Finch rescue

Mirinda went to a conference today. Naturally she drove Max. Meanwhile I stayed home and worked in my office and in the garden.

In the office, I was working on this years photographic competition winners. It’s for the U3A website and something I do every year. It’s long and laborious, mainly because I only do it once a year and, more or less, have to remind myself how I do it. Still, I finished and sent off a temporary link for the chap in charge of the photographic group and headed into the garden.

It was while I was in the garden, removing weeds, that we had an unexpected visitor. It wasn’t until I went in at about 4pm (to get a coffee) that I realised. It wasn’t too hard. This unexpected visitor was flapping around the roof lantern, desperately trying to get out.

It was a gold finch and it was frightened – I could see it shaking! I knew it had to be rescued and I looked around for a butterfly net. Shortly afterwards I remembered we don’t have a butterfly net (note to wife…we should get one!) and looked for something else I could use. I spotted the long winding pole which opens the skylight windows. I grabbed it and opened them both, giving the finch a couple of options. Options the finch didn’t bother to take. No, the finch just kept banging it’s head against the double glazing.

It then struck me that I was Dr Doolittle and could communicate with little birds. I held the pole quite close to the finch and, very softly and mildly, I told it to step on so I could set it free once more. And would you believe it…eventually the finch did just that.

A couple of tentative steps and the tiny claws clenched the brass hook at the end of the winder and I very slowly and carefully moved him towards one of the skylights. A little twist of the pole and it was all the incentive needed. The gold finch flew off and out to rejoin whatever relations were pining back in the nest.

The finch marks the second bird that has decided to fly into the extension only to wind up trapped (a robin was the first) and I suspect that it won’t be the last. Sadly I didn’t get a photo of it…but here’s one I took earlier…