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Health & Fitness

Bird Meets Door, Interrupts Morning Coffee

An unexpected thud brings on an all out quest to prepare for the bird-flying season.

The best way for me to welcome the day is with a ceramic mug of coffee while paging through a native flower magazine. 

And so I was doing this morning when, in between sips, something thudded against my door.  Very odd since no one ever comes knocking so early, so I neglected my mug long enough to shuffle over.

I turned the handle, creaking it open as it pulled away from its frame and stuffed one eye into the gap. 

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No one was there.

I gazed down only to find a few stray feathers encircling a concussed bird sprawled on the stoop. "Gaaaagh!" 

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She lay there, panting like a dog — so to avoid adding heartattack to her recovery, I creaked the door closed. I watched and hoped.

"Please get up, I really don't want to bury you."

I waited some more. Thankfully a half-hour later, she sunned herself, re-oriented and flew away.

Moral of the story: Window clings belong on storm doors as well as windows. And to increase the effectiveness, place on the outside of the window to divert birds from doomed flight patterns. Especially during spring mating and nesting, territorial birds may fly at or attack their own threatening reflection.  Visit the Ozaukee Humane Society to find some cool and decorative options, such as a UV-snowflake. Leaf prints are also available to coordinate with the other six months of the year.

I used my super telescopic camera lens to take a photo of the recovering patient. Can anyone tell me what kind of bird she is?

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