Can you ID this bird?

13 years ago

This bird (pictured)showed up on our property today. We just found another one, much smaller, but that one appears to have been wounded.

Any ideas on what it is?

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Comments (4)

claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
13 years ago
Maybe an American Woodcock although it seems to have more neck than the woodcocks usually show.

Claire

This post was edited by claire on Sat, Jun 1, 13 at 16:01
brookw_gw
13 years ago
Definitely a woodcock. As far as a wounded one, it's no doubt an act put on by the mom to distract interest away from young ones. They are quite amusing to watch. They are nicknamed "timberdoodles" for the erratic way they fly through the woods. They eat mostly earthworm and like swampy ground. They are also a gamebird and as such are protected until hunting season. Their meat is very rich and dark and quite "earthy."
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Comments (2)
A lot of guesswork here but, based on the color description of the bird, I'd start with Red-bellied Woodpecker and Northern Flicker. Maybe even give Yellow-bellied Sapsucker a whirl. All three are woodpeckers; they have a distinctive look and behavior (electronic sound, not so much, IMO). If not a woodpecker then.......the only birds I can think of that I'd personally describe as having an "electronic" sounding call would be the Blue Jay and maybe the Eastern Kingbird. Blue Jays obviously have no red, and Eastern Kingbirds only show a red crown patch when highly agitated. Ruby-crowned Kinglets are itty bitty, never sit still, rarely show their red crown, and don't sound electronic. A female Northern Cardinal would flick her tail and meet the physical description from above, but I don't think they sound electronic. Perhaps a slightly metallic warning call but, then again, I don't want to assume folks don't know a Cardinal when they see it (they are so common). Perhaps give House Finch and Purple Finch a look, but eh......not so electronic sounding, really. It's tough to make a good guess without a better description of the call and the bird. This post was edited by TMFF on Mon, Jun 17, 13 at 15:01
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Oh! Thanks, I've shown these to several people and everyone, like myself, has been stumped. I know nothing about falconry and training raptors so idk if it's normal that I didn't see anyone anywhere near when I saw this "hawk". No one around except for the other bird that's in a few of the photos, and a few smaller birds that looked to be mobbing either this bird or the other large bird, idk, I Wonder if this bird might have been lost?? Thanks again
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Yes, he looks just like the pictures at the link Patti posted. The feeder has a little cup of grape jelly between the oranges. I'm hopeful...... :-) The baby bird hadn't mastered flying when I was looking at him. I went in the house to process these pictures and post my question, and when I went back outside he had disappeared. Do birds suddenly "get" flying? Or do you think maybe his parents encouraged him to go somewhere else? We've had a nest of baby house wrens in a birdhouse hanging from the porch. They all managed to leave without me seeing their flying lessons. I see them around, though. And hear them! There's a catbird next in a big mulberry bush. I never knew catbirds had such a beautiful song. And, as always, robins and phoebes are nesting in my garage. With so many interesting things going on around the property, I hate to leave for work!
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Can you provide ID for this bird?
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Comments (9)
It is sort of a bird sanctuary, and there are all sorts of ducks, geese, egrets, herons, cormorants, hawks, and smaller birds, of course. We have even seen Western Bluebirds there twice. So, if someone had these ducks and wanted to release them, this would be the perfect place. I have a vague memory of seeing a strikingly black & white family of ducks 2-3 years ago - a pair of adults, and at least 5 ducklings, all black & white. So maybe that's what happened. We went for a bike ride there again this morning, and saw this threesome again. The ducklings look darker already - I will keep an eye on them. Jackie
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claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
13 years ago
If the smaller one is indeed injured, the larger one is probably the mother watching out for it.

I just found a video of an American Woodcock produced by the Music of Nature.

Claire
Julia WV (7a)
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for the info and the video. That is exactly what we saw. I'll have to go and look up the info on it on the Internet. First time we've seen this type of bird here. The beak on it is so unusual and it walked funny with almost a bobbin to its step when walking on the grass.

The one I posted the picture of is the one we first saw and then as I was going to walk around the porch I noticed something very small on the walkway. A smaller version of the one in the photo, huddled and I noticed it was injured and moved it into our flower bed. It was bleeding so I am assuming something got to it. We also have many different types of wildlife around here. We felt so bad for it but I guess it is mother natures way of balancing things out.

Thanks for the ID.
Julia

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Can you ID this bird?

Comments (4)

claireplymouth z6b coastal MA

brookw_gw

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claireplymouth z6b coastal MA

Julia WV (7a)
Original Author

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Can you ID this bird?

Comments (4)

claireplymouth z6b coastal MA

brookw_gw

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claireplymouth z6b coastal MA

Julia WV (7a)Original Author

COMPANY

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GET HELP

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Julia WV (7a)
Original Author