One recent morning at around 10am, I was sitting on a screened-in-porch listening to the birds with my aunts, Nancy and Flo, when I saw, and heard, a dark shape hit the screen door into the porch. I got up to check what it was, first checking the area immediately in front of the door, and then checking the surrounding ground. I found a young American Robin on the ground, in a bit of a laying down/sitting position, with its wings slightly splayed out. I was initially very concerned about a possible wing injury due to how the bird was holding its wings.
I knew there was a wild bird rehabilitation center in the area, Avian Haven, and checked their website, both to check how far they were from where we were, and to see if they had any specific directions on their website regarding what to do with a potentially injured bird. Different wildlife rehabilitation centers can have different directions regarding the specifics of how they want an animal handled. I have volunteered at a wildlife center near my home in California, and I knew from experience there that the bird should mostly be left alone and watched to ensure no predators got to it and to see if its condition was improving at all. Most of my experience has been with animals that were already brought into the center, so I wanted to check what the local center’s guidelines were. Luckily, they had a page about window strikes, so I read through that while keeping an eye on the Robin, from a distance of course. [link here https://www.avianhaven.org/window_strikes.html]
The article stated “When a bird is found alive on the ground after a window collision, it should be retrieved and removed from harm’s way. … A good place for the bird to recover is a cardboard box lined with a rumpled towel or piece of clothing such as an old sweatshirt or t-shirt. Place the bird in the box, secure the lid (air holes may be punched first), put the box in a warm quiet place, and wait an hour. Then take the box outside and remove the lid. A bird that had merely been stunned will fly up and out of the box, but an injured individual will stay on the bottom of the box. … The recovery box should be too tall for the bird to leave by jumping. If a bird with an injured shoulder hops from the box, it may run or fly low to the ground quickly enough to elude recapture. However, a bird unable to achieve upward flight will be vulnerable to predation and starvation. … If the bird does not fly up and out of the recovery box, replace the lid, and contact a wildlife rehabilitator that is licensed for wild bird care.”
I requested a suitable box from my aunts and an old towel that they did not mind parting with, upon receiving both items I worked with Flo to create air holes in the box so it would be suitable for the Robin to recover in. Just as we were finishing up, I saw the Robin fly away from where it had been on the ground, and upon checking the area, we determined that it had in fact been the young robin that had collided with the screened door. This was a very happy ending for the occurrence, as we did not even need to intervene by placing the bird into the box. Keeping minimal contact with wild animals is very important, even if the animal is injured and you are trying to help. Wild animals are naturally afraid of humans, and it is important that they remain that way. Also, if there are people around a bird recovering from a window strike, that will only cause further distress to the bird and will not aid in its recovery at all.
It is important to remember to give wildlife space, even if they have been injured, and to use caution when transporting an animal to a rehabilitator or rehabilitation center. It is illegal, and ill-advised, to keep a wild animal without the proper permits. Please do not provide food or water to an injured animal unless instructed to by a wildlife rehabilitator.
Written by guest author, Fern Weaver of Santa Clara, CA & Stetson, ME
Photos by Nancy Brown
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