Close encounter with a goldfinch…

Mid May one morning was our first moment together.

It was time to shake out and add some fresh black oil seeds to the feeder. To the left on the railing sat a lone goldfinch that hadn’t joined his flock in their hasty retreat into a nearby tree.

I hesitated not expecting his company this close on the deck. He sat waiting patiently for me to refill the feeder.

Returning into the kitchen I watched him fly into the feeder and begin to eat. Maybe a new friend? I smiled and sat waiting for the return of his flock.

Past moments like this with several hummingbirds, chickadees, and an occasional pigeon have helped me believe that birds will tolerate humans if we do not pose a threat to them and are recognized over time as being a friendly caregiver.

Anyway, this story continued to unfold throughout that day. By evening his name was Bestie with an i e. He slept in the feeder the first night. That was the clue that helped me realize why this friendly creature tolerated Nancie and me being so close nearby. My new friend Bestie had been injured somehow.

Our neighbour has a glass deck railing and he relayed the story of a small yellow bird flying into the glass and knocking himself out. To revive the bird neighbour Pete had thrown water on him. The wee goldfinch regained consciousness flew away.

I checked some footage from a video (below) and sure enough his left eye was mostly swollen shut. Bestie was most likely in shock. (You can see the left eye damage in the pics I extracted from the video below.)

The damage healed quickly and within a few days my wee Bestie had normalized suifficiently and returned to the wild.

The encounter was fun and reassuring that for a short while we can bridge that gap between humans and wild birds.

Copy & paste this link into your URL to watch a brief video of the encounter ->> https://youtu.be/OS1Wec3qcxg <<-