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I wish I updated this more, I really do. Last summer was just... terrible. Death after death after death. I cared for 13 bunnies. 1 saw it to release (ironically, he had been caught by cat who had just gotten back from having his teeth cleaned at the vet). And then, when I had a glimmer of hope at the end of the year, my heart was shattered into pieces. My poor little Sophie who I felt so oddly attached to even though I didn't have her for very long... she just couldn't make it. Then, on top of my sorrows, there were the horrible misfortunes of my closest rehab friend, Marilee. So I probably didn't post intentionally because, honestly, I just didn't want to remember any of it. But this year things have been looking up (*knocks on every piece of wood in a 5 mile radius*) and I feel like doing this has meaning again. When everything is going wrong you just start saying to yourself "why am I even doing this??? It's a waste of time, energy, money..." But just today I released 4 greys and they all seem to be quite happy. Two have taken up residence in the trees nearest the outdoor cage. I gave them the talk before they left, "STAY AWAY FROM THE ROAD!!" and some other helpful tips about avoiding hawks and such.
There has been one tragedy so far this summer, though. Mini Stinks, a male grey squirrel. I had him for about 4 weeks, he was paired with another male, Mr. Stinky. They were put into the outdoor cage and about 3 days after being out there I woke up in the morning to find Mini had lost his paw. Yes, lost his paw. Bloody stump. Gone. I was stunned. I kept walking back into the house, pacing, then walking back out thinking that somehow my eyes had deceived me or that I dreamt it or something, anything that made sense. But no, there was Mini with his bloody stump, running around the cage acting like nothing was amiss. He had to be put down, I knew that before I even got him to the vet. How is a squirrel supposed to survive with no paw?! And the part that bothers me the most is that I have no idea what happened. I've gone over it 1000 times, searched the cage from top to bottom. No sign of any paw. No sign of foul play (though Mr.Stinky was an aggressive squirrel), no sign that anything had gotten IN the cage and HOW would something grab him from outside?!?! He is a squirrel, they are fast and sharp clawed. And the most disturbing part of that is if I don't know what happened, how do I make sure it doesn't happen again?! Before I moved these aforementioned 4 greys to the cage, I went and covered any sharp edge I could find and also put wood all along the bottom of the cage. They had no incidences. I just don't know...
poor little Mini :(
Aside from that, though, things have been good. I had the extreme pleasure of caring for some red squirrels (which I have some photos of to share). I ALMOST got a flying squirrel, but it's mother came back for him. Is it wrong to be a little disappointed about that?? haha. The reds were awesome, though. Hyper balls of a adorable. I hope I get some again.
Pictures sometime in the hopefully not-so-distant future. |
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Enjoy!
Barn Swallow that had been stuck in fly tape. He was too weak when we got him... poor guy didn't have a chance :(
Baby Bunnies when I first got them.. about 10 days old.
AWWWWWWW
( Read more... ) |
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Sorry I havent been keeping up at all this summer. Since I graduated, got a full time job, got involved in the animal shelter project and also have been working on the house... well, it's been crazy not even mentioning all the wildlife I've gotten.
The season is about over now, I'm not expecting any more critters. I have a single pigeon right now, she's acting really funny. Won't fly and keeps her head cocked to the side, but eats and drinks well. Not sure what's going on there.
The summer, as a whole, was terrible. I had a lot of things die for different reasons every time. The saddest part of the summer was when I receieved 5 baby bunnies (it was my first time doing bunnies). I got them the day there eyes began to open (about 10 days old). They were severely under weight, but slowly put weight on over the course of the next 10 days. They were beginning to wean on to solid food- all were eating greens well- and I had cut back on the formula feedings. I came home from work one day and one bunny was dead, one was sprawled out and twitching with eyes wide open, and a third was sitting in a corner of the cage not moving a muscle while the other two seemed perfectly fine. The two others that looked bad died in my hands within the hour. It was terrible... the only thing I can think is that they may have been dehydrated since I wasnt giving formula as often. The two that lived I did see drinking water, but maybe the others hadn't started? I started feeding the others formula again until they wouldnt let me touch them anymore. Then I moved them outside for 3 weeks and then released them near my parents house in the country this past weekend. I will post pictures of them in the near future. They were such cuties. I wish I could have saved them all :(
I'll post some pictures in the near future of the bunnies, a cedar waxwing and some adorable goldfinches. |
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I don't know what it is... I might as well start wearing a black robe and carry a sickle with me.
