I find myself curiously affected and sad over the death of a thrush.
Sad Over The Death Of A Thrush
Finding The Bird
On a dog walk this morning, Barnet Boy was ahead of me with Spud and walking with them was one of our cats Rolly. Ringo was with me and he was walking just ahead of me when I nearly stepped on what I thought was the body of a bird. But it was sitting in a very strange way. I gave Ringo to Barnet Boy and told him to walk on a bit so that Rolly went away. Then I went back to check on the third.
It Was A Thrush
It was really odd. The bird was standing on both feet and just with its head tucked into its chest, eyes closed. I touched it carefully and it opened its eyes and mouth. I carefully picked it up and examined it and it had no injuries whatsoever that I could see. But I put it down and it didn’t make any attempt to fly off. I wondered if it had flown into something and was stunned? It certainly seemed to be in some sort of shock.
The Dilemma
It was strange that Rolly had either not noticed or been interested in the bird. It was standing in sunlight so it was keeping warm (and it was very warm today). I was concerned that if I took it back to the house a) it might go further into shock and die anyway and b) in spite of best efforts to keep it safe one of my crew of 15 cats might get it. We live in a very rural area. I could try and take it to a bird rescue but that is a 20 minute drive away. And that involved driving with a bird that was clearly in some stunned or shocked state to start with. Plus the center would not be open until 5pm this afternoon, quite a few hours after I found the bird.
I honestly didn’t know what to do for the best. And sometimes when we humans interfere we make matters worse. I was very aware that any intervention on my part could make things worse for the bird.
My Choice
I decided to leave the bird exactly where I had found it, so that it would continue to recuperate in warm sunshine and in peace and quiet. And hope that no cats had it in the meantime, not to mention the magpies in the trees overhead.
Sometime Later
I went back to check if the bird was still there some time later and found it dead in exactly the same place I had left it. It had just keeled over onto its side and died. It may even have been soon after I left it. There still wasn’t a mark on it. At least it died in peace! I carefully placed it on a bed of leaves and walked away.
All very strange and quite unsettling! And whilst glad it died in peace, I do find myself sad over the death of a thrush. Perhaps it had just reached the end of its life, like we all do eventually?
Before you go
My name is Dorothy Berry-Lound an artist and writer. You can find out more about my art and writing at https://dorothyberryloundart.com.
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Thank you for reading!
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