Diamond The Red-Bellied Woodpecker

The following story about a red-bellied woodpecker was shared with us by Wildlife Center of North Georgia in Georgia.

Diamond is an adult female red-bellied woodpecker we treated in 2024 after she sustained injuries in a suspected window collision incident on May 19. The rescuer sent us this photo after they found her lying on their deck.

She was unresponsive, and suffering from concussion and dehydration. Initial care included rehydration and anti-inflammatories. Within six hours of initial treatment, Diamond was a little more alert. She had such a significant impact with the window that the tip of her upper bill had broken off and her cognitive deficits lasted for several hours. As one might imagine, woodpeckers are built to peck at wood, so it takes a major impact to cause this type of trauma.

Although Diamond’s cognition improved, it was quickly apparent that she also suffered spinal trauma. She was unable to use her legs or wings due to spinal compression. She would fall forward, so she required hand-feeding to prevent her from falling into her food and water. Keeping her adequately fed and hydrated was vital to her recovery, so we syringe-fed EmerAid IC Carnivore mixed with EmerAid IC Omnivore. This species usually eats insects, nuts, and fruits. The EmerAid combination helped to keep her body in good condition while she began the healing process.

Within a few days, Diamond was able to keep her balance. Then we were able to introduce her normal diet. We continued to supplement for a few days until she became more mobile and we knew she could reach her food.

Woodpeckers can be a challenge to hand-feed and those of us who work with them have scars on our hands to prove it.

Trying to force-feed worms and maintain hydration is a real challenge, but using the EmerAid products helped us provide the correct nutrition and hydration for Diamond, until she could consume enough on her own to maintain her weight.

Diamond’s recovery took about a month. By May 30 she was moving her wings and navigating her habitat. She required some physical therapy to reduce the spinal compression. Once the inflammation resolved, she grew stronger and was able to climb and fly. Diamond took her freedom flight on June 19. Thanks to the EmerAid products, we were able to successfully provide the nutrition and hydration she needed until she was able to eat on her own.