Can anyone help?? I think there's a hurt bird ( downy woodpecker ) in my yard :( (1 Viewer)

[syd2915]

Downy woodpecker hurt? Acting abnormal

The link above is a video I took about 30 mins ago (9:10) a.m. of this downy woodpecker acting strange. He comes to my yard everyday, multiple times a day and I have never seen him not only act like this but nor have I seen his feathers ruffled up like that. I don't know how long he's been sitting there, I found him like that when I woke up but he sat there for at least 15 mins from the time that I saw him at least. He flew away eventually but I'm not sure what to do if there even is anything I can do. I don't want to scare him by grabbing him because my yard is a little sanctuary for him but I don't want something to happen to him either. I'm hoping he'll come back later today.

 

[01101001]

Maybe it ruffled its feathers because of the cold. If it has enough food & drink and is able to fly away on its own, I don't think there's much you could do--catching it could hurt it rather than do good, indeed.

 

[syd2915]

Maybe it ruffled its feathers because of the cold. If it has enough food & drink and is able to fly away on its own, I don't think there's much you could do--catching it could hurt it rather than do good, indeed.

Thanks

Maybe it ruffled its feathers because of the cold. If it has enough food & drink and is able to fly away on its own, I don't think there's much you could do--catching it could hurt it rather than do good, indeed.

Thanks for letting me know. I just updated the link. If you wouldn't mind could you click on it and let me know if it works now? Thanks so much

 

[01101001]

Maybe the shivering that I can see at the beginning of the clip is also due to the cold. Although it appears to be quite warm in Georgia now, certainly not sub-zero. No idea then. Maybe your local humane society knows something about it (that's the usual piece of advice one gives in such situations, although I'm not sure if it helps this time).

EDIT: Having a temperature/fever??

 

[syd2915]

Maybe the shivering that I can see at the beginning of the clip is also due to the cold. Although it appears to be quite warm in Georgia now, certainly not sub-zero. No idea then. Maybe your local humane society knows something about it (that's the usual piece of advice one gives in such situations, although I'm not sure if it helps this time).

Yea I'm not sure. I've just never seen him do that even on days colder they today. Very odd . I'm hoping he comes back soon and see if his feathers are still all ruffled up like that. I also had the thought of maybe something tried to get him? And possibly hurt his leg and/or barely got away , I can't think of any obvious reason that's for sure. In the video you can also see that he's twitching too . See if this link works for you

 

[01101001]

Both links work just fine. Here's a paper I've found, but I don't know much about medicine, so my assessment might be wrong altogether. (No need to read it in full, probably.)

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/41620811_Body_temperature_and_fever_in_a_free-living_bird

 

[syd2915]

Both links work just fine. Here's a paper I've found, but I don't know much about medicine, so my assessment might be wrong altogether. (No need to read it in full, probably.)

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/41620811_Body_temperature_and_fever_in_a_free-living_bird

Cool thanks!

 

[delia todd]

Hi Syd and a warm welcome to you from all the Staff and Moderators. First: your first video doesn't work for me, but the later one does.

Unfortunately, we are not vets here, so really can't give a diagnosis or professional advice. We do have some general guidelines here for the care of injured and baby birds, but not sure it's really applicable to you at the moment, though maybe you'll find something there which might help if you do manage to catch him if he gets worse. Is it cold where you are? As Karol's first thought could be correct.

Good luck - please let us know how he gets on.

 

[01101001]

First: your first video doesn't work for me, but the later one does.

Ahh, yes, sorry--I meant the link at the very top, which works. The video at the bottom of the first post with the nuthatch has a grey screen and requires that you click 'Watch on YouTube'. The other embedded video, on the other hand, has a fully functional thumbnail.