Last night, however, it was pretty darned frightful.

Now, I don’t totally dislike the snow.  Don’t misunderstand me.  A new snow is so beautiful, peaceful, pristine.  The fact that this one fell on October 27th, and I had to drive to Cobleskill to get my son to his evening college class in it, though, wasn’t the most peaceful or beautiful moment.  The roads were horrendous, covered in four inches of snow and freezing slush, with white-out blizzard conditions to drive through. Thanks to my dad’s big truck (every winter I understand why he wanted the biggest, heaviest four wheel drive pick up he could get), we made it, though.  It was really nice to get home safely and be able to relax afterward.

I’m not ready for winter.  I love all the seasons, though fall is my favorite.  When it snows in October I always feel like I’ve been a bit cheated.  This year, especially, because we didn’t have a great fall to start with.  The floods caused by Irene and Lee took their toll on the trees, and many that normally give us nice color just went brown and dropped their leaves.  There are still some leaves on the hardier trees, though they didn’t have the color they usually do.  And now they’ve been snowed upon.

But…it really is pretty.  This morning, with the sun out, and knowing it’s already melting, I stepped out onto the deck early and snapped some pictures.  I hope you enjoy them.

And the doe–that’s our “Birdy”.  I am fairly sure I’ve shared photos of her here before; I know I have pictures of her in my main Facebook profile albums.  Last winter was a tough one.  We had a lot of snow and most of the winter the ground was well covered, making it very hard on our local deer.  There was very little to eat.  Part way through the season, this half-grown doe showed up at our bird feeders.  She would return each day and pretty much empty out everything she could reach.  I believe it saved her life.  We began to call her “Birdy”.

Birdy’s visits to the feeders didn’t stop when the snow melted and the world turned green, though.  She’s been back pretty much daily all spring, summer and fall.  In fact, once the herds started reassembling, Birdy even brought company.  She began to show up with another doe her own age, an older doe and two twin fawns.  I’m guessing it was her own twin sister, her mother, and her younger siblings.  They all appear to like bird seed.

Yesterday late afternoon, as Devon and I were leaving to fight the storm to Cobleskill, I stepped out on the deck, and there was Birdy.  Right on cue, the snow fell, and she visited the feeders and pretty much cleaned them out before we got home.  I leaned over the railing and took a few pictures with my cellphone (the best of them is above).  She finished her snack in a leisurely manner, looked up at me, and calmly walked across the lane and into the woods.

Better stock up on bird seed.  Winter appears to have called early.

No related posts.

The babies are growing already; I look at them today and see changes even from the video I put on YouTube yesterday. I’m growing more suspicious that the “robins” are grackles, and not robins at all. The story that came with them was that a “crow” was keeping a mother robin away from her nest, and she was unable to feed the babies, so a good samaritan took the nestlings to the local animal hospital. As I watch these nestlings look more and more like grackles every day a possible story is growing in my mind. I suspect that the person mistook a mother grackle for a “crow” (it certainly would not be the first time), and saw her defending her own nest territory from the robin. A robin is not going to raid a nest, but if one was trying to build in the same bush or tree, a grackle parent certainly would try to drive it away. Our well intended animal lover then, if the guess is correct, abducted the wrong babies. The thought of what the mother grackle must have gone through, in that case, brings tears to my eyes. I promise to take good care of her young for her, and do my best to raise them to a safe release age.

They certainly are eating like healthy babies.

And then again, they could totally be fooling me and turn into robins after all. But I don’t think so….

If you look at the pictures of the babies from last year, the grackle then was a bit older than these are, but the similarities are too strong to ignore. Still, though, I’m reserving a definite ID till they get more feathers and start looking, well, a bit more…gracklish.

I wrote a post last season about how amazingly fast the babies grow. I’ll attempt to keep up with a photo journal this year as well, in hopes that readers will enjoy watching the birds’ progress.

Today several of the “probably grackles” are climbing out of the nest and waddling about the cage. Before long, they’ll all be impossible to keep in their little plastic nest containers, and I’ll just remove those and start chasing them around the cage at feeding time. Not long after that, they’ll find their wings, and life will become a fruitless endeavor to prevent them from escaping every time they want to eat.

Good thing the laundry room has solid doors and is nice and secure.

And it’s feeding time once again. Amazing how fast a half hour goes when you’re feeding baby birds.

Related posts:

1. Baby Bird Season, ’010 (And Then There Were Ten)
2. Starling Sixpack, and Baby Season
3. Baby Birds Grow So Fast!

I’m glad I thought to wash the covers and frames of my empty reptariums the beginning of the month.  A reptarium is actually a reptile enclosure, or that’s what it was invented for, but it makes  great lightweight temporary housing for baby songbirds, too.  I have four of them for my rehab babies — however two are still housing two unreleasable birds (a house sparrow and (don’t be surprised, now) a starling) from last season.  Those, once I can finally get my den aviary built (I’ve been saying that for over a year now), will move into the house-proper and free their “temporary homes” for more babies.