Just about everything I get dies. The cowbirds and robins from last entry, yeah they spent their second night outside and I awoke to find feathers scattered across my porch. Something ate them, all three of them, one by one on my porch.. little wing-bits were the only things left behind. And then every other altricial bird I had died or is dying currently (except for three sparrows which I am reluctantly taking, but not releasing).... so lets make the list... 3 starlings, a barn swallow, a tree swallow, an super tiny "unknown", 2 sparrows, 2 grackles, and now 2 nestling robins on my table which are dying because they aspirated on food given by the people who found them. UGH!! So frustrating. I'm switching to mammals :P
So yeah, I am just too discouraged for photos. I took some but blah, don't feel like editing and uploading them. Maybe if I start getting some success.
I almost got some fishers (they are like big weasles) yesterday! That got me all excited, something new! I guess someone saw the dead mother on the road and 2 babies next to her. The call was passed on between about 4 people and by the time I got it a lot of time had passed. I used the online white pages to find someone who lived on the street and started calling strangers. I finally go through to an incredibly nice woman who agreed to drive slowly down the street looking for them and to put them in a box and hold on to them until I could get there. She called me back to say that she had found the dead mother, but no babies anywhere in sight. She said she looked all along the woods and the tall grass on the sides of the road and nothing :(
Oh well, if they were old enough to be out of the den (like 7 weeks?) then I hope they were ok to be on their own. I wouldn't have had a clue what to do with them anyway, it would have sure been a learning experience!
So that's it for now, keep your fingers crossed for these two baby robins, they are going to need all the luck in the world. |
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Birds come in and birds go out. Three of the younger ones that I recieved from the tree cutting people did not make it. One by one they developed swallowing and breathing difficulties. Their nest was like a puddle when I got them, so I think they got water in their lungs. Only the biggest of the 4 survived and he is doing great, ready to leave the "nest" in a few days. The three bigger birds (two robins and a cowbird) are all doing great also. They were looking antsy last night, so I put them in their "nests" into a cage and it's a good thing I did because this morning I accidentally startled them coming around the corner and the robins both took off flying. So they have been moved outside to the porch where they will remain until it is time to go. The cowbird is insanely annoying with these rusty door-like squawks. I hate to say it, but I will be happy when he goes!!
Since the last update I got a juvie starling which ended up passing. I think he was played with by a cat. I got a juvie sparrow which ended up passing. He had a huge air bubble under his skin on one side, a ruptured lung maybe? He was gone within an hour.
And I got a Bluebird and he is sooo pretty!
He has a broken wing... like unfixable, bone-sticking-out broken. I called someone on the hotline to ask if there was anyone that could amputate the wing and keep him as an education bird. He said he would ask around, but no news yet. So, I just give him mealworms and berries and water and he hops around singing this beautiful throaty song like nothing is amiss. If no one can take him he will have to be euthanized and I really don't want that to happen :(
Pictures later when I get some time. |
| » 7 birds, oh my |
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On sunday I got a call that someone had cut down a tree earlier that day and found two nests with babies in them. I called the guy back around 9 and he said since he wasnt able to find anyone to take the birds right away he put them back outside... in 40 degree weather.... in the pouring rain.... what was he thinking?!??!! If no one can help them, at least let them die in comfort, geez. So I got there to pick them up, there are 3 babies in one nest probably about 6-7 days old and 4 babies in the other nest about 3 days old. I brought them home and they were soaking wet and as cold as ice. Joe, his family and I sat around the dining room table warming the babies in our hands. Within about a half hour they started coming back to life. We got some food into their bellies and let them rest for the night. One of the littler babies didn't make it to morning... I think he may have gotten some water in his lungs because he was gasping for breath.
So now I have 6 of them. The three older ones are not all the same type of bird, though. Two look like robins and the other is different. Since Cowbirds are the only nest parasites I know in this area (they lay their eggs in the nests of other birds and leave them for the nest owner to take care of along with her own babies) I suspect it is a cowbird. The strange thing is that the littler ones look just like the "different" bigger one. As in, the four little ones all look like cowbirds. Now, Ive never heard of a cowbird laying 4 eggs in one nest and on top of that having none of the host birds eggs hatch. So this is strange to me. I suppose the cowbird could have knocked out the host birds eggs and the host bird didnt notice? Both nests look like robins nests and robins are usually known to kick out cowbird eggs, so this is weird. I guess we will just have to wait and see till they are older in order to determine what kind of birds Im dealing with here.
