Kids just down for naps. I settle in for some TiVo’d trash tv (maybe The Hills, maybe Real Housewives, maybe Gossip Girl…couldn’t tell you. My mind goes inexplicably numb from 2-4 pm) when suddenly…
*THUD* against the glass deck door.
WOOFWOOFWOOFWOOFWOOFWOOFWOOF! (Lazy Labrador barking his big block head off. Skidding down the hall, nails-scraping hard wood as he races to the deck doors).
Me (rising from the couch): What the….
I walk through the kitchen to open the screen door. Dog races out ahead of me, nose in the air, ears up, tail at full staff.
WOOFWOOFWOOFWOOFWoo..
Well, hello tiny birdie.
Apparently, this little guy got a tad disoriented and, from what I gather, careened head first into the glass of our deck doors. (Which, I am aware, makes it seem like I am an awesome housekeeper. What with the sparkly glass doors and all. But…nah. Just a super dumb bird, I think.)
Clearly, he was stunned. His little heart was beating madly as his chest heaved with each birdie breath. He hopped away from the dog a bit but clearly wasn’t about to fly anywhere. At least not right away. Not that it mattered much. As I’ve mentioned before, my dog is the anti-Labrador in almost every sense of the breed. Sweet and gentle to our kids, yes. Swimmer? Retriever? BIRD DOG? Um, no. None of the above. Not even a little bitty birdie bit.
Go lie down, Bern.
So, he did. Ho hum. ‘Night, Bern.
Interestingly, it seemed, the little birdie had a friend. There was another bird flitting around from tree to tree above our deck. Watching the goings on. And he was screeching down at his friend. I’m pretty sure it could be loosely translated as:
Hahahaha! You big idiot! Smack! Hahahaha! Nice job, dummy! How’d that feel? Hahahaha! Wait’ll those cute finches at the park here about this! Hahahaha!
I knew not to touch the bird — not that I wanted to. (Birds are so gross.) But, I left him a ramekin of water, left him some bread crumbs and then, probably most importantly, left him alone.
And, sure enough, by the time the boys were up from naps, he was gone. Likely sporting a Grade A headache. Off to face the ridicule of his fellow feathered friends.
Bye, bye birdie.
Confessions of a Serial Swooper 
Do you have a holster for your camera so it is with you at all times?
Poor bird must have gotten a lot of crap at the local watering hole later!
Actually, Sue, I had my camera surgically implanted during my last c-section.
Too funny!
Poor guy! Growing up our house had HUGE windows with no panes and no curtains so birds were constantly smashing into them. I always wanted to try hanging up big black hawk cutouts to keep them from flying into them. I’ve heard that helps.
I bet you could probably whip up hawk cut-outs in one ten-minute Ballerina craft project.
Mine would wind up looking like big black cosmic holes which, come to think of it, Big Brother would loooooove.
That is a Magnolia warbler. He has migrated up from Southern Mexico and Central America to live and rear some young in your backyard! They are amzing little birds.
I love that you know what he is! Thank you!
He was small. And adorable. I’ll be on the lookout for babies.