The wife and I were leaving he house this morning when a bird came out of nowhere. The wife was on her way to the car while I was locking the door.
We have a screen door with a piston that closes the door automatically along with the regular door, the one I was locking. A black bird fell from above me, it must have been near the piston, flapping its wings on the way down. I was startled by that but it happened so quickly I didn’t really have time to react.
I mentally registered it was a bird so I didn’t feel all that threatened. The bird flopped on the porch for a moment, then took off, flying away into a nearby bush. It might have been a crow, but I don’t think it was that big. I’m not sure what species it was.
I finished locking the door, looking down when I finished. That was when I saw the drops of blood. Several of them scattered across the porch.
The poor bird was obviously injured. I don’t know if it got caught in the piston mechanism of the door, or if it was injured before it fell on me. Possibly it was attacked by another bird? Or some kid shot it with a BB gun? I’d think kids would be in school at this point of the year. When I saw the blood I felt awful. I hope I wasn’t the cause of the bird’s injuries.
We were off to do errands and other tasks so I didn’t get a chance to clean up the blood. I did that when we got home later.
One thing I found surprising – the bird’s blood was purple. I wasn’t expecting that.
The bird flew out of the bush and over the house so I don’t know what happened to it. I’m oping it was OK but I fear it is not. I suppose if it is injured that makes the bird more vulnerable to predators in the wild. If they attack the bird and kill it I suppose that is more merciful than the bird suffering a long time.
Just another reminder that none of us last forever. Memento mori.
If you’d like to support my efforts, why not buy me a chocolate chip cookie through my Ko-Fi page? https://ko-fi.com/jhusum