And.... my camera has gone missing. It ran away. So no pictures until I get a new one :(
May. 23rd, 2007 @ 01:13 pm
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| » Of Crows and Bunnies.. |
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The next morning Mr. Crow was not looking too good at all. He could barely stand up. I brought him to the vet and it was determined that his wing was indeed broken (the humorous, right where the wing attaches to the body) and also that he had massive head trauma. I believe they euthanized him, but in the shape he was in I can accept that.
( A pretty sickening bunny story. )
May. 11th, 2007 @ 01:12 pm
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| » Open for Business |
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First bird of the year, (finally) a CROW!! yay! He's beautiful. Has a broken wing. I just picked him up about 15 minutes ago so Im letting him relax and hopefully he will eat and/or drink something. The wing is definitely broken, completely hanging, so Im not sure what will be done with him. There is a vet around here that takes wildlife at no charge, but then I never hear about the animal ever again. Now, Im not saying that I think they are killing the animals flat out.. but they probably are if the animal looks bad or looks like it can heal, but would be unreleasable. So I dont want to drop this crow off there and have them euthanize it because it would never be able to live in the wild again :/
But I dont know how to fix a broken wing, Ive only ever seen written instructions and thats not a huge help. Decisions, decisions...
May. 6th, 2007 @ 08:52 pm
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| » Freedom, Sweet Freedom |
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On November 5th the cage door was opened and the squirrels were let free at last. One or two would come back at night to sleep in their nest box for the first few nights. On one rainy day one was on my back porch and I was able to give her some walnuts. We haven't seen any since about wednesday, so they have probably moved on to bigger and better things.
Some photos before and after release:
( Bye Squirrelies )
Nov. 13th, 2006 @ 10:51 am
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| » A Squirrelish Update.. |
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"I'm FREE!! Oh no.. wait.. I'm still in a cage! D'oh!"
My brother and my father were finally able to finish the outdoor cage we had been working on and they brought the sections up to my house on saturday to be assembled. -For those interested, the cage only cost about $100 to make and wasnt too terribly time consuming. I can write up some plans to anyone who might be interested. The only thing you really need is someone who knows how to weld :) Its not the most beautiful thing in the world, but it gets the job done and a cage this size for that price... cant go wrong there.-
Within 2 hours the squirrels were inside it running all over and putting everything they could find in their mouths!! One of the first things they did was start licking the wire of the cage, sheesh. Just like little kids. Within 30 minutes they were making a nest out of leaves in the planter that we hung from the top. I also gave them some washclothes that had been theirs previously to use as bedding in the planter. It was so funny to watch them try and stuff the washcloth in their mouth, or at least as much as they could get in there... start climbing the wall with it just to get inches away from the nest to have the washcloth fall back to the ground. Then they would go back down and try again. Eventually I just felt sorry for them and went and put the clothes inside the planter for them. Im a sucker... I know...
They are doing really well, though. They seem sooo much happier. When they were inside I kept them in the biggest available cage that I had, but it was no where near big enough for all five. They were escaping and causing havoc all over my house! Im sure Ill miss them someday, but being able to move them outside was a HUGE sigh of relief. And what post is complete without some squirrelish photos and even some video!
This video is from about a month ago. I cant believe how small they are here!
http://www.rpi.edu/~defigh/P9140002.MOV
This is the best video I have of them in the new outdoor cage:
http://www.rpi.edu/~defigh/PA210003.MOV
Another video of the outdoor cage. The sun was setting and hitting the wire at an angle that makes it hard to see inside.
http://www.rpi.edu/~defigh/PA210008.MOV
( 5 Little Squirrels, 1 Big World )
Oct. 24th, 2006 @ 12:14 am
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| » This Update is for the Squirrels |
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The fuzzies are all doing wonderfully. The first to have eyes opened (thus nicknamed Looky) has proved to be quite the trouble stirrer. She with suck on anything she can find if it resembles the width of the syringes we feed them with (thus nick-nicknamed Looky McSucky). The others opened all their eyes within the next 3 days after Looky. Now they can see very well and are full of curiosity. They don't fall right back asleep after eating anymore. They will wrestle with each other and run around chewing and climbing things. The biggest- and my favorite- is Duchess (named after the cat in Disneys Aristocats) cuz she is super chubby and super climby and has the biggest poofiest tail of them all. Then there is Bumpy who likes to get out of the cage a lot. Runty is the most polite and waits her turn patiently whereas the others literally ATTACK you if they see the milk syringe in your hand. And then there is the boy who is just called... The Boy... not naming to get attached here, just to differentiate. He has the cutest face of all of them- I swear it.
