“It is an American Woodcock….

they are migrating thru this area right now.” Dawn from the Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation said.

I had simply stepped outside of Singha to make a phone call, while awaiting two soups to go, on this rainy, gray Chicago day when I first spotted him.

Camera always at the ready – he allowed me to take this close up shot of him:

Which told me that something was wrong. I walked back inside to ask the restaurant staff if they knew how long he had been there. “About an hour or so. He had been walking around, but now he is just sitting. Do you want to call like animal control or something?” they asked.

So another Susan Snippet’s most-excellent-lunchtime adventure ensued.

I called Chicago’s 311 number, told them what I was dealing with and they referred me to Flint Creek.

Dawn answered the phone at Flint Creek and after asking me to describe the bird, identified him and asked if I could get him into a box.

By this time three guys who had been heading into Singha for lunch stopped. I said I would go inside and ask if they had a box, but I was slightly afraid of birds, so “would one of you guys be able to help get him into it?”

One brave soul stepped up to the challenge and after I got the box, which the restaurant employee kindly loaded up with soft paper towels...the brave soul and I got Mr. Woodcock safely inside.

I called Dawn back and told her that I had the bird and I was taking him back to my office. She cautioned me to keep him in a quiet area and not to “open the box and show him to anybody.”

Are you kidding me?? I assured her that I was NOT going to be opening the box.

Here he is sitting on our conference room table awaiting his ride to be rehabilitated.


Within 20 minutes of receiving a call from a volunteer, she was waiting outside of my building. I jumped into her vehicle with Woody – filled out a form giving some of my personal information and whatever else I knew about where he was found, if he was fed, etc. and within minutes I was back in my office and Woody was on his way to feeling better.

So after that lunchtime fun, I need to give props to all of my kind helpers at Singha’s, both inside and outside, certainly to the wonderful organization of Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation (that exists ONLY on contributions...so send them some $$$$) and to Mr. Woodcock himself, for being a nice bird and not pecking his way out of the box and attacking me.

next an ornithology degree