Thursday, July 08, 2010

Baby Bird Story

One evening, a few weeks ago, we heard a racket in the backyard. I ran outside to find one of my cats (Melody is the guilty party) had cornered a little fledgling bluejay. I scooped up the baby while Jamie got Melody and Nutmeg into the house. Shadow was running around but wasn't one iota interested in baby bird.

The mamas and aunties were freaking out and dive-bombing, of course. I waited to see if the baby would fly away but he seemed too scared. It got to be twilight and, unfortunately, the adult birds took off. I couldn't leave baby bird outside all night. So we sat on my deck for a while. I was still hopeful he'd fly off. (Or she?) But it got darker and the bird was so comfortable it actually fell asleep in my hand. I couldn't bring it inside and I didn't want to just abandon it to the night (and raccoons) so I took a basket and one of those reuseable shopping bags and made a kind of 'tent.' I put this under the overhang of my house and put the baby inside.

A few hours later, he was still there. But in the morning, he was gone--no sign of him. I looked everywhere and have to assume that, with the dawn, he found his wings and flew.

Okay, so about a week later we hear racket again. Again with the cats! This time, the baby bird was much bigger and able to get itself up into the trees. I wonder if it was the same one? But the story continues...

As I said yesterday, I have a bird story. I've been hearing "Ma! Ma! Ma!" all day long for about a week now. I finally spotted a young bird (I can tell because of the downy feathers) following an older bird around. He lands on a branch behind her (gotta guess this is mommy) flaps his wings and opens his mouth just like a nestling. She, on the other hand, ignores him. She is like me, a mother of 'adult' kids who's expecting them to fly off one at a time, except she's tougher than I am.

Okay, so young birdie finally decides to descend to the grass for a peanut. I had some out there out of the shell. He must have seen the bigger birds eat peanuts this way: they put the shell under one talon and peck away to get at the good stuff. Except, he started to peck at the peanut itself. Of course, most of it fell to the ground.

I sure hope he got at least a taste, because, in a flash, his sibling flew up to him and snatched it away!

I wonder if it has been the same baby all along? Who knows, but I'm sure he'll be back for more peanuts as he grows!

(If you've actually read this far...thanks!)

11 comments:

Terri said...

It's so cute! Unfortunately, they grow up to be obnoxious, selfish blue jays. ;-) Thanks for sharing!

Debbie J said...

Every time you see a bluejay from now on, you will wonder if its the baby you saved! Cute story.

Totallyscrappy said...

I was thinking that maybe blue jays who have their peanuts scarffed by other blue jays are the ones that grow up to be a bit aggressive!

I'm glad you are loving the peach and tomato salad. I'm going to have to put a bowl aside for later!!

Queen of the House said...

Just found your blog today....you commented on mine this morning...thank you! I love your baby bird story. I love watching the birds in our yard too. We have had cute little house wrens nesting this year. The proud papa, I think, sits on our deck and sings VERY loudly! So cute!

Sherry @ Lamp Unto My Feet said...

Too cute! We have some baby bluejays that have been coming down to get seed from our feeder. It has been fun to watch them. :D

BONNI said...

Thanks for commenting on my blog today! I loved the fact that meal times for your children were full of love! I hear from moms who DREAD serving food to their children. It makes me sad.

Jenni said...

Oh, that is such a sweet story! Ibet it is the same bird! That is actually kind of sad that the mama bird was ignoring him. :( She is tougher than I could be, definitely!

I wanted to say hello and thank you for stopping by my blog today and leaving a comment! :) I am going to follow your blog now!

Jenni said...

Oops, I can't follow your blog by signing up, so I will just bookmark you so I don't lose your blog! :)

Noodle said...

Thank you for commenting on my blog!
How did you find me?
Best wishes,
Diane

the cape on the corner said...

oh my goodness, it fell asleep in your hand? unbelievable!

thanks so much for stopping by the cape on the corner, and for your sweet comment on my new vinyl. love your name, mom2fur, that's too cute! every sunday i post a pic of my silly sweet cat, so come on back if you'd like!

NoDebtMomma said...

Thats really cute! We had a bird make its nest on our deck last year and we loved watching the babies grow!

Thanks for stopping by! Make sure and get entered in all of my giveaways!

Sam
Mom.Undecided.