And of course what would all this info be without some photos:
There are a lot so if you have a slow connection it may take a while- but they are definitely worth it!
( The Squirrels Only Club- no humans allowed (unless they have food) )
Sep. 6th, 2006 @ 11:48 pm
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| » Bird 31- Pigeon, Bird 32- Mourning Dove, Bird 33- Red Tailed Hawk and some furries |
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Just when I figured I would get no more animals... sheesh.
Well, the 5 sparrows from earlier have been "released" in one way or another... They were outside in their cage learning how to eat on their own. Most of them were eating, but still accepting food from me. One morning I woke up and everything was quiet... TOO quiet. I knew already that something bad had happened. I walked out and the cage had been knocked over on the ground, the door to the cage was open, the food dishes were strewn about... no signs of any sparrows. Only 2 or 3 feathers were in the cage and just a tiny bit of blood on a perch (it is my thought that this perch probably fell from its position when the cage got knocked over and hit one of the birds). With so few feathers I am not sure that a predator got them. I have a pesky squirrel that hangs around my porch and it is possible that perhaps he was climbing along and knocked it over and in the crash the door swung open and, in terror, they all flew away. They were not tame enough to come to me so I knew I would never see them again and I havent... I had a dream that they were ok and accepted into the local sparrow flock where they were taught how to find food. I have hope that they made it into the wild alright.
I got a pigeon from a man that was out gardening and had the bird fly right to his shoulder. A very tame bird with no bands. They asked around the neighborhood in case anyone had been keeping it as a pet, but to no avail. They noticed a few days later that his foot had gotten swollen and decided it was time to bring him to someone. I had him over the weekend and the swelling didnt get any better so I brought him to the vet in guilderland so they could treat whatever was wrong (my guess is a staph infection of the foot called "bumble foot", but Im no vet).
Then I was brought a young mourning dove that had been cared for by an 86 year old woman for a week. The bird was in pretty bad shape and to be honest I am surprised she kept it alive as long as she did. She was feeding it oatmeal and cooked hamburger :( Mourning Doves cant take that much protein and the oatmeal isnt digested easily. I also dont know how often she fed it because its breast bone was sticking out very prominently. It lasted just a few days here... the poor thing was so weak it couldnt even tuck its head behind its wing to sleep, it just sort of flopped forward with its wings out :(
No pictures of either, sorry :(
( A Hawk! )
And THEN the furries!!
( FURRIES!! )
It will take them upwards of 3 months to be completely weaned!! Joe and I will have our work cut out for us! But that means lots and lots of cute bushy tail photos for you :)
Aug. 23rd, 2006 @ 01:52 pm
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| » Bird 30- Unknown (Vesper Sparrow ??) |
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I moved the sparrows outside today. They had all hopped out of their nest yesterday and were in my small blue cage with the older Sparrow. I put together the bigger cage and put them all outside and within 20 minutes all 4 of the younger ones had found their way back into the nest (I put the basket/nest thing I was using in that cage cuz the older sparrow likes to perch on it) haha. Guess they decided they were growing up a little too fast.
Some photos of them from yesterday, no photos of them outside yet:
Sorry, didn't mean to BLIND you guys
( Click for the Cute )
Jul. 29th, 2006 @ 07:23 pm
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| » Baby Sparrows and the Pigeons |
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The baby House Sparrows are growing at leaps and bounds. I didn't lose a single one of them which I am sort of proud about.. but baffled at the same time. These birds seem to be indestructable when compared to other baby birds. Everytime I get a different kind of baby that is this tiny they end up dying. Now if I can hatch a baby sparrow and keep it going all through the first week, Id say I pretty much know what Im doing, right? Yet these little other types I get (often too tiny to even tell what they are)... they just dont make it. Of course who knows the trauma they go through before I even get them *shrug*
Regardless, they are getting very big and very noisy. The pigeons left the cage through the hole at the top (if they can reach the hole to get out then they are ok to leave). The first day they got out they just hung around my porch and that night went back in the cage themselves. The next day they were gone all day. Today I saw them for a few minutes this morning eating some seed and then they were gone again. As long as they stick together Im sure they will be fine.
