Having a concussion from hitting a window near Harvie Avenue and Burnaby Street, as well as badly damaging its shoulder and wing, this red-breasted sapsucker required a long convalescence. It was given anti-inflammatory medicine for both its concussion and its shoulder; its wing was immobilized.
In a comfortable kennel with a large piece of Douglas fir bark to pound on, it was an easy patient, content to hammer away on its bark and drink the nectar and juice mixture it loved. The Douglas fir is an important part of its daily routine.
Sapsuckers are named for their habit of drilling straight rows of shallow wells in shrubs and trees, the Douglas Fir being a favourite, and then lapping up the sap with their specialized, brush-tipped tongues. They are important members of their ecosystems because many species of insects, birds (especially hummingbirds) and mammals use these pre-drilled wells to supplement their own diets.
Arriving at Powell River Orphaned Wildlife Society on January 1, the sapsucker began flying well, after its recovery, and was ready for release. Finally freed, it flew right into the same window! A collective gasp rose from the onlookers.
Fortunately, all was well. It scurried around on the ground, definitely avoiding further rescue, gathered itself together and flew off to a nearby tree. A collective sigh of relief followed.
Like many other woodpeckers, the red-breasted sapsucker hitches up and down tree trunks and along tree limbs or rail fences, and this one was moving quickly around the tree.
