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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2009 13:01:16 GMT
A couple of weeks ago a bird flew right into the living room window. It smashed into it so hard I thought it must be dead. I went outside and picked it up and gently put it on the table. It was still alive. I watched it for a while and it flew into a tree, where I took this photo of it. It stayed there for ages and I wondered if it would live or not. The next thing I knew it had disappeared, it must have flown off. What a survivor! Here's a pic of it:  |
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 13, 2009 14:38:56 GMT
Good thing you were there to save it from a predator while it was stunned. What a great picture! It looks like a brown thrasher.
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Post by spindrift on Jul 13, 2009 17:45:15 GMT
I'm glad that your bird lived, Deyana. I picked up a blackbird from the road last week. It had been hit by a car. I took it inside and tried to warm it...but it had well and truly gone. So sad.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2009 12:29:20 GMT
Yes, that's sad spindrift. I've had to rescue quite a few birds in the past, as you can imagine. My mom is the best bird rescuer that I know of, she also feeds them on a regular basis, such a kind soul.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2009 14:48:12 GMT
I have rescued countless birds,it's always such an anxiety producing experience. Some have survived,others sadly haven't. This is one of my favorite successful rescue attempts; It was last September and Hurricane Gustav had just missed us. We chose not to evacuate but that's a whole other story. The power was out for several days so we had all the doors and windows open,some screened,some not. Everything was quiet and still because of the power outage,no AC's,no electrical anything. All this coincided with the ruby throated hummingbird migration southward. There were dozens of them fueling up their little motors with nectar. Aside from all the flowers in bloom I had four feeders going. They are really territorial little guys and they squabbled endlessly over the feeders. I had the two double French doors onto the balcony wide open. One of the hummers came into the bedroom and kept hovering up toward the ceiling just a couple of feet away from the wide open doors out. My little cat Sadie was sitting on the floor transfixed waiting I'm sure for it to come down within her reach. ("I've always wanted one of these jeweled guys,here's my best shot") I got a liitle panicky. How to get this thing down and out before it collapses from exhaustion at my and Sadie's feet? Broom? No,might hurt it. (Mind you I'm talking to the thing all the while). I sequestered Sadie and went out to get the swimming pool skimmer I use for the pond. Long handle,flat net. I get the net lined up flush with the ceiling and over the guy. I bring the net down gently and push the guy out. Phew! Sadie pouted for days. Now I understood the expression "bird brain"!  |
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Post by spindrift on Jul 16, 2009 15:17:45 GMT
That's a lovely story with a happy ending ;D
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2009 3:01:09 GMT
Nice story casimira, it must have been hard to let it go. I remember finding a little lost baby bird in the UK one one. I put in the conservatory and fed it worms and other goodies, kept it nice and dry and warm in a little box. It stayed there for a few weeks and then when it learned to fly, it flew away through a space in the conservatory door. I felt really sad when it was no longer there, because I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to it.  |
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 17, 2009 3:46:58 GMT
Oh ~~ another birdie success story for you, Deyana! Were you little when you saved that one?
Another hummingbird story: I used to live in a house with a swimming pool and came home one day to find a hummer in the pool. I got it out and called the county extension service, which had a bird section. The lady told me to put it where no dogs or cats could get it, give it some sugar water, and keep it warm. I put it on the patio table with a washcloth loosely around it and propped up a hamster waterer with sugar water next to it. It was stunned for a while, then started drinking the water and finally flew away.
As best we could figure, the spurt of water that sometimes came up from the pool vacuum happened to catch the little bird in mid-flight & knocked it into the water.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2009 11:27:35 GMT
I have noticed when I turn on the oscillating sprinkler sometimes all manner of birds and even butterflies flying through it.Perhaps that was what yours was trying to do Bixa and the spray was too powerful like you said. Birds are also attracted to the sound of water,sometimes even more then bird feeders.
We found a injured Cardinal one time,one of his legs was mangled. We kept him for a few hours and he let us know he was ready to go. He flew away and hung around the garden for many months. He only had use of one leg but seemed fine otherwise. I put sunflower seeds and water out for him every morning and he got so he would practically eat out of my hand.
I called him 'Ahab'. One morning he was gone and I never saw him again.
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Post by spindrift on Jul 17, 2009 11:50:39 GMT
When I was living on my farm I found a tiny ball of fluff at the bottom of a large purple beech tree. It had just fallen out of its nest. We had pheasant-rearing equipment in a large shed so I put the baby under warm lights, bought a pipette and squeezed water/milk into its little beak. Over the course of 6 months he grew into a beautiful tawny owl. When he was ready to learn to fly we took him to the rockery area (with small shrubs and trees) and he tried out his wings with confidence. It was a big wrench when he finally flew away from us forever - but he stayed in the vicinity. I have photos somewhere. I'll try and find them. He used to sit on our shoulders! I fed him with cut-up male day-old chicks. He needed to make pellets. It was a privilege to have cared for him.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2009 13:14:22 GMT
What an amazing story SD! Owls are such amazing creatures. You were indeed privledged and he as well ,as he let you know. Thanks for a beautiful tale. I love the image of you with an owl perched on your shoulder.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 17, 2009 14:40:38 GMT
SD ~~ our Athena! That's exciting, as is Casimira's story of the cardinal.
Spindrift, did you have any idea it was an owl when you first found the "tiny ball of fluff"?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2009 15:34:32 GMT
Wow, spindrift, I wonder too, if you knew the baby was an Owl? It is sad when they eventually fly away. Bixa, I was in my 20's, one of those times that I lived in the UK ( I've traveled back and forth quite a bit).
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Post by spindrift on Jul 17, 2009 18:32:01 GMT
No. I didn't know what it was. It was just a ball of fluff. I thought, I don't know why, that it might be a bird of prey. My ex-hubby thought it might be a pigeon. Imagine our surprise when it turned out to be an owl.
Oh dear...I'll have to go up to the attic and search for the photos now!!!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2009 19:22:37 GMT
I am so horrified in cities, particularly in Paris but also now in Avignon of the number of footless pigeons who hobble around on stick legs. This is because of the razor wire, pointed spikes and broken glass that are put up to keep pigeons off of walls, eaves, cornices, etc.
I suppose they learn their lesson, and their wounds are not fatal, but it pains me more to see all of the crippled pigeons hobbling everywhere than to put up with the pigeon crap.
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Post by spindrift on Jul 17, 2009 20:01:29 GMT
Poor pigeons. I can' hardly imagine anything worse than footless pigeons. Now here are the pics of the rescued owl. This one shows him when he was very young and still in his box.  And here he's quite a lot older:  And he's nearly ready to fly in this one:  perhaps I'll find some more pics of him. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2009 20:28:48 GMT
He looks affectionate. Did he know how to feed himself?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2009 23:20:24 GMT
Oh spindrift,I am at a loss for words,those are so beautiful. He does look pretty owlish in those young shots. How much smaller was he compared to that first shot of him in the box?
Did you name him?
That is distressing about the pidgeons K. I heard some disturbing stories in NYC about some cruel methods being used to "discourage" the pidgeons.
