What to do for a Stunned Bird that has crashed into a Window

If you have bird feeders outside of your house, it’s likely that at some point you’ve had a bird crash into your window. If you’ve had this happen I’m sure you’ve looked out and wondered,  “Now what?” You want to help the bird, but may be unsure what to do. Here’s what you can do in that situation:

Go outside and look for a minute to see if the bird is moving. Sometimes it will spring up and fly off at your approach. This is good! Your work is done.

But if the bird is obviously still alive, but looking in bad shape, you can gently pick up the bird and place it in a small shoebox with some holes poked in the sides. Place a soft towel or cloth in the box and then put the covered box in a warm, dry, safe and quiet spot for about an hour. Make sure if you have cats that the box is somewhere out of their reach.

According to Wild Bird Watching, “when a stunned bird is removed from all stimuli there’s a greater chance it will heal from a potentially fatal concussion. Do not try to feed the bird, give it water or play the role of doting bird nurse. Just let it be.”

If the bird lays out on the ground, it can be eaten by a cat (By the way, did you know CATS kill 2.4 BILLION birds every year in just the United States? Click HERE to learn why you should reconsider letting your cat be an outdoor cat) or other predator, or can get too cold to recover. By putting it in a dark box, you give the bird a better chance. After an hour or two, take the box outside and open the lid. Hopefully the bird will fly off on its own. If not, you can try lifting it out. If it doesn’t fly off you can try returning it to the box for a bit longer. If after several hours, the bird is still alive but not wanting to fly off, it may be injured, in which case you can seek help from a local wildlife rehabilitator. 

If you are interested in learning some things you can do to PREVENT bird/window collisions in the first place, click HERE.

Thanks for looking out for wildlife. Since the birds can’t say thanks, I will say it for them! Today you made a difference to one bird and that’s a wonderful thing.