Downey Woodpecker

On Sunday morning, we were enjoying a quiet cup of coffee and the newspapers when we heard a bang.  It sounded like it came from the other side of the house--a painting had fallen off the wall?? the ladder had fallen over?? We started to investigate.

All the bookshelves were still upright and the books were all where I'd shelved them. Paintings were in place and all stuff on the walls was still on the walls.  I gave up.  Retired Guy went outside and soon was motioning me onto the deck.  "The Pileated"  he gasped and pointed to the ground beside the deck.  Thankfully, it wasn't the Pileated.  It was a Downey Woodpecker that had crashed into the window (I think the Pileated would have come right on thru and out the other side).  He looked to be quite dead--possibly a broken neck. 

But soon, he was sitting up and blinking rapidly and saying "What the heck?" to himself. 

Within a few minutes, the sound of my auto-focus beep was enough to get him to glare at me, and I'm sure he was saying "Get that camera out of my face, woman."

Shortly thereafter, he was sitting on a tree beside the house. By the time we left to return to York, he had flown away. 

(I did take the time to put multiple neon post-it notes on every window before left. It looks a little silly, but it was all we had and it should keep the little guys safe. Also, they can leave us notes and reminders to buy bird seed and suet and such.) 

Comments

[Z]

Oh, I'm glad he was okay.
I've seen a Pileated over here before - they're huge!

[Melissa]

I'm so glad too. I was wracked with guilt....
Aren't the Pileated's wonderful?