I saw a male junco at the feeder this week who was acting strange.
Turns out he had a broken leg.
He hopped around awkwardly on one foot, and often balanced himself with his wings.
At least his wings worked. He had no problem getting to the food.
I was able to track him for a couple days, watching his activity.
Despite his injury, he was an enterprising little soul.
I saw him frequently at the feeder for a day or two, and then he disappeared. One of two things happened. Either his leg healed sufficiently that he became indistinguishable from the other juncos at the feeder, or he died.
That's nature. But I sure hope it was the former, not the latter.
We had a junco that only had one foot -- he would huddle in the corner of the feeder during storms. He was pretty spry, and after a couple of weeks we only saw him once in a while for the rest of the winter. thank goodness for those wings! (from NH)
ReplyDeleteHis eye is on the "sparrow".
ReplyDeleteMay have been taken by a cat. Cycle of life.
ReplyDelete