I find the strangest things in the trash.......

[Cthulhu138]

......this week somebody threw away a perfectly good woodcock.

 

[mato]

Huh? How about a little background info on this?

 

[Cthulhu138]

I was checking bait stations at an account in down town Boston when I looked down and there sitting at the bottom of a garbage can was this woodcock here. I think it's just exhausted from migration.

 

[Roman Tyrant]

Do you plan on taking care of it until its spirits are revived?

 

[mato]

Kudos on the rescue. I've helped a few birds in need over the years, most notably a Loggerhead Shrike chick that was trapped in a sewer. It's a satisfying feeling..

 

[Cthulhu138]

Yeah, I figure I'll keep it for a week or 2 until it's strong enough to fend for itself.

 

[Iwest]

Beautiful bird, nice rescue! Certainly hope it regains all its health.

 

[Cthulhu138]

It's already doing much better. It's eating tons of earth worms. It should be good for release soon.

 

[Plant Planter]

I must congratulate you on that rescue of the helpless bird!
We set up lots of birdhouses here in our yard. I swear, it's a heaven on earth for birds and bugs. But not for deer! Can't get over that fence, now can you?

 

[Maiden]

Cthulhu138: Nice move, you are a good person

 

[Peatmoss]

Lol, this is almost as good as the giant McDonalds character head Swords found in the trash...

But seriously, cute bird and good save!

 

[richjam1986]

Beautiful bird
I made a bit of a mistake caring for some abandoned chicks a couple years ago. I rescued them and raised them to adulthood only to realize that they were starlings. By that time I had already bonded with them, so I couldn't stand to kill them for the sake of ecosystem health (For any who don't know, starlings are invasive and compete with many native birds).
Yours is a good rescue though

 

[Cthulhu138]

Yeah....... I'd never knowingly rescue a starling. Forget about pigeons, starlings are the true "rats with wings". Dumpster vermin.

 

[Nepenthesis]

Keep it IMO... Once it has been exposed to human interaction with it and it depends on humans for food, it may go up to other humans and expect food. While it probably would have died otherwise and you did do the right thing to save it, I wouldn't release it into the wild. If you don't want to keep it long term, give it to a wildlife museum. It's a very cute bird though, and good job saving it!

 

[Cthulhu138]

I've done this many times. They won't imprint on people unless they're gotten as very small chicks. Even then, they rapidly go back to wild habits once they're released.

 

[Nepenthesis]

I've done this many times. They won't imprint on people unless they're gotten as very small chicks. Even then, they rapidly go back to wild habits once they're released.

Classical conditioning... It will associate the food with a human and when released into the wild it will enjoy being around humans and will expect food from them. It may still be self sufficient, but it will be comfortable around humans which isn't a natural thing. That's why they have signs in some places that say not to feed the birds.

 

[swords]

Do not feed The Birds

 

[Cthulhu138]

Hahaha Are you a wildlife expert Pineapple ? Because I have have an actual license to prove that I am.

 

[lil hokie]

Nice save Johnny! Im sure the bird is very grateful.

 

[Cthulhu138]

Thanks Heather ! It's doing great. I'll try and take some pics of the release.