For someone who spends her free time studying birds, "chasing" birds, and photographing them whenever possible, it was quite upsetting to find a bird in jeopardy in her own backyard bird feeder! I feel compelled to share my story so noone else has the same experience!
This past week as I gazed out the window, I noticed strange behavior at one of the bird feeders. A House Finch fluttered its wings while eating but wasn't going anywhere. I went outside to investigate and immediately discovered that its head was trapped in the feeder.
First of all, do not buy this feeder! It was a good deal at a national hardware store but it definitely has faults!
Instead of the small hole designed for the beak of the bird, a piece had fallen off creating this huge gaping hole which was not intended to accommodate a birds head. I knew from my bird banding class that birds get stressed easily when trapped or handled so I needed to react quickly but carefully! I removed the feeding perch and gently removed the helpless bird from the "death trap". I was expecting a well deserved "nip" from this little guy but he must have sensed I was trying to help and refrained himself.
He was stressed from the ordeal. I was afraid he wouldn't survive but after about an hour of just resting in the grass, he started to hop about. A few other House Finches started calling to him from a nearby fence when he started moving. It seemed to motivate him into action for shortly afterwards, he flew up to this "safe" feeder. Whew! He survived another day! The lesson in this story is to take care of your bird feeders. Clean them regularly and when you do, inspect them for sharp edges or faulty feeder perches like the one I mentioned.
Another preventable hazard to birds is window collisions. If you have bird feeders, assess the nearby windows. If they reflect the environment, birds may unknowingly fly into them resulting in death. I just put up some new decals in most of my windows. This style claims to refract the light spreading UV colors beyond the actual sticker giving greater protection. There are other designs available.
Trust me, it is far better to obscure the view out your window then to find a dead bird on the ground!
Enjoy the birds that visit your yard but be diligent in preventing potential death traps!!!
