avoidance_behavior t1_jc8yv4i wrote
Reply to comment by LadyAsharaRowan in Cemetery staff take out personal ad for goose whose mate died — and find her a new match by citytiger
not geese, but related: probably fifteen years ago I lived in the guesthouse at my parents' place bc they charged minimal rent for my own separate spot, and the door was a sliding glass situation. one afternoon a mourning dove flew into the glass, which is unfortunately not uncommon when the sun is at the right angle and they can't tell it's not a way through. the poor thing hit the door so hard that it died very shortly after impact; I barely had time to get up from my seat and go see what the commotion was when it slumped and died right on my welcome mat. before I could figure what to do, its mate flew down next to it and laid its head down on the deceased bird and I swear on all that you may or may not believe is holy, it died right there after a few moments of laying still. the other bird didn't hit the glass at all but the only thing I can think happened is that it just gave up knowing its mate was gone. to this day it's one of the saddest but fucked-uppedly sweetest things I've ever seen. I actually cried.
LadyAsharaRowan t1_jc92z0x wrote
I totally believe that it died on the spot from a broken heart.
So where I work at the entire building is glass and it's a tall building. The geese hit the glass windows and landed on one of the patios. It's mate was just walking back and forth circling around it. I totally get crying about it. Like I said it sent me down the research rabbit hole to understand them better.
We have a lot of geese near my building. They have those sound machines that actually try to deter them from landing in the pond nearby, but it doesn't really do much of anything.
000f89 t1_jc9j1a4 wrote
Your building should look into bird-safe films to stick on the glass. The birds will see it and understand they can’t fly through. It can save so many bird lives!
Aalnius t1_jcb55hc wrote
i dunno birds be dumb my bedroom window is super dirty at the moment but it doesn't seem to stop birds scaring the absolute shit out of me every now and again by just flying full pelt into it.
BokononWave t1_jcb6llq wrote
Solid (opaque) elements on windows do work, even if it's dirty it can reflect the sky or nearby trees. If you'd like to reduce the jump scares there are stickers you can put on the glass!
Aalnius t1_jcb770b wrote
its a council owned property and ill hopefully be moving out soon. So for now ill handle the spontaneous heart health check ups by the birds.
If_In_Doubt_Lick_It t1_jcb7ffk wrote
Birds can see light in the uv spectrum. There are films and repellants you can apply that fluoresce to them in daylight. So they can see it and we can not.
Its a fun research dive. Theres a lot of birds that have uv reactive markings that we cannot see on them, but they can.
summonsays t1_jc9kdzn wrote
My great uncle basically died the same way. He was this mountain of a man, farmer, gave off that vibe that he could break you in half with a pinky if he wanted. But he was always the nicest guy and his wife was probably the sweetest person I've ever met. We used to go up to their house every Thanksgiving (8 hour drive). His wife developed brain cancer and died. We went up to visit him maybe a month after it happened. He was in a care home. He didn't really respond to us and he probably weighed 60 pounds. Skin and bones, just waiting to die. He died the next week. That's my "sweet but fucked up" story.
KayleighJK t1_jc9lu9o wrote
RIP to a great great uncle.
000f89 t1_jc9iy36 wrote
If your parents still have the guesthouse, they can stick bird-safe films on their glass. The birds will see it and understand they can’t fly through. It can save so many bird lives! Glass kills a staggering amount of birds each year.
avoidance_behavior t1_jc9k29r wrote
my dad has since taken to hanging up old cd's and dvd's on strings by windows and doors. the flashing and glinting has seemed to help keep the bird strikes to a minimum. poor things.
000f89 t1_jcb4cn7 wrote
Good for your dad! That’s great.
cearahn t1_jc90cnn wrote
Sad upvote. Damn
pinkjello t1_jc9bwcv wrote
I kept waiting for this to be a copypasta, but then it wasn’t. I wish it were. That was sad.
periwinkle_cupcake t1_jc9j531 wrote
Oh, my heart
InGenAche t1_jc9mi4z wrote
When you read something like this then realise that T-Rex arms were so short they probably couldn't hold hands.
Adieutoyouandyou t1_jcart37 wrote
It's so sad, ya know?
Durago t1_jcc8bmw wrote
Maybe they could stand next to each other
Tobias_Atwood t1_jcbimlz wrote
I was working a job in the upper floor of an extremely old ass building that had a bunch of different roof access points. This apparently made it a prime shelter for the local pigeons because every time I worked that site there were always at least a few hanging around.
One day I went up there and saw a trio of pigeons off in the corner. Two of them were walking around, not doing much beyond sticking close to the third one. The third one I thought was already dead. It looked old and sick and was so still and unmoving. The only reason I knew it was still alive was because it would occasionally adjust it's feet to get more comfortable.
I worked that site for several hours and through all that time the two other pigeons never left the side of their sick friend. Eventually the sick pigeon looks like it has some kind of pigeon seizure, dramatically falling onto it's side and flopping around. Almost as soon as it started it stops, and the pigeon goes still again.
I just watched a pigeon stroke out and die before my very eyes.
It's two friends inspect it for a moment before going towards the nearest chimney and flying up and out.
It always struck me how they stuck with it to the very end.
Pigeon solidarity.
AlwaysInTheFlowers t1_jc9z1ya wrote
Similar situation happened at my grandparents years ago. Poor bird definitely wasn't going to make it.... in retrospect this wasn't the best idea but I just laid there in the grass with it stroking it's head for a few minutes saying calming things to it before it finally passed. I made sure it was actually dead (I called game and fish and they said there was nothing they could do either) and then I gently buried it in their garden and planted a sunflower over it and gave it a little funeral.
TheSunflowerSeeds t1_jc9z2ta wrote
There are two main types of sunflower crops. One type is grown for the seeds you eat, while the other — which is the majority farmed — is grown for the oil.
alexch_ro t1_jca1bg2 wrote
Not the best moment for trivia
goat_penis_souffle t1_jcatqcl wrote
Sunflowers also mate for life.
Doyouevenpedal t1_jc9z9ov wrote
Wth man, I'm not trying to be sitting on my couch at 3am ugly crying, but thanks to you I am.
[deleted] t1_jcaqtfn wrote
[deleted]
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