Visit with a nuthatch

[nlbarber]

I was at my computer and thought I heard a thump, which was confirmed when Fish and Fred left the room to investigate. So I went too, and on a hunch opened the front door to look outside the bird window. Sure enough, clinging to the underside of the brick ledge under the window was a brown-headed nuthatch.

It (I refuse to speculate on its sex) had its beak open, and was a little wet from the rain. Afraid it was shocky, I picked it up and held it in my cupped hands to warm it a little. After a while its head came down and the beak closed, then it began to turn its head back and forth looking at me and its surroundings. A few minutes after that I got its feet around a finger instead of curled up, and still it sat on my hand. Eventually I decided to try to put it on a dry branch of a shrub. As I moved to do that it flew, landing on the window frame up next to the soffit. It sat there a good 10 minutes or so (allowing the photo-op) before flying off to the big pine tree next to the feeders.

Comments

[majkia.livejournal.com]

Awww. We quite often end up with wrens or hummingbirds in the house who we have to rescue or at least herd toward a window or door. No brown headed nuthatches that I can remember, although we do have them here too.

[nlbarber]

My most spectacular stunned bird was a yellow-billed cuckoo--I'd never even heard of one before, didn't know there was a species of cuckoo in this area, etc. And there it was, lying on my brick patio. I protected it until it woke up, and it flew off looking none the worse for the experience. It was after that that I put bird silhouettes on the patio door and the bird window--but some birds still hit 'em.

[majkia.livejournal.com]

oh wow. yeah, I bet that was a shock

[gryphons-lair.livejournal.com]

I'm glad your concussed nuthatch recovered so well. I had something bang into the window on the second floor landing about a month ago, but by the time I got there there was no sign of the bird either on the roof below the window or the ground on that side of the house. I know there was a bird strike because the poor thing left a small clump of downy feathers and an "impression" on the window.

[nlbarber]

I've found a couple of downy clumps like that, too--I look each time to see if there's a body on the ground, but haven't ever found one.

[nlbarber]

Oh, great icon!

[gryphons-lair.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

It was one of those "random good luck" shots. I was using my DSLR on full auto, multishot mode, and took a series of Mr Redbellied pounding away at a tree in my neighbor's yard. When I checked the pictures afterward I discovered the poor bird had "missed his target" one time.

I couldn't resist turning it into an icon.

[mmegaera.livejournal.com]

Cute little critter.

At least it didn't fly down your chimney. I had that happen in my last place -- came home from work to find a bird on my curtain rod, and bird poop in half a dozen places I really didn't need to find it.

The cats were absolutely fascinated, too, and it took a while before I got it shooed out the door.