Here is an unexpected find in Chicago for this #wednesdaywalk by @tattoodjay
Right outside my office door I find this stunned little guy about the size of a robin.
I had to ask around to figure out he was a Virginia Rail. Migration is now happening and this wetland bird got blown into the mean streets of Chicago.
I grabbed him and moved him to a grassy area to recover. Eventually he did start walking around normally and took off towards the lake.
Thankfully he didn't fly towards the river as Virginia rails are shallow water birds.
The winds are always pretty rough around here and I can sometime barely walk straight as they whip through all these buildings. I can only imagine what a bird has to deal with where wind will whip you into the side of a building.
Each spring and fall I usually find quite a few stunned birds and I try and move them off the streets and sidewalks to recover in a small park area.
Hopefully the birb made it to a nice prairie wetland to find a mate.
The fate of a stunned bird is pretty terrible in Chicago especially at night. Many rats come out of the underground portion of the city and will pick them clean leaving only their bones.
Somehow pigeons have no problems surviving here. And they get plenty to eat when office drones eat here for lunch. As dumb as they look the pigeons have street smarts, though I'm sure in the wetlands they would easily get eaten by many things.
That's all for now, thanks for looking :-)
Aawww poor little one. I am glad you caught it to put somewhere safer.
Lovely walk and views of the high rise buildings.
Hahaha yep, they won't survive there, the pigeons.
I do have seen a pigeon around in my forest behind the cabin. Somehow it did survive the harsh winter so far.
This week the kestrels came back in the large tree to nest. A but early for here…
Have a wonderful day.
!PIZZA
I check for major bruising and broken wings but it had none and was pretty strong trying to get away. Hopefully it will make it somewhere in Wisconsin. Some years there are so many wounded birds and the local wildlife societies come around to collect them. The kestrels would like a piece of that pigeon lol.
Yes, I do the same.
I can imagine they have a lot of work.
I get migratory birds coming over now. They don’t know the birdfeeder tree is right next to the cabin. Daily we have some flying agains the outside of the cabin or even the window.
I check them and most seem fine and recover. They fly away soon.
Hahaha or get eaten by the kestrels now when they are not fast… i am sure they would like the pigeon too !LOL
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I guess the Virginia Rail is a bit rare to see since they hide in wetlands so it was a great experience being able to hold one and move it to a better area. I doubt I'll ever see on in its natural habitat.
I can imagine it was a nice surprise when it is such a rare bird for there.
Who knows… maybe one day.
Have a great day.
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some more street smart city birds 😂
Ha yeah those guys thrive here too. They've been making homes in all the company logos around town.