Welp, we appear to have a grounded yellow-bellied sapsucker.
Yesterday, my partner took Iroh out who startled it on the ground, it leaped about three feet, and Iroh pounced but doesn't appear to have added any injuries to it. He thought maybe it hit a window or was sick so he put it in the catio to recover without risking a goat stepping on it.
Worried about potential bird flu, we watched closely and washed anything that came in contact. It stayed for a long time, then started venturing out on the bricks beside the steps and on the fence a couple feet off the ground but kept returning to the ground.
I decided to move it to the oak tree in the front yard for food away from the other animals and it immediately climbed to the highest peak no problem.
Today we heard banging like someone was hitting the fence with something metal, went out, and here's the woodpecker back again now running across the ground to a different oak tree but stumbling and falling sideways a bit awkward while on the ground, then completely at ease in the tree, climbing and pecking for bugs like nothing is wrong.
I didn't notice any problems with its wings or other injuries when I held it to move it though I didn't do a thorough exam to not stress it.
Thought about calling wildlife rehab of some sort but options here are limited. It's foraging fine, I have eleven oaks hundreds of years old plus cedars and sweet gum and so on, a fence, indoor-only cats, and the coyotes and foxes seem to mainly steer clear and have whittled the stray cat population, so it's honestly about the best possible scenario. Main threats would be the goats, turkeys, Iroh, hawks, or cars if it ventures beyond the fence to the road. We'll try to check for it before going out to play with Iroh for a while.
Its calm near humans is still disconcerting, but with no obvious signs of illness or injury other than this behavior, it's probably best to leave it be.
#birds
