On October 29th, a pint sized little bird was brought to our hospital after his unfortunate encounter with a glass window in Huntington. The Golden-crowned Kinglet, weighing only 6 grams, was very alert but unable to stand on his small legs. Surprisingly, despite his inability to support his weight, his tiny yet powerful wings still allowed him to get around a bit. We set our patient up in a small mesh cage with some food to rest from his ordeal.
The next morning we came in to find the kinglet's food bowl was empty. He had eaten all of his food overnight although he was still not able to use his legs to perch or grip. A couple days later, the kinglet became harder and harder to catch from his enclosure. His flight was much improved and he started to slowly regain the use of his legs. On Wednesday, November 4th, we determined the kinglet had fully recovered from his ordeal and was ready for release. However a storm was coming through the following day so we decided to hold on his release until Friday. Early Friday afternoon the clouds parted, the rain moved out of the region and the Golden-crowned Kinglet returned to freedom.
Golden-crowned Kinglets spend their summers north of Long Island and make their way down to Long Island as they migrate south in the fall. They can be identified by their beautiful yellow or golden spot on the top of their head.
