It’s a good bird, a nice bird. Strangely enough, a relatively quiet bird (compared to the starlings). I know most people’s experience with Common Grackles would not include the word “quiet” in the description, but in this case it applies. I like the bird.
I like it better now that it is finally, after weeks and weeks–weeks long beyond the time that its parents would have left it behind–eating on its own. I’m not totally sure yet that it’s eating enough to sustain, so I’m still spoon feeding a couple times a day just to supplement. However, it seems to be doing well. It does like to float food in its water dish rather than eat it, which is a Grackle Thing. It would much rather eat junk food (dehydrated mealworms) than its balanced diet. But at least it’s eating.
Still, I can’t wait to get the Grackle, those three nice little House Finches, and that sixpack of Starlings outside into the soft-release cage.
Ah, yes, the cage. It’ll be great when it’s finished, but “finished” may be a long way off. Did I tell you all about the cage? Thanks to Wes and NY Wildlife Rescue Center, I now have, sitting in my back yard, a nice little piece of history. Those readers who grew up in and around New York state may recognize it, in fact. One friend even told me she’s pretty sure she has a photo somewhere of herself as a child standing in front of the thing.
The Catskill Game Farm was, for generations, a stand-out vacation spot for New York families. I spent many hours there, and there are reams of old slides in this house to preserve the memories. Several years ago, the farm closed down, and the owners auctioned off all of the equipment, rides, cages, and even the animals. The Catskill Game Farm is no more. However, Wes managed to get ahold of two of the poultry cages. This one was the better preserved of the two.
That makes me wonder what the other one looks like. The more we look at this cage as we attempt repairs, the more we realize needs to be done. Last night, between jobs, my hubby spent an hour or so replacing several of the bottom support boards. He’ll be building that up so that it’s level and putting in a new floor over the one that’s there. The problem turns out to be that much of the wood is so rotted, it will not hold the new hardware cloth we’ll have to install to make the cage safe for songbirds. The door will also need to be replaced, as it’s rotted at the corners to a point that little birds like my finches will easily be able to either escape or hang themselves trying. The door issue can be temporarily remedied by hanging raptor netting inside the opening, which would have to be done anyway to prevent escapes while feeding and watering, but it’s not really the most secure solution.
Initially, we’d thought that just coating the wire on the inside with 3 or 4 gauge (1/3″ or 1/4″ gauge) hardware cloth would be all it needed to make it into a songbird release cage. Not so.
We’re picking up supplies as needed, though having a time finding the smaller gauge hardware cloth. Many stores have half-inch. However, in the past, I’ve seen a goldfinch strangle itself on half-inch wire; their little heads are tinier than they look under those pretty feathers. I’d definitely prefer not to re-build the entire cage with what’s readily available only to have to re-do the whole thing after losing a bird because I rushed the repairs.
It will be worth the effort, though, and it feels really nice to have a piece of history–a piece of my own childhood–sitting in my yard. I’ll definitely be adding to the sanctuary, creating larger aviaries in addition to this one, but it’ll be a nice start once it’s bird-worthy.
For the future, I rather like the portable cage plans found on StFrancisWildlife.org. I can see my yard housing several of these nice aviaries, large enough for even the bigger songbirds. They seem simple enough to build (once again, if one can locate a supply of quarter-inch hardware cloth), and very serviceable. They can easily be adapted for other animals, as well. They would make great squirrel cages. Not that I’d be rehabbing squirrels (see my recent post on the subject, ::smiles::).
By the time it’s finally done, perhaps the Grackle will be wholly self-feeding.
Would you like to help get things up and running? Wes and NY Wildlife Rescue Center have been a godsend to my birdie hopes. It was he who showed up with the Game Farm cage, they who made sure we had a safe dog yard when we moved into this house recently, and they always seem to come through with support, work efforts and funds when needs arise. Please visit their website and leave a donation. If you like, you can let them know it’s a ‘thank you’ for helping out with the songbirds.
In addition, if you know of a good hardware cloth supplier in the general area of Schoharie County, NY, please let me know. Tractor Supply Co. and Agway are local sellers of bird supplies, and both offer gift cards (the former can be purchased online), as well. Both NY Wildlife and I do a lot of our shopping for the birds and wildlife in those locations.
Also, by shopping Duncraft, a fantastic supplier of goodies for wild bird enthusiasts, through the ads on this website, small donations will gradually accrue and all of those funds will be used to support our wild songbird rescue program.
