Another success story ended rather quickly for us today at VINS. A male purple finch that came into our care 32 days ago did not hang around for any “aw” moments when we released him on site today, instead he was gone in a flash.
This beautiful male finch came into our care on May 6, 2011. He had crashed into a window of a home up in Caledonia county and when he was brought all the way down to VINS by the concerned homeowner we were not sure if his release day would ever come. When he collided with the window his left wing was severely damaged and by the time he got to our ICU the bone had already started to set. But, one wing wrap, several medications, two weeks of confinement, and another two weeks of exercise in our small bird aviary and he was ready to go!
He didn’t stick around for any fond well wishing either. Once this little man saw his opening he took it and headed right for the trees. He dropped out of my hands and used the ground effect air to soar over to the tree line and disappear from our sight. We will miss his joyous song, but we’re so happy to see him fly away.
Great post, Lauren! So good to see this PUFI leave our care and return home.