Burlington Bay, ON. June 17 2022. A week or two ago I walked a stretch of overgrown and unloved beach. It can be interesting birding but the charm is rather diminished by the washed-up litter, plastics and boating paraphernalia. It is tangled and overgrown with non-native vegetation, mostly it seems plants that produce seeds-that-cling, things like Common Burdock and Rough Cocklebur.
As I picked my way along, dodging Stinging Nettles and generally watching my steps, I saw, on the gravel in front of me, what I took to be a dead Northern Flicker. It was splayed out in a crash-landing pose, Tail spread awkwardly, one wing at an odd angle and head askew. ( It’s a bit like the one in the photo except….) I thought perhaps it had fallen from the air, mid-flight, felled by a mysterious, perhaps alien, infection. Or maybe it had been dropped there by some kills-for-the-fun-of-it predator perhaps a Peregrine Falcon or Coopers Hawk.
I stared at it for a while, probably a few seconds only. As I was stooping to take a closer look, it opened its eye, turned its head to look at me and with a quick scramble took flight, apparently well rested and perfectly healthy. Taking a nap I suppose.