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Colaptes auratus
A male Yellow-shafted Flicker showing light brown face, red nape crescent, yellow shafts, and black malar.
Local Metropark. Woodland trail surrounded by several small lakes
As I was leaving one of our local metroparks one evening, I just happened to look in my rear view mirror as a pickup truck passed by and I saw something that looked like a small bird go over its windshield and fall to the ground. When I turned around to investigate, I found this little guy sitting upright in the middle of the road with his eyes open and blinking. I didn't want to leave him there to get run over by the next passing vehicle, so I picked him up and and sat with him while, trying to think of any place I could bring him. He seemed very calm (probably in shock) and I saw no signs of external injury. After about 15-20 minutes, he seemed to start snapping out of it... and then just suddenly jumped up and flew away.
Spotted on Jun 19, 2021
Submitted on Sep 21, 2021
3 Comments
Not the way one wants to encounter a wild bird but lucky that you were there for this one. Great photos.
That was my thought. The speed limit throughout the park is only 25 mph and the truck may not have even been doing that. Hopefully he was only stunned.
Very nice spotting. Could it have been a glass strike?