A Bird in Hand

It's a great day for me. I heard something hit my window earlier and went outside to see, fearing a bird had injured itself. Yep, there was a Tufted Titmouse sitting on my porch. I tried to wait and see if he would fly away, but Jade was watching him with lunchtime looks in her eyes. I picked him up and held him against my chest to warm him up, not knowing whether he was hurt (or if my handling him would scare him to death, literally). His beak was open and not moving, but I didn't see anything obviously wrong. Hoping that he was only stunned, I held him quietly for a couple of minutes and then lay my hand in the birdbath which is filled with sedum, not water. I saw his beak start closing and his eyes started to focus and blink. I moved my body away, still with him perching in my hand. Just as I was thinking about reaching into my pocket for my phone to take a picture, he flew. It was so fast! He was sitting there, blinking at me and whoosh, he was gone. He lit in a nearby azalea bush and then flew away. I have to believe that he will be O.K. Anyway, if I had not intervened, Jade would have enjoyed a birdie catsnack and I'd rather she didn't.

                                                                       
 Here's a shot that I found of a Tufted Titmouse. We have titmice here year-round, along with chickadees and cardinals. The titmice are small, about 5 inches--sparrow size, and the males and females look alike. They're shy little birds who come to the feeders for sunflower seeds and suet. I never thought I'd hold one in my hand. I'm so grateful for the experience, although I'm sure it was less than soul inspiring for the flyboy.

I do love our birds!
Serena