Juvenile Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker

Leo and I were out for a stroll when we happened upon a woodpecker furiously flapping its wings but seemingly unable to fly. We gently placed the bird back in a tree but it couldn’t hang on and fell back down to earth.

I scooped it up and tucked him gently into the folds of the stroller sun shade. Apparently, in many species of birds (including Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers such as this), juveniles spend a few days foraging on the ground before getting their fly on. This one seemed pretty lively and full of attitude so I released him into some backyard shrubs and hoped for the best.

I was pretty dismayed to see him in the same area the next day. He would drag himself around the yard by flapping his wings, and tried in vain to climb up the picnic table (among other things). As I gingerly guided him toward a more appropriate ‘tree’ the sapsucker pecked at me and told me in no uncertain terms to buzz off. Though he had been hanging out on the ground for over 24 hours he seemed no worse for the wear so I let him be.

Later that afternoon I noticed my feathered friend had made his way into one of our pine trees (see photo). He scooted up and down the trunk of this tree for hours, seeming to delight in pecking and sharpening his beak!

Many thanks to the Manitoba Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre for putting some great info on their website on what to do if you find an injured bird!