It is now officially spring in South Strafford, Vermont.
Today the first confused starling of the season got itself trapped on the 2nd floor, glassed in, front porch and had to be rescued. (This generally happens 4 or 5 times every spring.)
In the past, I've had to catch these poor birds by hand. Have you ever tried to catch a terrorized flying wild bird? While it is flying away from you and flinging itself at the windows?
Last year there was one that just wouldn't be caught. It was so heartbreaking to have it keep eluding me and bashing against the glass. But they don't find their way out again if you just leave them there. (I've tried.)
I finally walked down the interior stairs and opened the front door. The bird came and perched on a rocking chair where it could watch me. But it was blocking me from leaving it in peace to find the way out, and I didn't want to scare it back to the L part of the porch.
I sat down on the stairs. "Now you're going to have to do something hard," I said. "You're a bird and everything tells you that when you're in danger you have to fly UP. This time you have to fly down."
I gave it a moment to let that sink in.
"And you always fly away from humans, but now you have to fly towards one. You have to fly right past me. Close enough that your wing might even touch me."
Starling flicks its tailfeathers.
"C'mon. You're a BIRD. You have to feel that breeze from the front door. You have to smell that damp green outside."
The bird looks like its going to fly off in the wrong direction. And I am thinking I am nuts.
Then, one graceful swoop and it flys down the stairs right past me. Once it clears the door it makes a steep incline into blue sky. Triumph.
................................
This year's rescue was considerably easier. My landlord fixed some of the windows so they could be removed. When I discovered the bird today -- when my cats discovered the bird today -- I simply pulled out a few windows and hid.
It took a few false flings (ouch.) But the bird did find an open window and flew to a nearby telephone wire to recuperate from the ordeal.
I stuck my head out the window. "Are you all right?" It stared at me and fluffed its feathers. "Try not to do that again, okay?" I put the window back in.
We'll see.
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