While out filling the feeders recently I noticed this female House Finch only a couple of feet away. She was sitting on a dead branch that was laying in the yard. When I saw her eyes I realized why she hadn't flown off with the other birds. I've seen many finches with House Finch eye disease (Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis), but this was the first one I'd seen that was totally blind. I could have reached out and touched her while taking the photos. It was obvious she knew something was close. When she finally flew off it was straight up like a helicopter and in very jerky motions. She managed to find a branch high up in one of the trees. Generally, when the disease gets to this point the birds die from starvation.

Female House Finch1/60 sec. f/6.3 ISO 400

Female House Finch1/60 sec. f/6.3 ISO 400

Female House Finch1/60 sec. f/6.3 ISO 400 1/60 sec. f/6.3 ISO 400

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday