While I was working this morning, I heard something go "thunk" against the window. I didn't think too much of it; our windows aren't huge, and there had never been birds killed by flying into them. But when our esteemed secretary Jean stepped outside to get the mail, she alerted me to the presence of a dead bird. Sigh. I am the official bird identifier/coroner in my office.
I think this bird may have been victim to the high winds that prevailed today. Normally a bird would have no reason to fly anywhere near our office, which is a dreary blue and white pole building. But this bird could have been flying from one thicket to another, and happened to have been caught in a sudden downdraft.
What beautiful, subtle gray feathers, and rusty undertail feathers. I like catbirds for their mimicking ability. May this one rest in peace.
11 comments:
Oh, that's too bad. I love catbirds too. Their twitterings, peeps and toots remind me of R2D2.
Killed birds always make me sad, especially a favorite like a catbird. I don't even want to think about babies that could be in a nest waiting...
Awww...Amen. It is very sad, poor thing.
That's a shame-Catbirds are one of my favorite yard birds-
Lynne- for some reason, there have not been many catbirds right by my house this year. There usually are, and I miss their R2D2 calls!
MojoMan- You had to mention the babies. :( Maybe it was a male.
Momadness and Larry- It is such a shame. Such a beautiful bird.
That's sad, Deb. If a hawk gets a bird in my yard I never feel as bad as when I find a dead bird that has hit the window.
Aww..that's too bad. They add so much beauty to this world it's always sad to see one of them dead, especially from some freak accident of nature.
I hate finding birds like this, but it's always a wonder to see them so close up and examine them. They always seem so much smaller to me.
I watched one last week going in and out of one of my big brush piles.
Hopefully replacements are on the way.
RuthieJ- I feel bad about uavoidably hitting butterflies with my car. The feeling is magnified for birds.
Pumpkin Faerie- You're right, they do add so much beauty to the world, and that's what makes something like this so tragic.
Rurality- Yes part of me was "Awww..." but the other part was "Doesn't it have beautiful gray feathers!" Something about seeing a bird up close, dead or alive, recharges my sense of wonder.
FC- I found one of these nesting once in a spruce tree planted in front of the subdivision house we lived in at the time. They are highly adaptible, and although I'm sad about this one, I'm sure replacements are definitely on the way.
It always makes me sad to see a dead bird. Beautiful singers those catbirds are.
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