Revived Bird

The good news is I have two large picture windows to view birds at my birdfeeder. The bad news is I have two large picture windows to view birds at my bird feeder. Unfortunately birds hit the windows on a fairly frequent basis in spite of my best efforts to prevent it. Most are able to fly away but some really slam into the windows. If I’m around I check to see if they are ok if it looks like they are in trouble I’ll go out and try and bring them around.

This Purple Finch hit the window last week. As I walked up it tried to stand but fell over. I picked it up and tried to interact with it. After about a half an hour it’s eyes seem to be brighter but it made no attempt to fly. I put it down in a planter and made sure the cat was inside. I checked on it periodically and kept interacting with it. When I approached after about two hours it flew to a bush that was a couple feed away and after another hour it few away. My previous record for helping a bird recover was two hours. This was with a Downy Woodpecker last summer.

I can relate Phil. We get strikes but they have been fazed birds that after re-orienting and shaking off the cobwebs fly off. We do have one male Cardinal that has been attacking our bat window for the past several months, coming up to it, and pecking at it as he flies up and down the length of the window before alighting atop the small canopy roof above the window, and then he begins his assualt anew. We marvel and wonder that his beak survives.

I had a similar "strike" a couple of weeks ago from a Northern Flicker.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=785217&l=abd155a98c&id=1663847384
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=785218&l=f1a857c3c7&id=1663847384
We put it in the crotch of a cottonwood tree - flew away after about 45 minutes.
I've found that robins will still attack the birdscreens.

I've had hawk decals on my three season room windows for about three years now, and I'm happy to say that I've not had to pick up any more songbird victims. However, last year I had a Cooper's Hawk fatality, that scared the bejesus out of me as I was reading the paper and drinking coffee. Don't know if it was attacking the silhouette or didn't see it, but the noise and force of impact made me jump. Amazed the glass didn't break.

I get hummer attacks all the time I find them dazed in my yard when they fight over the feeders !!