Sunday Selections

 I just recently discovered that every Sunday, Elephant's Child hosts a blog challenge called Sunday Selections. There is really only one rule, which is to post a photo--or selection of photos--that have been gathering dust in your files or photos app. So here’s a photo, and the story that goes with it.

Downy Woodpecker

I was helping my mom garden about two weeks ago when we heard this loud boom. We both looked up, a bit startled and surprised, then followed the sound to its source.

On the ground near the window was a tiny little bird, twitching and flopping around.

He was a woodpecker, and I'm not sure if woodpeckers get concussions since they spend a lot of their time slamming their faces into trees, but this guy was definitely stunned for a bit. I was wearing garden gloves, so I quickly picked him up and put him on a potted plant, and Mom grabbed a little bit of water for him.

The little guy just kept blinking at me, and he was probably terrified that a big giant had picked him up and was hanging out with him. I can't imagine how confused and freaked out he must have been!

He hung out on the plant for a little, then drank a droplet of water off my finger before flying away.

As far as I know, he was okay!

Some Cool Facts About Downy Woodpeckers

1. They are the smallest woodpeckers in North America.
2. While Native Americans certainly knew about them long before, the downy woodpecker was not officially described in a publication until around 1730 CE.
3. The oldest woodpecker fossil is around 25 million years old, which places them in the Miocene epoch, meaning they lived alongside sabertoothed tigers and mammoths.
4. All woodpeckers are birds, which means they are dinosaurs.