Rebecca,

 

Later today I'll put you in contact with someone from the Ohio Division of Wildlife who can advise on this.  ODNR:DOW is in the process of creating a new aviary at Malabar farm to house native birds like the one you found.  They may be interested in this individual.

 

Unfortunately, I don't have the necessary contact information available to me at this moment and I'm heading out the door for a meeting.

 

Look for an e-mail from me later today.

 

Thanks,

 

Casey Tucker

Audubon Ohio

 



	-----Original Message----- 

	From: MU Ornithology Listserv (ZOO 408) on behalf of Rebecca Elefante 

	Sent: Tue 5/23/2006 9:06 AM 

	To: [log in to unmask] 

	Cc: 

	Subject: What should I do?

	

	



	Hello all,

	Yesterday I found a baby Downy Woodpecker on our porch right outside one

	of our glass windowed doors.  At first glance it looked dead.  My family

	and I had thought that it may have hit the window and broken its neck.

	But on closer examination it was still breathing but barely alive.  I knew

	he needed warmth right away, but I was torn between leaving him outside in

	hopes that his mother would come around and trying to warm him up.  I

	searched for any possible signs of a nearby nest cavity, but I couldn't

	find anything.  I was puzzled by the fact that there aren't any trees

	over-hanging our porch, and none even close to where I found the bird

	lying.  So I have no idea from where he came.  In the end I decided to

	take the bird inside to warm him up, but I didn't really think he had a

	good chance of making it.  I was wrong!  A few hours later he was moving

	around, trying to fly, and even eating the kitty chow/Gatorade mash I had

	made him.  He slept peacefully all night with his head tucked under his

	wing, and woke up (and consequently woke me up) around 6:45am.  At that

	time I fed him, and then fed him again at 8.  He has been defecating.  I

	took him out on our screened-in porch to test his flying ability, but it

	resembled more of a flapping and falling technique.  He can perch to an

	extent.  He'll grasp onto my finger, the screen or my chest.  As you can

	see in the attached before and after pictures, he's much more alert now.

	And he has a decent set of feathers on him.  So now I don't quite know

	what to do.  I doubt what I'm feeding him is nutritionally adequate in the

	long term.  I think that he'll be able to fly soon, but I can't teach him

	to search for food like his mother could.  I realize it's not legal to

	keep him as a pet, but that is not what I want to do.  So I don't know if

	I should continue what I'm doing or if anyone knows of a place in the

	Cincinnati area where I could take him.  I feel bad in a way for taking

	him in, because I know that's not what is encouraged, but he was honestly

	near death.  He couldn't even hold his head up.  Oh and another thing.  I

	don't know if this is normal for Downy Woodpecker babies, but he has not

	made one peep since I found him.  The only way that I knew he was awake

	this morning was by the sound of him moving around.  Anyway, if anyone has

	any advice feel free to send it my way.

	Thanks,

	Rebecca