A Bird in the Hand

A thump at the window…and a downy woodpecker spread out on the deck table below. I watched for a minute to see if he’d get up and fly off as they usually do - nothing. So a quick hustle to the basement to get an appropriate sized box, line it with paper towels and out the door. I was able to scoop up the little Downy Woodpecker too easily - no struggle. Eyes half closed, beak open. I carefully put him in the rescue box and put it in the garage, out of the way of predators. Forty minutes later I took the box outside, opened the lid, and out he popped. He gave me a quick look and took off into the woods. My good deed for the day.

I don’t get a lot of window strikes but occasionally when the birds are spooked by something, one will hit a window. Usually they aren’t traveling at full speed and are able to fly off right away. And other times, they take a harder hit and need a little time to recover. In all my years here, I have only had 4 fatalities (that I know of). I usually always have a rescue box in the garage - but I’d used my last one to transport the fatally injured sparrow to my friend last week. Shoe boxes are usually the perfect size.

The prednisone has already made a difference in my hands! On the flip side, I had a hard time getting to sleep last night. I will try skipping it tomorrow and see how I do. It’s not a drug I want to take any more often than absolutely necessary.

We watched “The Intern” last night with Robert DeNiro and Anne Hathaway - a delightful feel-good movie. I wonder what we will watch tonight…

Nine days…

Xo
Debbi