Driving westerly along FSR 380, I came to a vacant campsite just off of the roadway. This was a site that I had noted, when passing by on my trip into Del Norte earlier in the week. The forested area around this campsite looked promising for photography, so I pulled into the site.
As I was walking around the camping area, I heard a loud, raucous bird, that seemed angry about something. Thinking that I might be in danger of being attacked by an irate bird, I turned to look for the bird, catching a brief glimpse of it as it flew past me. It crashed hard into the side of my vehicle and fell to the ground. It was a beautifully colored woodpecker, which moved a little as I kneeled to inspect it. I hoped it was just dazed and would recover consciousness and be ok, so I gently picked it up and placed it in the wooded area nearby the campsite.
Unfortunately, it did not recover. I can only surmise that it objected to the red color of my vehicle or saw its reflection in the vehicle and thought it was another bird intruding upon its territory, or it was giving me a warning buzz that ended tragically.
Such events always make me wonder about the uncertainties of life and the random convergence of events leading to such tragedies. Would this have happened, if I had not parked here at this specific time or had I slightly modified my parking spot or backed into the campsite rather than pulling forward into it?
I just hope that I am not the cause of any other tragic events.
Ken
What a beautiful bird and what a sad happening. You had no way of knowing.
Shutterpug, I was almost sure that the bird was just temporarily unconscious and would recover; but it must have hit the side of the vehicle head first and hard. I’ve had birds, usually Cardinals, fly into house windows, sometimes multiple times, and survive; but I’m guessing that those did not hit head first.
Thanks for following,
Ken