This morning, since the starlings and robins are basically the same size (almost), and eat pretty much the same diet, I set up the larger of the two empty cages.  In gathering supplies, I realized that several of my ceramic dishes are missing, and I was down to one little feeding syringe (for the rare baby who refuses to open up for my preferred makeshift drinking straw spoon technique).  So, I placed my first order of ’11 with Chris’s Squirrels and More.

What does this all have to do with mysteries?

The second book of my Junior Handler Mystery Series will soon be out.  The release date is tentatively August, 2011.  And what does that have to do with baby songbirds?

Nothing, but it does have a great deal to do with wildlife rehabilitation!

American Kestrel

Wild Wings of Danger, the second book in the series, introduces the readers to wildlife, a wildlife rescue center, birds of prey, and many of the ins and outs of wild animal care.  Of course, the dog show scene still figures prominently in the story, as well–our heroes are junior handlers, after all.  In “Wings“, the kids’ education, and their world of adventure, branches out in a new direction.  There is a great deal for them, and the reader, to learn, and (thanks, of course, to Merlin) the kids do a lot of that learning the hard way! As with all of the Junior Handler Mysteries, however, never fear–that learning process will certainly not be a boring one.

Some questions readers will have answered while reading “Wings“:

• What animal is considered one of the most “commonly dangerous” animals wildlife rehabbers have to care for?
• What does “rabies vector species” mean?
• Do some wild animals have different laws governing their care than others?
• What is a “raptor” (besides that really cool little man-eating dinosaur in Jurassic Park, that is?)

Of course it is Merlin who leads the kids to these questions, and many more, and who helps them discover the answers.  And of course they’ll be solving a major crime in the process!

Once again, the wonderful artist Jenny Hawkyard has agreed to do the cover art for Wild Wings of Danger.  She did such a beautiful cover for The Corpse That Wasn’t There; I can’t wait to see what she comes up with for “Wings”!

So, “watch this space”, as they say, for updates and information as Wild Wings of Danger‘s release date approaches.  In the meanwhile, if you haven’t yet read it, you can pick up a copy of “Corpse” here in your favorite format:

• Paperback on Amazon.com
• For the Amazon Kindle
• For the Barnes and Noble Nook
• For all other e-book readers

In addition, if you have read and enjoyed “Corpse” and would like to leave a review on any of the above sites, I would be incredibly grateful!  Thank you!

Starlings, yes, but I'm not so sure these are Robins.

Related posts:

1. Wildlife: Rule Number One
2. NY Wildlife Rescue Center’s Open House
3. Wild Wing’s Author’s Copies

That's Stripes looking at the camera

Quite a few friends have asked me to try to catch some updated chatter from the Starlings, Stars and Stripes.  Last time I managed to acclimate them to the little mini cassette recorder on their cage, it was Stars who went into chat-box mode.  Today, Stripes stepped up to the mic.  I had close to an hour of sounds, much of which was just whistling and “squirking” (a noise that is just a plain old Starling noise).  There was a lot of French Fry yelling at the Starlings, too, which sounds just like an angry sparrow for some odd reason.  ::grins::  I didn’t include those.  Instead, I went through the tape with good old Audacity (free sound editing software for Windows) and picked out some of Stripes’ clearest talking.  You’ll note there’s some repetition here (he was in “Where’s Mommy” mode today, but I only included two of about two dozen of those).

And now, for your listening pleasure, without further ado, and all that jazz….

Stripes the Talking Starling!

WhosABabyBirdie1.mp3 – He’s actually saying this, and variations, a couple times.  Listen for the “Who’s a (something) baby birdie” bit.  Would love to hear comments below on what you think he’s managed to fill that blank in with.  You’ll also hear some whistling and “Pptt” — or however you spell it.  A lovely sound my husband taught them.

WhosMommysBabyBirdie.mp3 – He starts out with “Sweet baby”, which always lures me right in, so you’ll hear me sounding very silly as I interact with him.  They know where to hit me every time.  Then he gets me with “Who’s mommy’s baby birdie” and I can’t help the giggle.  Sorry, I’m a sucker for cuteness, what can I say.  That is Stars whistling over him at the start.

WhosAPrayBeeBirdie.mp3 – In my recent book review of Temple Grandin’s “Animals in Translation”, I mentioned how Stars and Stripes combined “Baby” and “Pretty” to create “PrayBee”.  You can hear that here fairly clearly.