The Pigeons, "baldy" is in the foreground doing a feather fluff.
Sparrows. They are so funny because the older one chirps at the younger ones for food and the younger ones chirp at the older one for food. Its like they dont realize that they are all just babies begging for the same thing.
( More baby Sparrows )
Jul. 20th, 2006 @ 01:52 pm
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| » Forgot to add.. |
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I think the RT Hawk got Robin 4 because I havent seen her at all since the hawk was here. Thats probably how the hawk found the sparrows in the first place because the sparrows cant be seen unless you are IN the yard.
The Grackle did make an appearance last friday after being gone for about a week. He looked good :)
And the robin that I alluded to in the heading of the last post did not last very long. It was a juvenile, but far old enough to be on its own. It had been stuck in a deer net and while the leg was not bleeding- it was just completely pulled out of socket at the hip. He couldnt even keep his balance on the good leg. I put him in a cage with some water and crickets and he was gone the next morning.
Jul. 12th, 2006 @ 05:58 pm
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| » Bird 22-Robin, 23-27 House Sparrows, Birds 28 and 29- Pigeons |
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The Abridged version:
Starlings released last sunday (July 2nd). They were hanging around for a while and I have seen up to 5 of the 6 at a time, but they have left me for greener pastures now.
On monday a RED TAILED HAWK was on my PORCH- On top of the Sparrow cage!! It had killed one of the sparrows, but obviously could not reach the body. The sparrow that was killed was THE baby, the youngest one (and cutest!!) sparrow number 6. The next day Sparrow 1 was dead- this was gimpy the one with the deformed leg. She was one of my first birds, I was so sad :(
The remaining 3 Sparrows were released on thursday and I havent seen them since- I wasnt expecting them too come back, though, since they want nothing to do with me whatsoever.
Receieved a baby House Sparrow JUST HATCHED last thursday- same day my older sparrows were released. He fell from the eave of a 3 story housing complex... Didnt expect him to live, but he is doing great.
Got 2 sparrows and 2 eggs yesterday morning from... myself- went to rip out the damn sparrow nest they keep rebuilding in the corner of my porch and what do ya know, they had been sneaking in there for longer than I thought and two of the eggs had JUST hatched. Lucky me. I need to take the nests down because we are going to be finishing the ceiling of the porch later this summer and I dont want to risk any babies getting locked up there when the eaves get closed off (that happened when my parents had their porch finished- the carpenter sealed in 4 baby starlings on accident!! luckily I heard them peeping and my parents let me rip off the paneling till the birds were old enough to leave) Egg 3 hatched later yesterday afternoon. I just got to watch egg 4 hatch today and I have video!!
Hopefully this works for you.. I think its quicktime *shrug*
http://www.rpi.edu/~defigh/P7120003.MOV
http://www.rpi.edu/~defigh/P7120005.MOV
http://www.rpi.edu/~defigh/P7120008.MOV
http://www.rpi.edu/~defigh/P7120009.MOV
http://www.rpi.edu/~defigh/P7120010.MOV
hehe, the one half of the shell was like a little hat that wouldnt come off of his head!
( Pictures of the baby all Hatched )
Jul. 12th, 2006 @ 05:15 pm
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| » Updates.. |
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It's been a little crazy for the past week and I didnt get any new birds, so the ambition to update was lacking. My babies are all growing up on me now. All can at least flutter and all are eating on their own. The Grackle HAS been coming back... in fact now I can't get rid of him!! He is completely on his own, but if I make the mistake of leaving out some of the other birds' food he is RIGHT their to gobble it up before I can shoo him away.
Robin 4 flew off yesterday and hung out way high up in some trees overnight. She has returned this morning for some breakfast. Here she is in the rafters of my back porch waiting for me to come out with food:
And I have an awful confession to make... I did have a secret motive behind raising all these wild birds for release. I know its horrible that I would use them for such things, but their services are greatly appreciated:
I taught the baby starlings how to ant in my driveway and I think the carpenter ant population has had a nasty hit already... muahahaha
( For Adorable Starling Photos Click Here! )
And my favorite photo of the day:
"If you do not feed me I WILL eat that finger!!!!"
