Bird Watching Binoculars

A Friend In Need

It was mid morning last Saturday. I was working on my computer upstairs and my wife was busy watering and pruning the plants in the front beds. I heard a sound I couldn’t quite identify and went back to work. In a few minutes, my wife called up to me that I needed to come look on the front porch. When I looked through the storm door I saw a little bird, obviously dazed.

I walked slowly and carefully out to where the bird was. I visually inspected it for signs of injury. It didn’t appear to be favoring a wing or standing funny so I thought I would just sit a few more minutes with it and see how it did. It seemed to come around a bit so I thought I would very carefully pick it up and see if I could at least get it off the ground and into a nearby tree. Its objections to that convinced me it was doing even better than I thought. It squawked and flew into a nearby bush with apparent ease. Here are the pictures my wife took of it.

We decided to leave it be and give it a small bit of water where it could see it from where it was perched. We left and when I came back to check in 30 minutes or so, it had flown off. My wife and I were happy.

I should say here that I’m aware of the mortality rate of window strikes. However, I believe this bird was foraging around in one of our patio planters very close to our house when it was startled so I don’t think it hit that hard.

Shortly after this encounter, I consulted my trusty Smithsonian Birds of North America
book and discovered this was a Magnolia Warbler. The range map indicated that it was here on its way south, probably Florida. It also told me it was a female in non-breeding plumage.

Fast forward to Monday afternoon. I was downstairs enjoying some tea and a book and heard a familiar sound on my back door.  This time I was able to see a bird trying to land on one of the door’s panes and failing.  The poor thing was barely able to keep from free falling to the ground but did manage a soft landing.

I peeked through the glass to see-you guessed it-my little friend sitting on my top patio step looking disoriented.  Because the door opens in, I stepped out there and sat down next to her.  I was really worried because she was panting and just staring at the door.  She had no drooping wing or other obvious injury.

After a couple of minutes, the sweetest thing occurred.  She turned her head and was looking at me.  I got a little water from a nearby bird bath and let it drop off my index finger.  She took it thankfully and it really seemed to revive her.  She returned to staring at me.  I sat still.

In a few more minutes I asked her if she felt well enough to fly.  She turned her head, looked at me, and flew off into a nearby tree.  I have not seen her since.

It’s amazing what wonderful things we can see when we’re paying attention.  I hope and pray that my friend did not sustain any serious injury and that she made it to Florida to be with her friends.  I further hope that I was able to assist her (even in a small way) to continue her journey in life.