Friday, November 27, at about 10:30 am I was busy cleaning the bathrooms when
Bryan (aka Dad of Angle Madi)(BU) came to tell me a Male Downy Woodpecker flew into our back door and was on the door mat. I dropped everything (but forgot to take off my gloves). We quickly went out see if we could help it. I gently picked it up..it was alert but very stunned and breathing
hard. Males have a gorgeous red spot on the top of their heads.
Bryan gently stroked its back and head, after about 5 minutes we felt like Mr. Downy was going to be ok. I asked Bryan to go get the camera.
When Bryan came back onto the porch Mr. Downy was more alert.
I was prepared to stand there as long as it took for him to regain his balance.
He was breathing easier
Then he stood up in my hand.
Started to turn his head a bit looking at us
I think if he could have spoken he would have tweeted
I felt like he was about to fly and lo and behold he took off landing right where the red arrow is pointing in our very colorful Maple tree.
What an honor it was to hold this precious bird 'til he felt like he could fly. He had an amazing tongue. Very long and narrow and pointed on the end, the better to catch insects with too!!
This photo is from Gigi Google
The downy woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) is a species of woodpecker, the smallest in North America.
Favorite Felines Under the Christmas Tree
Madi never got in the tree...probably too undignified for a Diva.
However she was obsessed with bows. I'm purrty sure kitty slobber would would
petrified anything. Usually the bows were stiff as a board.
Madi loved sitting on this beautiful tree skirt crocheted by
Dad of Madi's Mom, Margie
Milky-Way was a tree climber. We always put our tree up a few days w/o decorations
so that he could get the climbing out of his system.
His first Christmas he was about 6 months old. We come home one day to find
him about 3/4 of the way up sitting on a limb happy as a clam.