Just hatched and orphaned

Here is an endearing video with a tragic beginning and an uncertain end.  Meet three very hungry orphaned Northern Flickers just days old.  They are being fed by Star Howard, a volunteer at the Songbird Care and Education Center in Orange County, CA.  The birds will likely remain in care for 2-3 weeks until a suitable habitat can be found for their release.  There survival is not assured, however.

It is believed the woodpeckers were orphaned yesterday when a tree care provider working in the neighborhood of the Sierra Vista Townhomes in Hacienda Heights, CA removed the top of a tree in which the birds were nesting in a cavity.   (Woodpeckers are particularly vulnerable during spring time tree care because they nest inside the rotten sections of trees.)  The good Samaritan who  found the birds on the ground soon after, contacted the rescue center.

Sadly this is a situation that owner, Vickie Anderson, and her devoted volunteers face every year between February and August when trees with nesting birds are trimmed.   The Center’s indoor and outdoor rooms overflow  with incubators and cages containing rescued and injured birds.  Their relentless begging voices guarantee that this is a time of sleep depravation.   Uncountable volunteer hours are required to prep food and feed the birds every 20 minutes, to administer to their medical and other needs, and to prepare them for self sufficiency in the wild.  Price tag?  About $100 a day per bird.  Culpable tree care companies rarely contribute to this cost.

Tree believed to be the woodpecker’s nest site

You can help!  First, always hire professional and responsible tree care companies and ensure that they know and respect bird protection laws.  Second, whenever possible, postpone tree care till the fall and winter.   Third, you can make a tax-deductible donation to the Songbird Care and Education Center:  www.songbirdcareandeducation.org.

To learn about our California-based project to improve tree care for birds, please visit: TreeCareForBirds.com.