Official release set for the starlings sometime this upcoming week- I still gather them all up and put them in the cages at night. Im a worrisome momma :/
The Sparrows will be released sometime next week, also- hopefully. Gimpy Sparrow 1 and Gimpy Sparrow 2 will have to be kept because- though they are able to get around great- I dont think they would survive the winter with those legs. In order to keep warm the bird must hunker down on the branch and both of these birds would have a leg sticking out which would be subject to frostbite... gangreen (spelling?)... all sorts of things. Ill hang out to them for now until I can figure out whats best for them.
Jun. 29th, 2006 @ 01:45 pm
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| » Bird 14- Starling, Bird 15-Vireo(?), Bird 16-Robin, Bird17- House Sparrow, Bird18,19,20,21-Starlings |
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As you can tell form the heading alone- It's been absolutely crazy here!!
I recieved a call on Sat. from a man that had found a "blue jay" in his yard. They put the bird in a make shift nest in a box and put it in a tree and watched, but saw no parents come to feed the baby. The bird was most definitely a Starling. It's about the same size as bird 12 and has same feather development, but I know this is a starling (yet im not so sure bird 12 is) as it makes the classic purring food cry that Starlings do. Bird 12 really does look like a Starling, but it still makes this peeping noise, not the baby Starling noise. It may be a similiar but different type of black bird?? Bird 12 also has a beak that it more on the light yellow side than the deeper orange-yellow of starlings... I dont know if that is substantial information or not.
( Pictures of Bird 12 )
Also on saturday I noticed a little fledgling Blue Jay in my drive way. His parents were around and caring for him, but it was nice to see the little feller- VERY cute!
( Blue Jay escapades )
Then comes sunday... the craziest day yet. I received two calls in the morning. One of which was that there was a baby Robin at the animal clinic in latham waiting to be picked up by a rehabber and the other was from a woman in Brunswick who's cat got a "sparrow, I think". They people with the "sparrow" bring me the bird and it turns out to be the cutest little thing! I think its either a Warbling or Philadelphia (hard to tell the difference here) Vireo. The tiny thing did not make it to this morning, she was really weak. Here are some pictures of the cutie:
( Cutest Bird Ever! (subject to change) )
So next on my list of things to do is pick up this baby Robin. I drive up to the clinic and tell them Im from North Country and there to pick the bird up. A guy comes out and says "You're here for the robin? Could you take a few more?" and I already know its going to be bad... He takes me in one of the back isolation rooms and there sitting in a dog kennel is a HUGE starling nest inside a box with all 4 starlings (plus the robin) inside! So I say ok, Ill take them and then he informs that there is one more- I little fledgling House Sparrow with a broken ankle. So that's how I went from having 8 birds to having 14.
I tossed the nest into my dumpster and its a good thing too!! There are mites crawling all over that garbage can now-yuck!
Here are the 4 nest mate Starlings with Bird 12 who MIGHT be a starling (bottom middle with mouth open) and bird 14 (to the left of bird 12 with mouth open) who is definitely a starling. The four nest mates are about 1 day older so I can tell them apart from Bird 12 and Bird 14 right now, but its going to get hard soon!!
A little later when I was cleaning the Grackles cage outside, he decided to take off. He missed his landings a little, but is flying MUCH better. I went outside for the rest of the afternoon calling "Grackieeee!!" to which he would reply "CHUCK CHUCK" from where ever he was located, Id go find him, give him some food, and then leave him to continue learning how to be self sufficient. I went out at 5 am today to try and feed him, but I couldnt find him. I have a feeling I wont see him again. Good luck little Grackle, you can do it, I know you can!
We're about to get a thunder storm so Im going to try and find him again.
Jun. 19th, 2006 @ 02:38 pm
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| » Bird 12- ??, Bird 13- Robin |
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Got a call on tuesday from a couple in downtown troy who's daughter found a baby bird on her way home from school. It was on the sidewalk and covered with ants. They brought the bird to me around 3o'clock. This thing is the ugliest, most awkward looking baby bird Ive ever seen. It had no pin feathers at all, yet was already bigger that the juvenile fledging sparrows I have. It has a HUGE beak with big yellow lips on the sides (Starlings have big yellow lips, too, but Ive never seen them THIS big) and this baby also has a freakishly long neck. Its head is rather large and it gapes for food, so I know its not a dove. It also peeps, and I dont remember my starlings ever peeping when they were young, but that was a long time ago. So I dont know what the buggar is yet so for now Im calling it a pterodactyl- I honestly thought it was going to chomp off my finger the first time it opened that monster of a beak!! All his skin is flaking and peeling off, which I have never seen happen before. Perhaps it got sun damage laying on the side walk for so long. I have pictures but Im too tired to fiddle with them right now. Ill probably post them tomorrow.
