Tuesday, October 12, 2010

One legged chickadee

Taken from vtpeacknik's Flickr photos
I haven't yet been able to get a picture myself of my little one-legged chickadee, but he looks just like this one. I couldn't figure out what the little guy was trying to do, the past few days, fluttering his wings and huddling on the ground with the sparrows. At first I thought he had a broken wing, but he can fly just fine. Then I figured out that he has lost a leg somehow. He can drink water and hang with his one leg upside down, just like this one, eating at the upside-down feeders normally visited only by the goldfinches.

At first I thought he was trying to nest or something, fluttering over the flower box in an unusual way, until I called Smart Guy over and we watched him for awhile, realizing that he can fly just fine, eat suet and drink water out of the birdbath, too. On the ground he balances by fluttering the wing on the side where the leg is missing, which seems to have been lost recently. On a tree limb he leans onto his breast but hangs on the branch pretty well. I put some sunflower chips into the flower bed and he found the stash tonight.

It's been a difficult day bird-wise, with a very hard strike by a goldfinch on the living room window. Although I've got lots of markers as well as reflective stickers on the window, which may keep the number of strikes down, it doesn't eliminate them. The finch lay stunned on the front porch while we put barriers around it to keep the interest of predators away. I didn't have much hope, but after about an hour the bird began to look around and finally flew away. Often they have sustained brain damage and don't survive in the long term,  but I can hope it will be back at my feeders tomorrow. It is a handsome bird and there's no way for me to know it from the others.

Upon looking on the internet for information about one-legged chickadees, I found that it is a fairly common sight at feeders around the country. If you're a chickadee and you have to lose a limb, a leg is probably the easiest to adapt to. I guess I should name it (I'll say it's a male but I have no way of knowing) and wonder if "Peg Leg" is just way too obvious. Or maybe "Peggy"? I'll be watching him to see if he keeps coming around and will be putting out some extra food for him. Stay tuned.
:-)

13 comments:

  1. considering i spent the evening again with my handicapped little friend...it is nice to see those that over come...we dont get many bird strikes here...a few t on the porch and my cat scares them off...

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  2. Awww, poor fella.
    It's awfully kind of you to be looking out for him, especially with the extra food.
    Hope he makes it through the winter, or finds a cozy spot on your porch to nest ;)

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  3. Poor wee thing. I hope it does alright but it sure would be vulnerable as prey. Thanks for looking out for him. Please keep us posted.

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  4. I think it's so wonderful that he/she can come to your place for a bite to eat and a little drink. Sweet.

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  5. Living in Florida means we see a fair amount of one-legged critters. We assume they have "tangled" with a gator and survived. We have a sand hill crane in the park that has been around for several years. I guess that means it learned to stay away from gators.

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  6. Chickadees are a favorite of mine.

    I like the name Peggy for your little guy!

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  7. As I read this I was going to comment about the Sand Hill Crane but some woman stole my thunder. Neat Story.

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  8. Oh, how very sad...but what an inspiration that Chickadee is!!! Perseverence!!! Beautiful birds too!!! I love to hear how you watch and feed them...they become feathered friends!!! Truly!! Love it! Love, Janine XO

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  9. He is a survivor..or she if she is a peggy..I bet he will do just fine..:)

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  10. It's always sad to see a handicapped bird or any other disabled animal for that matter. I'm glad you're trying to help it.

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  11. Oh shoot, the weaker ones don't stand much of a chance. I hope to hear more about your little friend.

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  12. I hope he survives - and returns (your report form the next post). What a little cutie.

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