What's up peeps!
Well I may be housebound and can't walk far yet, missing out on the cute pond babies both geese and grebes like any other year. I was sad about it a little, feeling like I was missing out on the cuteness overload. Mother nature decided that she would bring the cuteness overload to me... OMG...Right to my front door quite literally to end up in my backyard.
Before we get to the baby birdie rescue, lets start from the beginning. After the fire, I found a kitten living in my backyard. Related or not? I'm not sure. Somebody did say something about a missing cat as a result from one of the displaced families. I don't think it's him but just in case, I'm keeping that option open. After a few days, he came right in with King Kit-Ten, although the king was not to pleased he did allow it. I'm still looking for his home but he was probably an irresponsibly dumped kitten so he's been living in the house a week now. Cute kitty. I said I was done with cats after the big Min-Min but he gave me the Puss-N-Boots eyes and I couldn't say no. I'm such a sucker.
Skinny-Kitty was no longer adequate for a name if one is going to stay in the house for a nap...Think quick...Humm...Well the theme of the year seems to be Merlin so I just went with that. Does Merlin have a home? What do you mean mum? I am home!
He goes out a few hours all over the neighborhood crying looking for his family from back yard to back yard. Poor kitty was heart broken but I think he's getting over it. He's been stuck to me like glue for the last week or so. Hw might be 6 months old, maybe 9 months?
When I said, he follows me everywhere, I mean it on a whole new level. He's so well behaved, he doesn't move unless I personally pick him up and take him there with me. he will stay exactly where I drop him off, if he can't see me he calls for me to find me. OMG...What a cutie. So much for being done with cats. He was probably pretty scared on his own out there. There is a few large cats in the alley. I have an equally huge cat that keeps said cats out of the yard along with the tall fence.
Despite me being "done with cats", there is one other kitty that's been lingering. He survived the winter outside but he's very skittish around humans, he's been there a while. I had been trying to coax him in at his own pace or at least give him food and water so he has it a little easier, I thought that was him, haha...turns out it wasn't when I found myself with duplicates. A called him Arty as in King Arthur to go with Merlin, they are not BFF's yet but Arty has been under King Kit-Ten's back alley protection and he legit looks out for him, pretty sure he's the one that brought him here to get help. My rescue kitty rescues other kitties. How sweet. Pay it forward in his own way.
He probably needs a good vet check-up, maybe just weathered from the elements and winter. He looks like he has a bit of frost bites on the ear but this is the first time I get a closer look at him since I generally just open the door and walk away, let him be so he can eat. He's been taking additional tours and even took an hour nap next to me. He knows where to find toys and is even tempted to play. He had such sad eyes when he first started coming to feed a couple of weeks ago and looks so much happier by the day. I thought the heavy rain would coax him in for longer but nope. Not there yet. Skinny-kitty moving in is helping him feel more at ease to explore and linger, following by example. He's really mild mannered. He picks that turtle plushy every time...I guess he likes his turtle toy more then he is afraid. He just simply can't resist it.
Now the point of the post wasn't about stray cats but since I was here making a post with a rescue theme, I suppose it was a good time to introduce the newest furry ginger gang. We have many old large trees in a densely populated neighborhood that have small private backyard and shared court yards for kids to play and run around in. The large trees and the many tall fences make it perfect for urban birds to nest high up and feed from the feeders with additional predator barriers. Almost perfect to raise baby birdies not just the human ones.
Mom bird on the left, smaller and skinnier, Dad bird on the right, rounder and bigger overall. He showed up alone 4 years ago, the next year with a mate and they had a surviving offspring that I suspect is back with a mate too. Other than size, there is no clear physical distinction between male and female unlike most other bird species. The photo below is the patriarch, big boss daddy and he's the one that shows up first to make sure the feeder is safe from predators for the rest of the family to come eat.
Since the colony is new, it's fairly small but growing each year, all because we decided to put out peanuts for the squirrel. Normally, blue jays are known to be the feeder bullies why most are reluctant in attracting them because they chase smaller birds away. We have adequate feeders that everybody is happy and each have an order of feeding time and when every one is done, the the jays go to town. They are quite polite birdies these ones, defying their normal bullyish reputation.
Now how did I end up Auntie to a baby blue jay? Well, they generally nest high up so close ups like this of babies are rare and few between. I don't recommend handling baby birds either and should not be done unless critical absolute necessary life or death scenario. Never move a baby bird from it's nest or location for entertainment or a cool photo project just to be clear I just take the opportunities that present themselves that coincide with trying to do the right thing, if doing good to nature gets me that then I will def take my photos. Sometimes it's a fine line. I want to talk about this because it's probably a common problem that many encounter but very little really know what to do. I found myself in these situations from time to time where you have to make judgment calls to intervene and what I did along with thought process.
