birds alone, but has brought home 'presents' of mice in the past. O_o

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

I found the nest he came from this morning. And good grief, I'm shocked he managed to survive the fall. I'd say it was a good four stories, maybe even five stories tall. As it was, there's no doubt about it that the poor guy had internal injuries.

As far as what is brought home as presents, my old cat that still lives with my mom has a thing for baby bunnies, and will leave piles of bunny fluff on the deck in front of the door with a tail neatly placed on top.