woodpecker rescue

It seems like the birds start feeling panicked when it snows, and they all rush to the feeders, chasing and jockeying for position.

After the snow stopped,  I put a tray of seeds and cracked corn out on the ground so some could eat there.

See the  Mourning Dove sitting on the windowsill?  He must feel a bit of heat leaking from the window glass.

It can't be that much because snow isn't melting there.

One afternoon we heard a "thunk" on the glass of the patio doors. My older son looked up in time to see a bird falling to the ground. When I looked out I saw a Red Bellied Woodpecker that had been fooled by the reflection on the glass and had flown right in to it.

There he was, face down in the snow, with only his little feathered behind sticking out.  I picked him up and brought him inside and kept him warm in my hands.  At first it looked like he wasn't going to pull through, but the little by little, he became more alert.

After he started struggling a little I opened the door and held him outside on my open hand. It took a couple of times doing this before he felt like he was ready to fly away. 

The next day we saw him back at the feeder so he seems to have made a full recovery.  He is lucky my son saw him fall...he probably would have frozen before he recovered from being stunned.

Such a beautiful little bird!