Birdy (Day 4)

After breakfast today, we tried to give Birdy flying lessons in the bedroom, but the room wasn’t big enough as she kept banging onto the wall. Or she would just fly a short distance.

 

It’s either a very short distance like this, but she bangs on the wall, so that’s not an option.

Instinctively, she wants to perch vertically and peck on…anything. So I decided to let her out in the garden.

It appears that she is communicating with her parents.

You can hear her chittering here too.

I finally just let her perch on the branches and peck on them. I read that woodpeckers suck the sap from tree branches that they peck on.

I consulted Joey on what I should do for Birdy as this is my first time nursing a baby bird. Joey says normally the mother would have to teach the babies how to look for food. Of course I know that Birdy is better off with her parents as birds are creatures of Nature and they should live as naturally as possible. So I contemplated putting her back into her nest, which we figured is one of those holes in the tree trunk in the neighbour’s house. I contacted the neighbour and he was totally agreeable to let us try to put Birdy back, provided we have a ladder that it tall enough and we would have to do it in his garden.

However, I did not see any birds peeking out of the hole anymore today even though I was watching it for more than an hour. There were birds flying above, but I did not see any bird going back into the hole nor any baby bird peeking out anymore. I worry that maybe the nest has already been abandoned today. Maybe all the other babies have flown off?

That’s the trouble when you don’t know enough about birds. You just don’t know what to do.

I contemplated sending Birdy to the Bird Park. Maybe they would have experts there. So I called, but the Bird Park says they don’t take in outside birds and that I should call Wildlife instead. I called the hotline but they would also just release.

By then, Reymont called and I asked for advice. Reymont said that if throughout the last 2 days we had put Birdy in the garden but the parents did not fly down to feed her, it means the mother has rejected her already. This is their natural instinct, which I understand. So, putting her back into the nest is no longer an option. There is the danger that the mother might not feed her or even peck her to death. Yikes! Also, the nest looks abandoned today.

So, no, not an option to put her back into the nest. That is out.

Reymont says Birdy has to learn to fly and it would be best to do it in the hall where she can practise air-standing and landing. A place with lots of furniture would be good, like in the living room. But that’s out of the question as the cats are all over. Our “flying lessons” in the bedroom has not been successful either.

Finally, Reymont said he wouldn’t mind taking Birdy over. He has another small bird, and he could put Birdy near this bird and Birdy could learn from his bird. Whatever it is, Reymont has decades of experience looking after birds and he has all the knowledge and equipment for it. He even has a heater to keep them warm.

Reymont could teach Birdy how to fly and then decide whether to bring Birdy back here or release her to a safe place. I know Reymont has Birdy’s best interests at heart.

So, Reymont will foster Birdy. We will send Birdy to him later today.

So, I guess it’s “Bye Bye Birdy” soon. I will feed Birdy one more round before the car ride.

Birds are creatures of Nature and not domesticated pets like cats and dogs. I don’t want to do more harm by “looking after” Birdy as a pet until she looses all her natural instincts. Sure, I can feed her every 3 hours, but she would loose her ability to look for food on her own. I also do not have sufficient knowledge or experience to care for her in her best interests.

So, I feel this is a much better option, for Birdy. She will be with Reymont and Joey, both with decades of bird-caring experience and they are both very kind and caring people.

 


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