Rescuing the Nuthatch

posted in: Birds | 21

Don’t you just hate it when you hear the thud of a bird against the window. You rush outside to see if the bird has flown away or been stunned by the crash. Last week we rescued a little nuthatch.

rescued nuthatch at craftygardener.ca
nuthatch enjoying the warmth of the hand after a hard bang into the window

You never know if you should touch the birds, but this one wasn’t moving so hubby picked it up, but you could tell it was alive.

rescued nuthatch at craftygardener.ca
nuthatch resting on the deck railing

It was quite stunned by the experience and was just willing to sit in his hand and enjoy the warmth. It took some coaxing to get it to finally sit on the deck railing.

rescued nuthatch at craftygardener.ca
nuthatch resting on the railing

It sat for the longest time on the railing, perhaps more stunned than we originally thought. We did keep checking on it, and of course took lots of photos. Eventually it did fly off to the nearby trees.

rescued nuthatch at craftygardener.ca
the nuthatch

I’d like to think that the nuthatch I saw a few minutes later on the feeder was the same little one we had rescued, but I really don’t know.

Nuthatches visit the garden during the colder months. Both the white breasted and red breasted love to sit upside down on the peanut feeders. The photos below were taken at other times in the garden.

nuthatches at craftygardener.ca

Luckily this little nuthatch survived the ordeal. The Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre not far from us in Napanee takes injured birds and critters and rehabilitates them back to their natural environment.

spruceline2a

21 Responses

  1. Kea

    What a precious little bird. I’m glad it was only stunned, though it certainly had quite a hard impact against your window. I do hope it WAS this little one at your feeder again.

    I heard on the news that recently Sandy Pines took in a rescued bobcat, released it a week later. I saw both news reports on CKWS, including the release. Awesome!

    • Crafty Gardener

      Sandy Pines is an amazing place. We have taken an animal there and also made donations of various items. We have been there on one of their open days and seen all the fantastic work they do. If you ever get the chance it is a place worth visiting or you can check them out online. We were glad the little nuthatch was okay.

  2. Myrtle

    Lovely picture of the nuthatches. Yes i have seen the poor birds hit windows and only stunned and after a short period fly off thankfully.

  3. Jennifer A. Jilks

    Aren’t they sweet?
    We’ve had a few whack into the window. It’s a wonderful opportunity to photograph them.

    • Crafty Gardener

      Getting real close up photos was wonderful and to be able to briefly hold and touch it was fantastic. Nature never fails to amaze me.

  4. Eileen Wise

    Hello, it is nice to see you posting again. Your Nuthatch photos are great. They are one of my favorite birds seen at the feeders, I love to watch them. I am glad to see your Nuthatch survived the window strike. I hate that sound when it happens. Thank you so much for linking up your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your day and weekend. PS, thanks for visiting my blog and for leaving a comment.

  5. Karen@Beatrice Euphemie

    Such a sweet little bird! Wonderful photos. We have nuthatches here, too. I love to watch them walking upside down along the tree trunks. I found some cling-on medallions for my big window that actually stopped the bird strikes. You might find them at a wild bird store. They are barely noticeable to humans, too! x Karen

    • Crafty Gardener

      We do have things that n the windows but some birds do still try to fly through them. The nuthatches are so cute to watch as they hop down the trees. Thanks for visiting today.

  6. Stewart Monckton

    The window thud is never good – thankfully it does not happen too often with us. Getting such close views of the nuthatch is the only good part about these kinds of stories I think.

    Cheers – Stewart M – Melbourne

  7. Linda

    Beautiful story….great photos!
    Love the nuthatch!
    Cheers!
    Linda:o)

    • Anni@I'dRatherBBirdin'

      I can’t tell if my comment went thru. ….I love happy endings! And awesome, truly awesome photos!Thanks for sharing with us at I’d Rather B Birdin this week and for the birthday wishes.

      • Crafty Gardener

        Anni, your comments are akways held for moderation as you don’t use a valid email. You also won’t get this reply sent to your email addy. Once a legit email is apprived you don’t have to go through the moderation process. Hope you had a lovely birthday.

  8. Anni@I'dRatherBBirdin'

    I love happy endings! And awesome, truly awesome photos!Thanks for sharing with us at I’d Rather B Birdin this week and for the birthday wishes.

  9. Martha

    What a sweet bird! I’m glad to hear that it recovered and flew off. Nice photos!

  10. Country Gal

    Oh poor little thing , I am glad you kept an eye on him and he recovered . They are such tiny pretty birds . Lovely photos . Thanks for sharing , another nasty storm approaching over night and into tomorrow stay safe and cozy .

  11. betty - NZ

    You gave it what it needed, I guess, a bit of warmth! How nice to be able to help little critters, if only in a small way. I love your photos, I don’t have any birds like that around my house.

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