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downy woodpecker fledgling

Picoides pubescens

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26.4787, -80.1432

Field Notes

Notes:

so this is one of the babies that survived the nest being cut down and grinded up from the tree trimmers. the poor babies have been placed in a downy woodpecker box and duck taped to a tree temporarily. the parents sorta came back but then left again and i haven't seen them for along time. I've been watching them a lot to make sure they are okay. Yesterday a huge cuban knight anole kept trying to eat them (his eyes were bigger than his stomach) At about ten o'clock yesterday we witnessed the dad come and possibly feed them but were not 100% sure. They seemed lively and I estimate about 15 days old since they can sense light changes rather than relying on sound. This is good because that means they are about to fledge. Today I was out checking on them when I found this guy had jumped/ fallen/ attempted flight out of the nest so I put him back on the tree since the parents were not around to protect him. He tried crawling down the tree and I called the rehabber. she said that it was still early for him to being trying to fledge and he would have accepted food if he had come out for food. She said that I should put him back in the nest box and if he jumps/ falls/ attempts flight again I should bring them both to her. Also this is the badly behaved one who steals food from his little brother he is loud and always causes trouble.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (11)
The MnMs
Thanks for the update, Jamie! Well..it is hard to say what is best. I guess the best would be to bring them to the rehab center because there they will have better equipment and vet service to assess the state of the chicks, in special of the injured one. If this is not possible, my second option if I was you would be to remove the second chick from the nest, keep feeding the first one in the nest and bring the smaller chick in my place to ty and feed him apart and if he does not respond to feeding I would try contacting a vet specialized in birds because they could help you figure out what is the problem for the birdie. In the meantime I would put a note next to the nest to say to warn people notto touch it, and that is occuppied. As for feeding I would try meal worms and for the smaller injured one it may also be possible to buy food for baby parrots which can be solubilized to make a baby pap which can be fed to the chick with a syringe (being careful that the pap is not too cold and not too hot!). Well, this is what I would try doing if I was you but indeed my first choice would be to bring them to the rehab. I once traveled from Philadelphia to Connecticut by train to bring two ducklings to someone who could take care of them so I think the happiness to have saved their lives compensates for the effort of one day trip.. But this is just my modest opinion. I hope in any case that things will turn out good for these babies..keeping fingers crossed from here! :-)
jamiewgoodspeed
thanks you guys in response to marta's comment we did feed them, one ate much more than the other. we fed them smashed crickets (the little brown kind you can get at the pet store) someone cut the tape on the box and it was dangling by a little piece of string i think someone might have thought that the box was there for no reason, its not exactly the prettiest thing in the world. they might have tried taking down the box and when they realized what was in there and left it alone. we took the box down and got more tape to fix it. i figured since they were already down i should make sure the babies were okay so i looked in the box. one bird is doing fine. when i went to feed him he jumped out of the box and flew a few feet…. so he's getting ready to fledge. the other one however isn't doing as well. it appears his leg is broken either from falling from the tree in the beginning or his larger sibling pecking on it. I'm thinking of taking him to the rehab sanctuary but its so far away! id hate to take him then a day or to later possibly have to take the other one or be told that he's perfectly fine. I want to open a wildlife rehab center so no one has to drive a zillion miles to get to one.
Rosa Maria
That's awesome that you helped them! :D You are doing all the right things. It's always best to try not to trim or take down trees during nesting season for this reason. The places where I volunteer at are receiving quite a few orphaned baby Eastern Screech Owls, woodpeckers, and other cavity-nesters because of this.
The MnMs
Wow! what a story! First of all, thanks for rescuing them! Would it not be possible that you guys try feeding them? I am sure they would accept insects and meal worms (the ones people buys for fishing). The one that was found out of the nest perhaps was very hungry and trying to find food..If the parents do not return often enough these babies will die..may be you can try and help by feeding them?
jadelynthegreat
He's adorable! That's so sad that their tree got cut down!
Sckel
Very nice. I took care of a baby bird that falls out of the nest. It was the most amazing experience of my life. I taught it to fly, and he stayed with me until the mother bird rescues him.

Spotted for Missions

Animal Young of Florida
Photographed
PublishedMay 11, 2014

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