lolbirds

img_1683

A few days before going to Megan’s wedding, Marcus and I were sitting in the kitchen when we heard a loud thump against the side of the house. Now, our property abuts the properties of two other families with small kids, and no fences have been put in yet. So occasionally we find a stray ball or stray child in our yard. Baby or ball, we don’t mind; we just pick it up and heave it back into the neighbor’s yard.

So when I looked out the window to investigate the thud, I expected to see something round and bouncy, and instead I saw a very shocked bird! It had flown into our spotlessly kept (wink, wink) window and landed, mouth agape, on our deck-in-progress. Naturally, I had to get some pictures.

img_1684

img_1688

img_1689

img_1690

img_1695

After snapping a few pictures, I became concerned that there was no change in the bird’s position. Several minutes passed, and it was still motionless, with its mouth still open. I got really close to the bird, and was pretty sure I could hear a tiny scream coming from its tiny beak.

“We should do something,” I said to Marcus.

“Like what?” he responded.

“I don’t know… Maybe we could take it to a vet,” I said.

“Pfft.”

“What? People do that. I’ve heard of people taking animals that weren’t theirs to the vet, when they hit them with the car.”

“Yeah, like cats and dogs,” said Marcus. “Don’t worry about the bird. Someone will come along and help it.”

“Huh? Who?”

“Another animal will come help it,” he said.

I laughed. “Another animal? Like a vulture, maybe?”

“No, a hawk will come along and carry it away,” Marcus argued.

At this point I knew he was pulling my leg, so I elbowed him in the ribcage as I said, “… And eat it!”

“I’ll tell you what,” he said. “If you want me to, I’ll pick it up and throw it off the deck.”

“No! I don’t want to get rid of it. I want it to get better and fly away!”

“I know. If I throw it off the deck, it will have no choice but to start flying. It just needs a little confidence.”

I was thinking over Marcus’ theory, when suddenly the bird moved its head around, closed its mouth, and flew away. No tough love necessary. But before it did, it turned its head to me and mouthed, “Thank you.” Isn’t that sweet?img_1696

8 comments

Skip to comment form

    • Clark on September 19, 2009 at 2:51 pm

    Did somebody talk to you about resizing those pictures? I swear they were bigger 5 minutes ago. I need a beer.

    • Shona on September 19, 2009 at 2:57 pm
      Author

    Yes, Marcus said they would be too big for most people’s monitors, so we resized them. You still need a beer, though.

    • mom on September 20, 2009 at 3:58 pm

    Loved the pictures and the story…such a good writer! I can just see Marcus saying those things..he’s like that , ya know.

    • Sam on September 20, 2009 at 4:28 pm

    I think it’s nice you believe the bird was thanking you. But I’d be willing to bet it was some sort of expletive aimed at Marcus. Next time this happens, he can jus “heave” it into a neighbors yard.

    • Germaine on September 23, 2009 at 6:12 pm

    I just loved your bird story and your pictures were beautiful. Your Mom passed this on to me, I do feed birds myself and really enjoy watching them, all the different species have different behaviors.

    • Lillian on September 23, 2009 at 6:33 pm

    Great pictures, Shona. I think your little visitor might have been saying “Wow! – I just found my confidence!”.

    • Eric (Shona's uncle) on September 23, 2009 at 6:38 pm

    Out here in Colorado we often have eagles, ravens, deer and elk, and an occasional porcupine flying or running into the side of our house and knocking themselves senseless. If we’re stewing or barbecuing that day, we just add them to the bill of fare. (I always let Harriet skin the porcupines.)

    • Shona on September 24, 2009 at 3:39 pm
      Author

    Thank you, Germaine. I felt bad for the bird, but at the same time, I have to admit to being pleased that I was able to get so close to it without it flying away.

    Lillian, I think you’re right! 🙂

    Note to self: Decline any future invitations to dine at Eric and Harriet’s house…

    I guess the altitude must make the wildlife dizzy. I got ill myself during my first trip to Denver. I remember the headaches and the vomiting, but until now, I had blocked out the whole slamming into buildings thing. Thanks for bringing it all back, Eric 😉

Comments have been disabled.