About an hour later I get a call from a woman from Stephentown whose cat got a baby bird the night before and they were keeping the bird in a box and it was still alive and hopping around. She brought it to me and it turned out to be a little baby Robin. The bird seemed healthy enough. The cat did not pierce the skin anywhere from what I could tell. I tried again and again to feed her. She would open her mouth and once the food was in it, she would spit it all back out again. I even picked her up and used force to put food in her mouth (by this point she hadnt eaten for almost 24 hours!!) but she just shook her head and spit it all back out. I tried to get food into her, with only a little success, until sundown. She had passed away by morning. I dont know if she starved or if the cat saliva on her caused an infection. I read on a Canada based rehab website once that of all the birds that were ever brought to them having been played with by cats- only 1 lived. I hate being a confrontational person, but I think Im going to have to start. There is NO reason that anyone should let their cat outside. I dont care if your cat "likes it". The cat will live longer and healthier and the wildlife will be safer if you keep your damn animals inside where they belong. UGH!! And the woman says to me "ohh, I just dont want the poor thing to die" Well I've got news for you lady, its YOUR fault this even happened!!
Moving on.. Grackle 2.. still sick. He's back to being hand fed and is inside under a heat lamp. I noticed Sparrow 2 sneezing on wednesday, so now she is in an isolated cage also. I dont know what the hell to do. I've had the Grackle now for alsmot a month with absolutely no progress. I cant risk the health of every other bird I take in just for this one... I have him on over-the-counter antibiotics and Im giving yogurt for the good bacteria in it. He doesnt seem to be getting worse, but isnt any better either :/
If this course of antibiotics doesnt work then Im going to have to move him back outside, get him back eating mealworms, and let him go whether the sneezing has stopped or not. He is too big of a risk right now. Im not even too worried about the other wild birds getting sick, but if my starlings get sick.. espeically my Brat... I dont know how I could live with myself.
Gimpy is doing great flying around and perching. She is with Sparrow 4 in a good sized cage. Sparrow 5 (found on side walk in troy) has extensive bruising all across her underside, but the breathe-clicking has stopped and she seems to be nice and strong. Her pin feathers are opening and she is actually looking like a bird now. She still breathes really fast compared to the other sparrows, though.
Jun. 16th, 2006 @ 08:35 am
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| » Bird 10, Bird 11- Sparrows, Dove Released |
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On Saturday I recieved a call from a man in Cohoes that heard some strange noises over his drop cieling. He removed one of the tiles and plop... out fell a young House Sparrow. I met him and picked the bird up. S/He is about 2 or so days younger than Sparrow 2- who is 2 or so days younger than Sparrow 1. They are all fully feathered and can hop fine, so I upgarded Sparrow 1 and 2 to a bigger cage and put this new little Sparrow 4(Sparrow 3 was the dehabilited, contorted one that ended up passing away saturday afternoon) in with them. Sparrow 4 was quite adorable to start, her feathers were nice and clean and she looked rather fluffy and soft.... but not anymore. These three fight over food like its the great depression which has resulted in many food covered heads, beaks, and feet.
They never stop flitting around so I really cant get too great of a photo.
Sparrow 4 tucked away in the corner looking for an escape.
( Tall pic of the 3 Sparrows )
"Gimpy", so I've come to call her, perches for most of the day. Sparrow 2 is perched about half the time, and Sparrow 4 hardly perches at all. Its strange how that follows their respective ages just about perfectly. I havent been too pushy on them eating on their own yet, namely because Sparrow 4 isnt ready yet and I dont want to stress her out. Right now I feed through the bars of the cage, but when it comes time for them to start eating on their own Ill have to open the cage. I can imagine the commotion already...
( Dove Release and Sparrow 5 )
I love all animals and think they all have the right to be helped... but where are all the cool birds? Sheesh. Where are the Cardinals and Blue Jays and Chickadees and Robins and finches? Frankly Im surprised I havent recieved a Starling yet. Though, thats probably a good thing as I would be tempted to keep it.
And just because she is my baby..
The Brat, with food all over her beak.
Jun. 13th, 2006 @ 10:41 am
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