Last night, just before sundown and a real bad Canadian plain usual thunderstorm with heavy sudden downpour rolling in, I heard quite a loud mess a few trees down, enough to make me get up and take a peak out the backdoor. Magpies and blue jays were going at it hard, the small number of jays got overpowered by the large crowd of magpies. This year, they are many and they are bold. Also why I feed the scared kitty indoors, leaving food outside is an attractant for magpies and well since they love cat crunchies, I don't want to attract them as they are bigger bullies than the jays and they make a mess. I had just got off the phone and finished a convo on how my blue birdies were back to nest for the season and how happy I was they had settled in nicely.
I spoke too soon apparently. This is a deja-vue, I had a dream of this last year, I pegged it as just a dream and I like blue jays, naturally they would make sense for them to be in my dreams too but here we are. With my injured ankle, I couldn't walk that far but I did hear people so I just went back in the house. A few hours later, I get a text asking for something to feed a baby blue jay by a neighbor, she didn't even know I was feeding them, this was pure coincidence. She looked online and saw she could feed them wet cat food for a meal or two in a pinch or emergency and I had cats, surely I had something. Well yes fine Lady, I have peanuts, it's what I feed the parents.
She witnessed the magpie attack and was right there taking a walk when it happened. Out of nowhere, from what I saw from my place, there was at least a dozen of them against 4 adult jays and the baby. They viciously attacked the entire family and pushed the baby out of the nest and he fell from far right next to her and the magpies were swooping down to finish it off. She grabbed it first but with the parents disappearing to safety since they couldn't even protect themselves, they had to leave at least for the time being. With the storm and darkness rolling in, there was no way they were coming back for it, Jays go to bed about an hour before sundown like clockwork.
She got him comfy overnight in a cat carrier and brought him in, just to keep him warm and safe until we figure out what to do with it. The original plan was for her to drop it off early in the morning at a wildlife rescue center to be nursed and whatever they do there on her way to work. I stay up late at night and do my best thinking then, well if the birds feed in my yard and they feel safe enough around me to approach me along with comfortable with the feline residents and well known to each other. Birdies are King Kit-Ten's subjects and he will defend their feeding area fiercely from magpies and other large cats, maybe they can reunite in the yard? Maybe they will come care for him here? Better cared for by his own than a rescue shelter if it's even a possibility.
Normally, it would be appropriate to put it back in the nest if able to do so if they are really young and at risk for predators, otherwise leaving it on the lawn and keeping a distance watching if the parents come tend to it, they often do. Parents don't always stay directly with their young, but generally not far keeping a constant watchful eye near-by to distract predators from nesting locations. They often wont approach with human presence. In this case, he was going to get slaughtered right then and there and in an open back alley full of nightcrawlers looking for a meal, he had to be removed for his own survival, the flash flood would have drowned him or he would have froze to death. They nest too high, getting him back to his parents that were also now MIA would be impossible.
Now that early morning came and everything had calmed down and I had lots of time to troubleshoot what should we even do, I suggested what if we try him in the yard first before dropping him off and see if the parents come to care for it. Like clock work, 6 am, I heard the jays announcing their presence getting ready to feed soon. Perfect time, baby birdie got dropped off at my front door on her way to work and I took on the re-unification/safety duties from there. I removed mama blue jay's favorite feeder from where it normally hangs and I replaced it with her baby on a basket's edge. It was supposed to be in the basket but he's jumpy and wanted to be on the edge. He had a solid grip, it wasn't meant as a permanent solution anyway, it was just to get him noticed in the most obvious spot so they knew he was here.
He had just woken up and he was hungry, at that age, anything that moves is Momma and Feed me and he was very vocal about it, I thought perfect. I'm not momma but maybe your cries will call her over. I hung the basket and walked away to hide behind the door camera ready to see the re-unification and potential have some camera worthy moments to immortalize. As soon as she heard him and I had walked away, she heard him and flew right over, came to him and then jumped for joy and the loud happy chirps jumping on the fence like it's a trampoline loudly singing between cuddles with her baby and while she fed him, all the other jays in the neighborhood lined up on an adjacent roof to watch and chirp too. I swear I never seen these birds so happy in all my life, they are always in good spirits but this was special to watch, perhaps once in a lifetime moment.
