Flycatcher Rescue

I was picking saga seeds in a dry gutter when I found this female yellow-rumped flycatcher, curled up against some dead leaves and only moving feebly.

She had no obvious injury, but seemed very weak, or perhaps in a state of shock. I found her just outside my condo, so I picked her up and brought her in, put her in a cardboard box lined with towels, and gave her some water in a little plastic tray. She drank it, but only when I brought it very close to her – almost dipping her beak in it.

I then called ACRES, which is a wildlife rescue NGO. They said they had no capacity, and suggested contacting the National Parks hotline. In less than an hour, NParks sent someone to pick up the bird and take her to a vet where, I hope, she will make a full recovery.

While I waited for the NParks guy, I took some photos.

Two years ago (to the day!) I had a dream about taking photos of a wild bird in my apartment. I told my friend about it at the time, so I'll quote my texts verbatim:

Had a funny dream
A duck flew in through my bedroom window
Mallard duck. Male, because he had a green head
I quickly closed the window thinking I would interact with him for a bit
Then I had the idea that when I opened the balcony door to let him escape, I would take photos as he flies away. On burst mode, multiple frames per second. To see the flight/wing pattern
So I was standing by my bed, changing my lens to a zoom
Meanwhile the duck was chilling next to me. I patted his head
And then he was doing something on my hand with his beak. The thing that cats do – biting but not actually biting, more a show of affection
But then suddenly he bit me 😳 And again I could almost feel the serrations in the beak and pain in my hand. I probably even moved my hand in my sleep. And then I woke up.