This little juvenile goldfinch flew into my very dirty patio door last night – it’s so dirty, I don’t know how it couldn’t tell it was glass.  Needless to say the poor little thing was terribly stunned.  Buddy was whining and begging to get out the door to get at the bird.  (Of course I didn’t let him.)  Buster wanted to go out and play catch.  Instead, we sat on the floor and watched it for a while.  I should say I watched, Buster whined to play, and Buddy fixated on the bird.  

Its breathing calmed down a bit and it perked up, ever so slightly, as it sat on the deck.  Sitting was definite progress, as initially it was doing a face plant and I wasn’t sure it was going to come out of the abuse it took flying into the glass.  I took some really bad photos through the patio door, which I cleaned from my side, but the outside was still dirty – auto texture layer! 

I snuck out of the house through the laundry room, keeping the dogs in the house, and with gloves on, picked up the little guy and tried to put him in a box.  After an initial very brief struggle when I first gently picked him up, he quickly calmed down.  He just sat in my open hand, trusting me, allowing me to softly stroke his head.  I lifted him off my hand and into the box that I had fitted with a towel, climbed a ladder and set the box on top of my storage shed, which is next to my aspen, thinking it to be the safest place for the little guy and someplace where Buddy wouldn’t be able to get him.  

As soon as the box was set down, he flew into the aspen tree and stayed there on one of the branches.  I took some pictures (see above) and then left him alone, periodically checking on him throughout the evening.  At one point during the evening, he moved from one branch to another one, but still in the same small area, and at 11:00 pm he was still there, sound asleep.  He was still in the same spot the next morning (yesterday), which made me so unbelievably sad.  I was hoping he’d be gone in the morning, having fully recovered and off to join his family. 

I checked on him a few minutes later and he was gone from his spot –  I could see him hopping from branch to branch to get higher in the tree. Yay!  I feel better.