I left him and his basket hanging there for at least an hour to make sure he had a few feedings and that he was accepted despite his new living arrangements and then I removed the basket from the hook because he wasn't going in for a rest and it was windy, poor thing was just swinging on the basket, I didn't want him to exhaust himself and now the parents knew to find him in the yard and I was convinced that they would show up every time he chirps. his more permanent area is on the grass. He seems to like it. He still gets the basket laying on it's side to hide in or climb on that is reminiscent of a nest...sort of. Otherwise, it wasn't raining yet so I just let him explore the yard while keeping an eye from inside the house.
He gets to experience grass and ground freedom before the rest of his kind, he mostly just hoped around the grass, preened himself and called mom for food. Hearing his chirps all day was adorable and watching how excited he got every time mom showed up with a mouthful. I tried my best to stay out of it and let nature be nature, I just made sure to go scare off magpies. Now a new set of circumstances presented themselves. The parents were tending to it and always keeping and eye but they probably don't know how to keep it safe from the elements or what to do to shelter it when it falls out of the nest.
The heavy rainstorm rolled in again and all the birds disappeared and he was left to his own device completely, he was hiding in the corner where the water was dripping from the roof, poor baby. I'm glad I made sure about his where about so I intervened again. I kept the cat carrier he spent the night in outside for him to seek shelter next to the basket at any given time. That thing is probably better than a nest anyway. I Macgyvered it so it wouldn't get soaked covering it with a bag at the top to prevent rain from leaking in and tucked it under the bit of roof that extends from the side of the house for rain coverage. Covered the side with a Rubbermaid bin cover like a makeshift shutter to block the wind and rain while allowing air into the kennel.
I added towels covered with a soft plush blanket for additional insulation to remove empty space in the kennel, not to the point of suffocating him, just the more open space you have, the more body heat needed to keep warm. He can cuddle up the blanket anyway, help keep him warm enough hopefully. I went and checked up on him after I stopped hearing him chirp, just to make sure it was waterproof enough and to see if he stayed and he did, much like the parents, they sleep like clockwork and he will be out asleep until 6 am and then call for mom. The bedding was still dry during the heaviest of the rain so it should stay dry thru the night. I don't really know what else to do because taking them into the house isn't good and if that can be avoided is best. Like I said, intervene when absolutely have to. He has duvet and it's 11 degrees overnight.
there was a conversation with wildlife people and as long as the parents are tending to it, it has as much chance of survival as in a nest given that he has predator protection. Trying to think like a bird in a nest, they would be at the mercy of getting rained on and wet, I don't think mom generates that much body heat in the first place and is there mostly for protection from predators and feeding and he's not naked, he has a think duvet. He was well fed all day so his metabolism shouldn't be impacted by lack of food. when I say the parents spent they entire day catering to him, I mean it. I has happy to see they took him back so easily. I still keep an eye, as long as they tend to it during the day, I will take the night shift and keep alley cats that jump the fence away. I don't want to be out there when it's "awake" hours and parents are present.
People worry about handling them and rejection because of smell but birds don't have a sense of smell, their nostrils are just breathing holes so they would be deterred from caring for it based on a foreign smell but if they perceive too many threats and predators for themselves can cause them to abandon it. In the meantime, I hope he survives the night outside, I feel like helicopter birdie auntie, I'm not sure what to do or how to feel about the situation but hope for the best. He's growing feathers and can do low level flying so it's just a matter of time until he can fly high enough to get back to the nest where he belongs. I think what I'm doing is probably all I can do. Maybe I'll have an unusually friendly blue jay in the coming years if he survives the ordeal out of the nest early.
When I went to transfer him to a dry and safer location, he just jumped on my finger and hung on until he was safely in the dry cage so I don't even have to grab him, would be cool if he just came willingly on his own in the future as he grows up. He will probably be living in my yard for at least a week. We have time to get acquainted. I can't go to nest watch my grebes or gooseling but I can take this experience. Trying to find a proper balance between letting nature take it's course while re-directing a few things.
As far as my cats go, they are aware there is a baby bird in the backyard and want nothing to do with even being there besides watching thru the window. Sorry kitties, it's just temporary. Even Arty instinctually knows to cry at the front door for food service now. To add to the irony of a bird living in a cat kennel, every cat owner knows, not even a can of meat or a live vulnerable easy target isn't even conning a cat to ever get in that thing! So he's probably in the safest place from marauding alley kitties or magpies. Merlin got pushed off his outdoor cat tower by the same bullyish magpie, he's pretty a mild tempered kitten. I'm glad I let him in too, definitely not made for the street kitty life if ya gonna let yourself get bullied by a magpie. He's been good tho, before the baby moved in the yard, the jays used to come visit him for long chats. That in itself was cute to watch and he just likes to roll around and look cute for them when they land on the fence.
Alright that's it for a backyard update. xox