In less grim news, the flight pen is a-flutter with soon-to-be-released birds. The brown thrasher was released and didn’t look back, but was quickly replaced by the house finches and woodpecker from the last update. Today I moved the barn swallows into the flight pen, too, but they haven’t settled down enough yet for any decent photos.
Below are some photos of the current residents in the flight pen.
The hummer has been released and while I’ve seen her from a distance at one of my feeders, she’s not coming down for supplemental feedings.
Yet another hummer came in, with no apparent wing fractures but lacking the ability to fly. Both wings flutter perfectly and evenly; there’s just no lift. Again, we’ll wait and see what happens with her.