My mother has a bird feeder that attracts a lot of birds including goldfinches. One morning when the temperature was really low, I noticed a goldfinch sitting on the feeder, looking sluggish. I kept watch for a bit, but it didn’t seem to be moving much. I walked away and checked back in about fift…

Do you think it might have smashed into something before you saw it? I volunteer with a bird rescue sometimes and we often get birds with concussions from hitting windows. After they’ve sat for a while, most of them revive.

Thanks for your reply. I don’t know. The feeder hangs by a chain from an arbor, so it would’ve been very lucky to have crash landed on the feeder, unless it hit the feeder accidentally and sort of plopped down on it. I guess it’s possible. That hadn’t occurred to me.

Sometimes it can take a long time, too. I came across a bird that had obviously hit a window (not mine), and I couldn’t walk away from it even though I couldn’t tell whether it was dead or not. I stood next to it for at least an hour so nothing would harm it, and finally it opened its eyes, then man…

I’ve done that too–a little bird hit a window at school, and the students called me in to help it (apparently because they heard I like animals). I watched it until it took flight again. I just didn’t realize they could knock out for so long. I guess the poor thing was stunned when I saw it. Thank…

i think i would only be concerned if that particular goldfinch looked particularly lethargic while other goldfinches or other birds were actively moving around. i imagine that it i were caught outside during a cold night without good shelter options, i’d probably be sitting mostly in one spot, shive…

Thanks for the reply. Actually, for a long time, it was the sole bird at the feeder, so there were no other birds to compare it to, and by the time other birds arrived, it had begun to perk up. So, it might have just been a cold bird on a particularly cold day in northern Pennsylvania. I’m pretty …

For future reference, if you (or anyone else) finds a bird that has just hit a window, from BirdSafe.ca : When a bird hits a building it needs a quiet, dark, safe place to rest and recuperate. If you find a bird on the ground by a building, gently place the bird inside an un-waxed paper bag or a s…

And this reply is for @pisum and @scharf too. Never release the bird you recuperating. They can sustain injuries even though they look “fine” after hitting a window such as concussion, internal bleeding, etc. If a bird hits your window and it’s still alive, ALWAYS take it to rehab.

Question: Is there a list of rehabs somewhere? I live a mile or two from a very good one, but my mom does not–or at least I’m unaware of one.

Goldfinch question

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Goldfinch question

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