Window Strike . . .stunned bird . . . what to do? (1 Viewer)

This happens from time to time. I am unsure of the best thing to do.
I hate handling the bird as it must increase their stress immeasurably.
Today a warbler was stunned after impacting a window. Rather than leave it exposed to cold (3 degrees C) and predatory birds, I placed it in a box and brought it into the warmth, placing the box in a quiet, dark location. After a time I will release it. It has worked in the past.

Is there anything better I could do?

An additional question. If it ever comes to that, is there a humane way of euthanizing a helpless bird?

Thanks . . .

Terry

Hi Terry what you have done is fine, though in warmer weather you could leave them outside with perhaps a colander over them.

We have some more guidelines for you about injured birds, here. I hope you find them useful.

dawziecat said:

[...] I placed it in a box and brought it into the warmth, placing the box in a quiet, dark location. After a time I will release it. It has worked in the past.

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Agree, just note that you should place the box not in a warm room. The birds can´t handle big temperature differences very good. At least in my experience.

dawziecat said:

An additional question. If it ever comes to that, is there a humane way of euthanizing a helpless bird?
Thanks . . .
Terry

Click to expand...

Sure is there a way, but before it must be prooved (by a vet) that there is no help for the bird.

Cheers,
Roman

stonechat1 said:

Agree, just note that you should place the box not in a warm room. The birds can´t handle big temperature differences very good. At least in my experience.


Sure is there a way, but before it must be prooved (by a vet) that there is no help for the bird.

Cheers,
Roman

Click to expand...

I agree with that, as I can't see the warmth doing any good (as the bird is living in sub-zero temperatures), and they usually recover pretty quickly if they're not injured.

There are a number of ways to painlessly (as far as it's possible to know) dispatch a bird, but all will be difficult the first time you attempt it. That would probably mean you'd hesitate, and risk the bird suffering. So whenever possible get the bird to a Vet before you even think about killing it. (I do realise that there may be times when you need to act to prevent further suffering, but it's difficult knowing when these times are).

(It's good to read that you care about wild birds, they often need all the help they can get from us. Although sometimes there's nothing we can do)

Thank you, Delia, Roman and Chris.

I released the bird after an hour of recovery time "in the box."
Glad to report, she seemed fine and flew off strongly.

Terry

If the bird is still alive after a window crash and not falling down to a side there is a good chance that it recovers fully ( as far as we can see at least).
Good job that you could release your bird like that.
:t:

There should be some threads on here about minimising bird strikes ...