This poor northern flicker found himself in quite a sticky situation. Not only was he the victim of a glue trap but when he finally managed to rip himself free, he was also caught by a free roaming outdoor cat. Luckily, a concerned citizen managed to rescue this beautiful bird from the mouth of the cat and get him to Wild ARC for care.
The feathers of this northern flicker were absolutely covered in sticky glue which prevented him from flying or even begin able tuck his wings against his body properly. He was also very dehydrated and had quite a few feathers missing that were likely ripped off by the glue trap.
Staff gave him a dust bath to try to reduce the adhesion of the glue for the short term but he will need special hot mineral baths to fully remove the glue from his feathers. These baths will be essential to repairing his damaged feathers but are very stressful for sensitive birds like this northern flicker. Staff will need to sedate him in order to give him this bath and he will likely need more than one bath in order to ensure all the glue has been removed.
Cases like this are easily preventable. Glue traps are a terribly inhumane method of pest control and animals caught in the traps die a slow and painful death by starvation, dehydration or exposure. They are also not species specific so any unknowing animal can find themselves caught in these horrible traps, much like this northern flicker.
Please help us to get this beautiful bird back on his wings. A donation towards his care will go a long way to helping ensure this flicker gets a second chance at life.