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16 September 2009

Building Locale Deadly to Hummingbirds on Similar Date

An interesting tidbit regarding the finding of fatalities of bird strikes in the Omaha area was noted on September 13.

In the morning a dead Ruby-throated Hummingbird was noted in the plaza area of the Central Park Plaza building. The location was noted and a picture was taken. In looking into previous records for this species, it was surprising to find that a Ruby-throated Hummingbird had been found dead at the same exact place a year ago, on September 13, 2008.

Hummingbird noted in 2008.

Hummingbird noted in 2009.

What is was that brought this species to the same place on the same date and with the same result is a mystery of nature that will have to remain unexplained.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is quite an old post, but I thought I would respond to it... Hummingbirds are one of the common species of birds that are known to fly into windows of buildings of homes when they see reflections which look like the trees, sky, clouds or something else which they believe they can fly through, because they cannot see the reflections and gloss of the window.

It is also very common for Woodpeckers and Robins to hit windows, and many office / tower buildings are responsible for it too in downtown areas.

What happens is the bird usually sprains or breaks its neck, and/or sometimes just the shock alone is enough to kill it from the stress and hypothermia. 50% of the time, the birds are able to recover.

If you find a bird which hits a window and becomes stunned, you should pick it up in your hands and hold it for a while so it does not go into hypothermia, it may be a good idea to place the bird on a towel inside of a shoebox in a warmed environment with poked holes through it so it can breathe, and the darkness will help calm the bird.

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