Warning, some readers may find the following a little disturbing. While we were finishing up eating our late breakfast at a local restaurant, a European Starling accidentally flew into the window where we were sitting. After the impact, the European Starling dived involuntarily, face first and wings spread, into the snow. At first it felt like a chunk of dirty snow hitting the window which flew off a passing car in the parking lot. It all happened so fast.

I may or may not have saved the bird. I went out and cleaned the snow around it just in case the Starling was still alive. I detected slight signs of movement. Speaking from experience they either die on the spot from the hit or are shocked and need some time to recuperate. The purpose of cleaning the snow around was to keep the bird from suffocating. The Starling did fold its wings into position and slowly lifted its head upwards, still shocked. After a few minutes as we were walking away, the Starling flew away from behind the bushes. Happy ending.

“My mother early on taught us to respect all animals, and I mean all animals – not just cats and dogs but rats and snakes and spiders and fish and wildlife, so I really grew up believing they are just like us and just as deserving of consideration.” ~ Joanna Lumley

This was not the first time I experienced a bird flying into a window. A few years ago I had a juvenile Yellow Rumped Warbler, again involuntarily landing on my backyard porch after the impact. Same as the Starling today, the Yellow Rumped Warbler also survived the collision. Having all this small excitement today, I recall a different story from many years ago on how seniors and police saved a snapping turtle near the Hadley Grange retirement housing in Aurora. Anyhow, not to end this blog post on a negative note, but sometimes not all stories end well.

Anna Lozyk Romeo
Aurora, ON