Tragic

[John]

I have always had Bullfinches in my garden and know that they breed nearby but until this year I had never seen a youngster in my garden. This year I have had a few youngsters on my feeder. A few minutes ago, whilst typing up an e-mail, I heard the distinctive plop on my window. The sound of a bird hit.

I looked straight out of the window and saw a couple of small feathers floating down so walked out to investigate only to be confronted with a dead young Bullfinch. Obviously it had broken it's neck on contact.

I have at least four pair visiting my garden and with a few young visiting as well I was hoping for a bumper year in adults next year but this is the second youngster I have lost here now (I had one taken by a Sparrowhawk a couple of weeks ago). I can only hope the other youngsters survive.

John

[aeshna5]

That is sad John! It's bad enough any bird do that, but somehow even worse when it's a relatively scarce bird. Hopefully the others will survive.

[~T~]

Originally Posted by aeshna5

That is sad John! It's bad enough any bird do that, but somehow even worse when it's a relatively scarce bird. Hopefully the others will survive.

Plus you can't help feeling guilty. I put up some bird transfers on the window that are supposed to stop this happening (though im not sure why) after this happened to me with a young chaf.

[Dogghound]

It is a great shame, they are a very fragile bird despite looking so bulky. I suppose you just have to think in the grand scheme of things most young bullfinch wont make it from fledging to adulthood.

[lilyrose]

I think you are supposed to make the cut-out look like a raptor in flight (they have them a lot on the continent) so the little birds are frightened away - that's what I was told anyway.

[John]

This particular window is not on a flight path. It is in a corner, tight to a
fence with the kitchen built as an extension protruding out. In effect it is in
a recess and there really shouldn't be a reason for a bird to fly into it unless
possibly it was being chased by a Sparrowhawk or something else, in which case
it wouldn't have mattered if I had something on the windows or not.

I do in fact have curtains and they were partially closed leaving a relatively small area of window showing clear.

John

[werdnal]

Are you sure it was definately dead? We get a very occasional bird strike here. Can't understand it as our windows have very small panes, but it must be certain lighting conditions or reflections make the birds think they can fly straight through.

Anyway, I have picked up a few casualities, which do look dead, but we have only actually had one fatality. They knock themselves senseless and go very limp, giving the impression they are dead, but I always put them in a dark box and leave for half an hour or so, to give them a chance to come 'round. I have had several happy recoveries over the years, so don't assume they are goners too soon!

[John]

Yes it was dead. I left it on a table I have near the window for a while just in case as I have heard that they can give signs of being dead.

John

Originally Posted by werdnal

Are you sure it was definately dead? We get a very occasional bird strike here. Can't understand it as our windows have very small panes, but it must be certain lighting conditions or reflections make the birds think they can fly straight through.

Anyway, I have picked up a few casualities, which do look dead, but we have only actually had one fatality. They knock themselves senseless and go very limp, giving the impression they are dead, but I always put them in a dark box and leave for half an hour or so, to give them a chance to come 'round. I have had several happy recoveries over the years, so don't assume they are goners too soon!

[Wild-Woman]

Very sad John. It's strange but we seem to have spates of this happening. A few years back we had a horrendous summer of window collisions and deaths but this year we've had one very young collared dove hit the bedroom window and drop down stone dead.
I have no idea why - the windows are the same.
I can understand your dismay at it being a Bullfinch in particular, a bird that is struggling terribly with its numbers. One which we have never had in our garden to my knowledge.
Like you have suggested, perhaps it was being chased by a sparrowhawk.
I'm surprised we haven't had a sparrowhawk fatality, as I've watched our local one head directly for our patio doors in a chase and pull up just in time on a number of occasions.

[PMG]

Its a shame but it happens to a lot of young I reckon - they don't seem to learn quickly enough about windows tho even the adults make mistakes sometimes too - as you say if being chased by a spawk then logical thought about surroundings stops. It happens occasionally at our caravan if we lift the mesh blinds to see clearly what is on the bird table then something will eventually collide when trying to fly thro usually young coal tits .......