Saturday, October 30, 2010

An Unexpected Guest

I had just finished lunch and was heading out to the studio to do a few screenprints when I heard the horrible thump of a bird hitting the large kitchen window.  Since our kitty cat Elsie is always on the prowl for a delectable little birdy to munch on, I hurried outside to come to the aid of the fallen critter.  




At first I thought his little neck was broken, as he couldn't hold his head up.  That always dismays me, as there is no way to save a birdy with a broken neck.  ARGH!  But this little guy kept on breathing and looking at me intently, as I continued talking softly to him, and stroking his feathers ever so gently.  It must have been a good ten minutes before we did anything but stare at eachother: me cooing, he staring intently.  He slowly regained his birdlike composure, but showed no interest in leaving my hand.  I needed to get going in the studio, so while I was glad to have his company, I also was ready for him to move on!  Oh well!!  Then I realized that I could get some nice closeup bird shots, if I could just get my right hand (upon which he had already left a little 'gift') into my pocket to retrieve my iPhone.  So, I very gently performed that task.  The first picture is above, and as you can see, it's a wee bit out of focus: I was nervous and just thrilled to snap one picture.  He seemed perfectly content to hang around, so I continued to snap:




I had never seen a male Towhee so close-up, so the coloration on his feathers was a total delight to me.  I hope you can see it here on his backside.  Lovely, huh?




And here's a bit of his gorgeous breast.  Often folks confuse the male Towhee with a Baltimore Oriole, and you can easily see why.  He was really posing up a storm, don't you think?  I started 'pishing' at him, just to see if I'd get a response:




amazing, huh?  He was not amused!!!  LOL  I think he would have spent the rest of his life cradled in the palm of my hand had I not put him down on a clump of asters in my flower bed.  At that point, he fully regained his birdlike composure and flew off into the underbrush.  What a true gift those 15-20 minutes were!  Treasure your moments!


PEACE

p.s.: I realize that I have reached a milestone: over 900 posts!  YIKES!!!  Stay tuned, as I will soon post about a celebratory giveaway!  It's time to PARTY!!

13 comments:

connie said...

Oh, my what sweet little guy, he was lucky he hit your window instead of someone else. Now that sounds funny, i mean he was luck you were there to help him along. What a nice little break for you. Have a lovely day!

Gerrie said...

What a purty birdy! We had a big problem with the birds in the windows in CA, but here, we have no had a problem except with golf balls!!

Cate Rose said...

A similar thing happened to me with a Junco a number of years ago. I had picture windows when I lived in the mountains, that birds flew into often. This little guy hit with a thud and I thought he was a goner. After about 20 minutes of TLC, though, he shook his little head, righted himself, and flew off!

Joyce said...

What a thrill! And great photos too.

Vicki W said...

Very cool!

Eva said...

What a lovely bird. Rather big! I bet he was feeling perfectly at ease in your hand, hoping that his headache would go away.

Jeannie said...

Oh, you bird whisperer you! LOL! I love Towhees. They visit here in the dead of winter and I always look forward to their visit. Amazing photos. I see him being memorialized in a quilt! 900 posts! Wow! Have a great day!

Diana Parkes said...

I have had birds hit a corner window where they think they can see 'the other side'. However, yesterday had a cheeky blackbird accompany me in the garden where I was digging. He came very close looking for worms!

Carol said...

What a lovely post, Judy. A lucky little bird indeed. I've never seen or heard of a Towhee before - he really is beautiful. Congratulations on your 900+ posts, that's a mighty milestone! xx

Gilli said...

Well, lucky little Towhee, and lucky you. What a special gift for you both.

Karoda said...

I wonder what was wrong with him...we are all so fragile.

Barbara said...

What a lucky little bird to be saved by you Judy! Thanks for sharing these pictures.

Peace!

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