When Mike and Susan Sanders of Pinehurst returned from vacation they had no idea they would be adopting a baby. This 2-week-old baby won’t win “Baby of the Week,” but he does warm the cockles of your heart when he opens his little beak for an incoming worm. At four inches long he’s a combination of fluff and feathers, practicing to be an opera singer. Which is probably why they decided to adopt this little woodpecker when he fell from the neighbors tree.

Actually, the woodpecker was catapulted from the tree when the tree was chopped to the ground by the new owners. Neighbors anxiously awaited Susans return, knowing that they had raised chickens as a project for her first-graders at Sandhills Farm Life School. They figured if she could raise chickens, she could handle one small woodpecker whose only brother had died in the fall.

The woodpecker, nicknamed “Woody” by the new parents, was placed in a temporary nest where he has been living on the front porch, hidden among various plantings for shade. Woodpeckers do not build a nest as other birds do, but nest in a crevice or hole in a tree. Susan and her husband Mike, a psychologist at Fort Bragg, feed the woodpecker every hour. Using tweezers (which resemble the mothers beak) to hold the red worms, they tap the side of his beak and “Woody” opens wide, devouring the worms purchased at the local bait shop. The worms must be dipped in a small amount of water to assure the baby gets adequate water. They have delighted in watching him grow bigger daily. Lately, they notice him venturing from the nest and clinging to the side of the basket, a natural position for a woodpecker.

Walking past the Sanders home, you can’t miss the sounds of “Woody’s” screeching. Like any newborn he eats, sleeps and cries. His crying attracted a surprising visitor. “Woody’s” mother, described by Susan as a very large woodpecker, has been flying in to feed him. It is commonly thought a mother bird won’t return to the nest once human hands have touched the birds. Ornithologists don’t agree, saying most birds have a weak sense of smell and will actively work to find their babies. This is important, since the mother will encourage the fledgling when its time to fly or “fledge” as its called. This normally occurs four to six weeks after birth.

When Mike and Susan step outside on the porch, the mother bird flies back and forth, anxiously waiting for them to leave to take her turn delivering bugs to the baby. She flies to the nest several times a day. Susan believes the baby is a red-bellied woodpecker.

When school opens this fall Susan will be able to share her summer “adoption” experience with many children, as she starts a new job traveling among schools in the Sandhills area, as Math Lead Teacher for three grades. Mike and Susan believe “Woody” will soon fledge to the safety of the woods with his mother.

Rehabilitating an abandoned wild bird is a lot of work. It’s not a job for the average person. If you’re presented with this situation and lack expertise in handling and feeding, please contact Pete Campbell, a local biologist at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Campbell is a rehabilitator of the endangered Red-Cockaded woodpeckers. He can be contacted for information in Southern Pines at 695-3323.