A Chickadee vs. Clean Glass

01May09

Okay quick and true story….. I’ll subtitle it; “The Rural Conundrum: Clean Windows to See the Neat View or Dirty Windows to Prolong the Life of Wild Birds?”

Yep, I heard that light thunk near my kitchen window and just knew a bird had slammed into it. With all the bird food I put out I wonder how much bad karma I’ve build up because I’m obsessed with really clean windows. Maybe I’ll come back as a gnat and some swallow will get even for my deep set need for cleaning glass so often…

On a Monday evening I ran outside to find a black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) sitting dizzy on the porch. The dogs and the cats think one thing when this happens, “ummmm mid-day snack!” I know this because I have to race to the bird before any of them show up. My black kitty actually is quite the hunter..

{luckily that was shot in Jan and the bird apartment was unoccupied…}

So my husband, at my insistence, scooped up the bird. (After all I cannot photograph and hold too…)

Joe gently held him until his confused head cleared up enough to fly away. He said he loved it because he could feel the bird treat his fingers like a branch and curled his little feet around his forefinger.

you can see in his profile even his head feathers were a little mussed up…. poor thing.

You’d think they’d hold a grudge but no, the next day I got really close to one of them. I totally cheated I was wearing a ghillie suit while getting closer. The first time I wore it I was sitting outside and almost gave my little girl a heart attack when she saw “the bush move!”

Okay enough of me and yes, the bird lived and flew off just fine.

Overall Score?
Clean Glass: 0
Chickadee: 1

Filed under: Bird Watching, Local Birds, Pacific Northwest, Photograhy, Uncategorized   |  7 Comments
Tags: Bird Watching, Birds, black-capped chickadee, Kettle Falls, Kettle Falls Washington, orient, poecile atricapillus, Rural