05-16-09 - Stunned Tennessee Warbler

On a lovely Saturday afternoon with moderate temperatures and a bright blue sunny sky I had set my thoughts to reading a book on the patio. I prepared the tea, got my book and stepped out. It wasn't to be. Just inches off the patio and only steps from the door I saw a bird in the grass. It didn't move. I thought maybe it was dead after smashing into the patio door. I walked around towards the bird feeders and then circled back to the house. The bird did look my way a couple of times so I knew it wasn't dead.

This is a picture of the bird as I first saw it.

This has never happened in my yard before. I was a little panicked. I called the bird store and spoke to Ruth. She gave me tips on what to do. First I picked up the bird and sat in the sun for awhile. Then I made a shoebox and placed the bird in, also in the sun, to keep it warm. Ruth suggested offering a bush after an hour. The bird did make it slowly to a branch of my shrubby magnolia.

This is the bird in the shoebox
After an hour the bird was still in the same spot and I was worried. I called Ruth again to ask more questions. She suggested offering water or mealworm if I had it. I tried those things. The bird didn't seem interested but did seem a little more peppy than before. I held it again and it was definately more active then. It actually seemed to prefer being held by me than being in the bush. After about 10 minutes in my hands, the bird jumped and flew. It looked fine as it left.

Me holding the bird.

Side Note. If you click on this last picture to make larger, you can see the Rose-breasted Grosbeak eating from a dish at the feeder. First ever Grosbeak to our yard was this weekend. So two new yard birds in two days!