No Hopes for Adoption

  Since our mid-days are now seeing temperatures in the high 90s, it seemed far more comfortable outside than in the Little Bayou House. Even with all of the windows open and fans turning, it felt almost stifling. So, I toted my project outside to work on the little deck.  My "project" is part of the upcoming Clue Hunt on the Bayou and consisted of quite a large piece of plywood, a dozen or so tubes of paint and a handful of paintbrushes.  Of course, I could not step foot outside without sneaking the camera out, too!  As I whiled away the hours painting, I kept a close eye on the bird feeders.  Something was just bound to happen!  I knew it!

  Sure enough, I eventually heard the plaintive calls of a baby woodpecker.  Ahh, I thought...a mother was teaching her little one to come to the feeders!  I peeked up from my work to find the little tyke. Sure enough, there was a small woodpecker in the far feeder but the parent birds could not be found.  Hmmm.   This was strange.  The little one kept calling but received no answer.  Then a gorgeous Redheaded Woodpecker lit on the old driftwood post that held a makeshift feeder. Perhaps this was the mom?  Nope...wrong family of woodpeckers.  The baby was a Redbelly Woodpecker.  The adult Redheaded picked up a sunflower seed and proceeded to crack it open.  It then called and its little one flew in from the oak branch above my head.  That baby made all sorts of screeching as it begged for food.  The adult bird dutifully poked the shelled seed into the open mouth and picked up another.  This went on for some time with each seed being given to the baby.  Meanwhile, down the hill a ways, the baby Redbelly watched.  Poor little one was hungry and had no parent bird poking food in its open mouth.  It decided to beg for food from the only adult there and flew up next to the baby Redhead. 'My heart broke a little because the adult Redheaded Woodpecker literally smacked the little intruder hard enough that the bird fell to the ground.  That parent was not about to feed the offspring of a rival woodpecker!  The little Redbelly made a wobbly flight to the fence post and cried. 

  We hear all sorts of lovely tales of how even different species of animals adopt orphans but here one woodpecker would not help out an innocent babe.  Not once did any bird attempt to feed the hungry tyke. Not once did the true parents come to rescue their little one.  Not once was any mercy exhibited toward the hungry tyke.  It makes me wonder about all of those stories....were they forced adoptions?  It definitely did not happen by chance here!

  After a bit, I noticed the little Redbelly Woodpecker was back in the far feeder.  It was attempting to forage through the seeds for something smaller and softer than the sunflower seeds.  At least it was eating! Hopefully, the little one will be ok.  If it is truly on its own, it will have to be extra vigilant of the hawks that are constantly patrolling the area.  I wish it well.