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Post by Jazz on Jul 18, 2009 8:51:30 GMT
The little owl is so sweet! Do you know what kind he is and how long did you keep him? My favorite is the Snowy Owl and here is a great shot of one 'laughing' at the photographer...  |
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Post by spindrift on Jul 18, 2009 9:11:44 GMT
He was much smaller when I found him. He had no owlish rings around his eyes. That's why we couldn't tell his species. We called him 'Owlie'...! Feeding him was a nightmare at first. I didn't give much for his chances of survival. I used the pipette to feed him milk/water...I think we offered him the baby pheasants feeding grain. I phoned the Owl Sanctuary and the silly person there told me to feed him mince meat wrapped in cotton wool. The idea was that the owl needed to eat a material that he could internally make into pellets which he would then expel. The cotton wool was supposed to be a substitute for fur and feathers! Clearly the little owl didn't relish eating cotton wool. By chance, around this time, I let a friend come to my woods with his bird of prey (a falcon I think). In one way this was a terrible mistake because I was horrified when the bird, being released, immediately gripped onto one of our large pheasants, pinned it to the ground and killed it. The squawks were terrible. The only good thing about that day was that my friend instructed me as to how to feed the little owl. He fed his falcon with day-old baby male chicks that were frozen in bags of 50. These little chicks are 'sexed' on the day they emerge from their shells. The females are kept and all the males are killed. Anyway I used to buy these bags of frozen chicks and cut one up every day with scissors. It was fairly gruesome doing this, especially when I had to cut through their little beaks and feet  but it was that or the owl would die. Owlie enjoyed eating them and made first class pellets! Soon he grew big and strong. Having brought him up in captivity for so many months and having hand-fed him, I doubted he would fly away. I heard tales of owls becoming humanised from close contact with people and that he mightn't want to leave us. When he started to use his wings in the garden shed (where his box was) we took him out to the garden and slowly, slowly he got the idea of how to fly. For about a week he experimented by flying short distances. We would sit on a bench and encourage him. Then finally, one day, he flew away over the wall and into the wood. We could hear him calling at night. Sometimes he would come to us when we called him but eventually we didn't see him. But there is a sad end to this story. About a year later the gamekeeper came to tell me that he had found two owl corpses side by side under the electric wires running from the farm to the house. I rushed out and discovered that little Owlie had found a partner owl and they had been electrocuted together, probably by landing on the main electric wire and flapping their wings into the wire about it. I was completely devastated. I had rescued him and loved him so much and then he ended up being electrocuted. But I reasoned that he had given us much happiness and he had found happiness himself with his partner.  Jazz - he was a Tawny Owl. I, also, love the Snowy Owl but I have never seen one. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2009 11:07:30 GMT
What a sad time for you that must have been. I'm sorry. I'm go glad he found a mate. Perhaps he was bringing her home to introduce her to his "parents". A beautiful story.
The only owl I've ever seen is the Snowy,they are incredibly beautiful. Great photo Jazz.
I've heard Screech owls many times and we had a Barn Owl in the neighbor's barn for a long time but never saw.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2009 15:00:15 GMT
It is nevertheless a wonderful story, Spindrift, although I am having a certain amount of difficulty imagining going to the store and asking for a bag of dead chicks -- and then cutting them up.
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Post by spindrift on Jul 18, 2009 19:28:25 GMT
As I remember - I had the frozen chicks van- delivered .....
I have a parrot story to tell. But not until I find the photos. ;D
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2009 22:19:37 GMT
Thanks for the great Owl story sprindrift, I can't wait to hear about the Parrot! You boy is a real cutie, I bet he loves all kinds of animals.
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Post by spindrift on Jul 19, 2009 9:36:24 GMT
Yes, Deyana, as a family (apart from the dad) we are an animal and bird-loving family...the dad is addicted to shooting whatever he can. Bad.[tr][/tr]  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2009 12:03:22 GMT
Yes shooting animals is a bit sport around here too, unfortunately. I mean wild animals like deer, moose etc. It's just a way of life for country folk I guess.
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but it was that or the owl would die. Owlie enjoyed eating them and made first class pellets! Soon he grew big and strong. Having brought him up in captivity for so many months and having hand-fed him, I doubted he would fly away. I heard tales of owls becoming humanised from close contact with people and that he mightn't want to leave us. When he started to use his wings in the garden shed (where his box was) we took him out to the garden and slowly, slowly he got the idea of how to fly. For about a week he experimented by flying short distances. We would sit on a bench and encourage him. Then finally, one day, he flew away over the wall and into the wood. We could hear him calling at night. Sometimes he would come to us when we called him but eventually we didn't see him. But there is a sad end to this story. About a year later the gamekeeper came to tell me that he had found two owl corpses side by side under the electric wires running from the farm to the house. I rushed out and discovered that little Owlie had found a partner owl and they had been electrocuted together, probably by landing on the main electric wire and flapping their wings into the wire about it. I was completely devastated. I had rescued him and loved him so much and then he ended up being electrocuted. But I reasoned that he had given us much happiness and he had found happiness himself with his partner. 
