Just now, while I was sitting here in my home office catching up on email, a
pine siskin flew full-force into my office window. I raced downstairs and
found him laying on the ground. I tried to help, but there was nothing I
could do. He died in my hands. I felt so helpless. And now I feel very,
very sad. :-( :-( :-(

1. Is there anything I can do to save a bird that's hit a window? I just
felt so utterly and hopelessly helpless to do anything to save him. What
should I have done? Is there anything I can do in the future? When I was
active in doing rehab, I remember we used deximethizone to try and decrease
swelling of the brain. I tried to keep him still, and his neck straight,
but I don't know if I did more harm than good.

2. What should I do with his little body now? I feel as though I owe it to
the bird to bury him, but I also know that bird collections need
skin/skeleton samples for their inventory. My thinking is that it'd be
better to use a bird that has died of natural causes, than to take a healthy
one from the wild. (Though, wouldn't this be disrespectful, in a way?).

I'm sorry; I know I'm rambling. I'm confused and upset right now. This is
the first window casualty we've had this year. More than anything else, I'm
upset with myself that I was helpless to prevent him from dying. It was
awful.

:-(

The other pine siskins at my thistle feeder up on the hill don't seem to
give a damn. In fact, they keep foraging as though they haven't noticed
that he's gone.