So, how many of you have seen one of these little birds flying and feeding in the dark?I was up and left the house at 6:15am this morning - took a friend to the shuttle bus in town. I came back at 6:35am, and there was my husband - standing outside by the feeders!
I thought, "What in the world is he doing out there - in the dark?" !
He said he'd been sitting at his computer and he saw a little bird and was kind of flying/falling and fluttering at the window. It had bumped the window a few times on the way down to the ground and he thought, "That birdie needs help!" So he was out there, trying to figure out what to do when I pulled in.
By that time the bird was on the Thistle Sock. It stayed there even while we were about 3 or 4 feet away from it, but when I moved a little closer, it flew up to the eaves and landed on the Christmas lights. It stayed there until I got in the house, got my camera and got its photo!
I've never heard or seen anything like this before - its' as if the little one was flying in its sleep! Maybe the fireworks last night disoriented it? Maybe he got really hungry and had to have a snack before dawn?
I don't know. Whatever the reason, it sure made for an interesting way for 2009 to begin! I am just glad that he found food and that his bumps on the window didn't injure him to the point where he couldn't fly.
He said he'd been sitting at his computer and he saw a little bird and was kind of flying/falling and fluttering at the window. It had bumped the window a few times on the way down to the ground and he thought, "That birdie needs help!" So he was out there, trying to figure out what to do when I pulled in.
By that time the bird was on the Thistle Sock. It stayed there even while we were about 3 or 4 feet away from it, but when I moved a little closer, it flew up to the eaves and landed on the Christmas lights. It stayed there until I got in the house, got my camera and got its photo!
I've never heard or seen anything like this before - its' as if the little one was flying in its sleep! Maybe the fireworks last night disoriented it? Maybe he got really hungry and had to have a snack before dawn?
I don't know. Whatever the reason, it sure made for an interesting way for 2009 to begin! I am just glad that he found food and that his bumps on the window didn't injure him to the point where he couldn't fly.
4 comments:
I have no idea what kind of bird it is. It looks kind of like a song sparrow from the back. I know it's not the house sparrows because they don't get up early (believe me, I know).
Whatever it is it sure looks pretty near your lights.
Another guess... conjunctivitis which has partially blinded him? Many species of finch get it, and seem to be flying off kilter and unafraid as you approach them. Sadly, it's contagious, and so you typically don't want to see affected birds at your feeder. Nature usually takes its course as it's much more vulnerable to predation.
OH YUCK~ I don't like the sound of that at all! :( But thank you for telling me - Is there anything I can do to prevent it from spreading at the feeders?
I have finches with that disease. I use bleach and water mixed to try to keep the feeders clean. It is really impossible to that perfectly. At one point last year I took the feeders down because several finches had it.
If you zoom in on the eyes it looks almost like the eyes are gone from the sockets. It's gross. I did a post on it last year.
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