Last weekend I told you about a couple of bright and beautiful Saffron Finches that I found half a block away from my house.
I kept seeing Saffron Finches (Sicalis flaveola) in the parks not far from home. Most of them were juveniles and immatures with an occasional adult close by.
They got together in small flocks (no more than 10) and walked around searching for food and little twigs.
I wasn't in the right spot for the next photo, I had the sun almost in front of me. But I wanted to show you this scene that made me laugh a bit. An adult in the middle, on the higher place and two not so grown up on each side. Made me think of a king and his subjects...
I was trying to get a better shot when I felt something flying next to me. I saw something land on the grass a few meters to my left. I looked but couldn't find anything. I walked slowly trying to get a little closer and this is what I found...
He was partially covered with leafs, which explained why I couldn't see him at first. He had both legs up, chest and head down to the ground.
I moved to get a better view, slowly. But the closer I got the more agitated he got. He was breathing heavy and very fast... I think I could see the heart beating, that stressed this little one was.
I tried to get closer to see if I could help, but on my next step he flew away into a bush and I couldn't find him anymore. The flight wasn't on a straight line, it was up and down. I thought that maybe a wing was the problem??
What do you think?? What can you do in these cases?? He looked pretty scared and it was heartbreaking to see him like that.
Update: Thanks to Gunnar Engblom for confirming ID of this hurt bird.
2009/01/18
The young and the hurt
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12 comments:
First photo reminds me of the little park area near your aunt's house :)
Of the young hurt one, I was saddened to see those photos the other day, and just as much now :(
Hope it is better now (though I doubt it)
Besos
Your Tommy
Mel,
It is heartbreaking to see a bird in distress...I wouldn't know what to tell you do...if you could capture..you could look a bit more closely to see what was wrong..and then bring it to whomever works with rehabbing birds in your area.
Hi Mel,
Sometimes if you know they've run into a window and seem to be stunned, you can catch them and just put them in a shoe box with a towel or cloth inside. Put the lid on and give them some time to get their bearings back and when you open the box in a half-hour or so, they may be recovered enough to just fly away.
If you can catch the bird and find there's noticeable trauma, you would definitely want to get them to a rehabber ASAP.
I thought it was encouraging that the little bird in your post was still able to fly--the main thing would be to try and at least get them to a more sheltered spot--especially off the ground and maybe in a dense tree or shrub to save them from predators (feral cats or hawks) until the birdie gets its strength back.
Hola chicos :)
Tommy,
Hi babe! Yes!! Remember when we found that flock?? It is sad about that little Saffron :(
Besos (hope to have you back here soon!! miss you soooo much!!)
TQMel xXx
Dawn,
Yes it is :(
I really didn't know what to do. There are no 'rehab' places here, and if they exist, I doubt they do have enough resourses to be very helpful. Sad.
Ruthie,
Thanks for the advice, I'll keep it in mind if I'm ever again in that situation. He flew into a bush and I couldn't find it, so, if it wasn't so bad, he might have made it, keeping safe for a while.
Hi again Mel :-)
Yes, I'd tend to agree with Ruthie. I've seen stunned birds and lifted them into sheltered areas too. Sometimes they fly off and others they don't. Yours did and I wouldn't worry about the up and down flight. Some birds do that anyway and besides it may still be recovering from what happened. Maybe it fell from a tree but I am wondering how long it was there as you spotted a leaf on top of it. Perhaps that was fortunate! Hope it survived too :-D
It is very nice to see you actually putting names the birds you see, Mel.
Could that bird be a juvenile?
Hi!
Nice photo you have here, a good job on bird watching. What camera do you used?
I thought it may have been a young bird recently out of the nest?
I agree flying away was a good sign.......
Mel,
To find an injured bird is the worst! If we all knew exactly what to do to help, it wouldn't be so sad. Yes, they usually hyperventilate and fly off in hiding. I guess they heal OK...
Mary
So sad to see birds in distress like that. I think it was a good sign that it was able to fly at all. Pehaps it was stunned a bit and the best thing to do in that case is to place it in a spot away from harm Sounds like it already sought shelter of a sort.
You indeed got a nice view of the bird.
Ya.. bad about the wing. But atleast he managed to fly. And lets hop he is fine and flying high :)
¡Hola a todos!
Shirl, I hope that little one made it too. The flight looked unnatural to it, but it took cover, so it may have gotten a chance after all.
Amila, yes, I'm learning about birds, their names and details I can found on them. It is a juvenile Saffron Finch :)
lunaticg, my poor camera is a Sony Cybershot 7.1
Stuart, that could be also, but it did look a bit hurt on one wing. Fall?
Mary, it is sad to find them like that and not be able to help :(
No rehab centers for birds over here!
Meggie, yes, it flew into a bush. I hope it was safe enough over there.
Sekhar, I got pretty close but couldn't help much, every step closer made it more and more agitated.
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