This morning I was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and reading the paper, when I heard 
something hit the window with a loud BAM.  I looked out but didn't see anything at first.  Then I saw an 
aggressively puffed-up Mockingbird hop into the garden just below the window and take a vicious 
swipe at a small brown bird lying on the leaves.  Oh, no - another Hermit Thrush!  (Perhaps the 
mocker had been chasing the thrush, causing it to crash into the window.)  I rushed outside (still in 
bathrobe and slippers - at least it wasn't snowing yet) to rescue the thrush and bring it inside.  At first I 
thought that it was a "goner," but after a minute or two, it got to its feet in my hands.  So, I called for 
back-up:  my husband Jim hurried down into the basement and found an empty fruit box to put the 
bird into.
 
We put the box on the floor in a warm bedroom, where the cats were unlikely to notice it.  Then I went 
about my business for an hour or so.  After walking my dog Chloe, I refilled all of the bird feeders.  The 
chickadees and a nuthatch showed up at the deck feeder almost immediately.  I said to Chloe, "Look 
at the birds!"  But instead of looking out the sliding glass door like she usually does, she perked up 
and ran into the bedroom - where the thrush was in the box!  (This is one very smart dog - must be her 
German Shepherd heritage.)  I picked up the box, which caused the bird to start fluttering around and 
trying to poke its head through the narrow opening in the top of the box.  So, I knew that it was time to 
let it go.  Chloe and I took the box outside.  I took the thrush out of the box underneath a large, dense 
evergreen shrub.  Chloe was very eager to give me more help than I actually needed  (her Golden 
Retriever heritage, I suppose), but I managed to keep the bird away from her and let it flutter up into 
the bush.  The thrush moved on a short time after that.  I'm so glad that it recovered - I just hate it when 
they break their beautiful little necks!

Elaine Hendricks
Greenbelt, MD  (PG County)



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