We were just sitting, when all of a sudden, one of our Woody Woodpeckers fell straight out of the tree, and hit the ground with a thump. He was flapping about, and managed to right himself (he'd landed on his back) and started flapping. The Princess saw him and ran straight over to see what was going on, but as soon as we called, she left him and came in.
We went out to see if he was alright, and he was breathing really heavily. We didn't know what to do to help, so we thought it was best to leave him to recover, but keep an eye on him to ensure he didn't get picked off by anything.
Unfortunately, after about 20 minutes, poor old Woody died. I wrapped him up, and Mr Cog buried him.
Funny how something like this can be so upsetting.
We can't figure out why it fell, unless it slipped, but then you'd think it would start flying. It looked in good condition, so we're really not sure what happened. Unfortunately, it's one of a pair, so I don't know whether the other one will hang around, or look elsewhere for another mate.
We loved seeing them foraging on the lawn everyday, and of course, hearing them 'headbanging' in the trees.
Oh how sad Cog. I know how you feel, I get really upset if one of my birds has a window disaster. Ridiculous I know, but if they're in my garden I feel responsible for the poor little mites. I've got a family of the Greated Spotted here at the moment, big mam and dad and smaller brother and a couple of sisters. I'm going through a sack of seed/suet/mealworms and a sack of sunflower hearts every month. Oh, and the nuts and fat balls, I need a lottery win!