Grosbeak II – Crash Recovery

Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. … Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.  Psalm 90:10, 12 NIV

It is rare that we have two birds fly into our window at the same time. I don’t remember ever having three in unison fly so hard against the glass that all of them knocked themselves woozy. But on a winter day not long ago, that is exactly what happened,

I’d seen a hawk collide with the same window the day before. He was fortunate enough to fly away without ever falling to the ground. It happened so fast that I didn’t see what kind it was, but I’d guess a sharp-shinned or Cooper’s. The next day I didn’t see any hawks before the three grosbeaks hit the window, but I’d imagine that’s what frightened them into a panic.

In an earlier post I mentioned an effective method we use to help revive birds that crash into our windows (see Cedar Waxwing). We’ve since replaced the grocery bag recovery-room I wrote about in that post. We now have a wooden box designed specifically for bird rehab.

As you can see in the upper left photo, the three grosbeaks took up a lot of the box! When my wife opened the lid, I managed to capture a few shots of them winging their way to freedom. All three appeared to recover well, and soon flew out of sight.

I was surprised to find that several sources said the lifespan for these birds is about 15 years. I did not expect it to be that long. One site said 100 years, but I’m not putting any bets on that one. Especially if you’ve got hungry hawks chasing you into windows!

The above Scripture speaks of the lifespan of people, and the author of this Psalm, Moses, asked God to help us number our days (i.e., don’t waste our time). We’ve only got one shot at this thing called life, so we should make it count.

The Bible says God will give us the work He wants us to do, so that by the end of our lives, we will have lived a life that matters. If you don’t know the God Who created the universe and all that is in it, please check out Got God.

Hope you have a great day.