WhosABabyWhosAPrettyBird.mp3 – The beginning isn’t terribly clear, but I think what I initially tagged as “Who’s a Baby” is actually “Sweet Baby”.  At the end he starts a “Who’s a–” but cuts it short.

WhosABabyBird(various)Chirpy.mp3 – Okay, he’s on a tear here.  “Chirpy” is my husband, Joe, for some Starling Only Knows reason.  He tosses in a “Kiss Mommy” and a “Where’s Mommy” at least once, a Chirp and a “Pptt” and … well, you figure it out. 

WheresMommy(x2).mp3 – A pair of “Where’s Mommies” and a “Pptt”.

WheresMommy(short).mp3 – Quick, but clear.

Sneeze.mp3 – Making fun of the human condition.  Yeah, they do sound-effects, too.  ::snort::

KisstheKittyKitty.mp3 – And he closes out with a nice wolf whistle.

HelloKittyKittyKitty.mp3 – I’m not sure why kitties always seem to elicit that wolf whistle … taunting destiny, maybe?  Flirting with Danger?  “Hello”, even though it always seems to be the thing most people try to teach their birds first, came very late (despite us sitting like fools repeating it endlessly in front of them) in the Starlings’ vocabulary.  It’s a bit slurred when they say it, but I think you can hear it.

Related posts:

1. My Starlings Talking
2. Starling Sixpack, and Baby Season
3. RAOKA’n Robins. Er, Starlings.

Completed Aviary

Although the door no longer sports the historical “Chicken Little Lanai” sign, said sign is actually mounted on the side of the aviary, and the restoration work is done.  Note the inventive sliding glass door … an old window my husband found in the shed and recycled.  The entire inside of the aviary is secured with 1/4″ hardware cloth, bungee cords and branches are strung and scattered about for perches, a neat table/shelf is set up for food and water dishes, and the Starlings and Grackle have taken up residence.

The birds have been outside for about a week now, and are doing extremely well.  Birdies and home have stood up nicely to several rather raucous thunder storms without any problems.  In fact, one storm hit in the middle of the night, and I stood for some time, with rain pouring down and lightning flashing around me, under the car port in my jammies just making sure the birds were safe.

They slept through the storm.

At first, we tried putting the three little House Finches in with the others.  However, after an hour or so, one Finch had lost several tail feathers to the naughty Starlings.  I sent my six-foot-three inch son, who despite the added height still bends better than his old mother does, in to rescue the little ones.  The Finches are now spending days in their reptarium out on our front deck under the shade awning, and I’m searching for additional ideas for a safe release for them.  Fortunately, we have House Finches coming to the feeders out front, so they’re becoming acquainted with others of their species.

Several of the Starlings

The six Starlings are overjoyed by their new location.  They have lots of room to stretch their wings, and took right away to the feeding station and perches.  There are ledges, front and back, up under the roof where it’s most sheltered, and they seem to like to roost there at night, while the Grackle takes the x-shaped bungee cord perch in the enclosed corner of the cage.

Today, for the first time that I was able to observe, I sat for a while beside the aviary and watched the Starlings drop to the floor of the cage.  They were wandering about in shavings, prying with their beaks as “real Starlings” do in the grass, cleaning up cat food crumbles and dried mealworms that had been dropped from the feeding station.  I even watched one find himself a real live beetle of some sort, beat it against the floor, and then manage to lose it again before he ate it.  He’ll learn, though.  They’re really coming along beautifully!

Kelly, the federal migratory bird rescuer whom I apprentice with, stopped by (with a baby Eastern Phoebe, who is still in my laundry room with the Barn Swallow who came for a visit last month and stayed) the day I’d put the birds outside.  She said they all looked very happy, and I must agree.  They’d truly outgrown the indoor quarters, and they really are enjoying the chance to be birds in a safe environment, learning the ins and outs of being, well, out instead of in!

My Grackle Friend

The Grackle is also doing very well.  I was a wee bit concerned about him, actually, as he is a strange little fellow who seemed alternately to hate me and depend on me.  However, he’s taken to the outdoor digs in a great way, holds his own against those rowdy Starlings, and seems to be having a grand old time.  Four times a day, when I bring out fresh food and water, he is the first to hit the dishes and fill up on mealworms, sift through his favorite seed mix for peanuts, and drink the fresh, clean water before the Starlings have a chance to bathe in it.  He’s such a funny bird, curious and comical, and I enjoy watching his antics as he explores perches, sifts through the cat food looking for mealworms, and stands with his head upside down to get a better view of the surface of the water in the big dish.

Although it took a while, and I got the birds outdoors much later than I’d hoped to do, they’ve adjusted just fine.  I don’t think they’ll have any problem at all when time comes to release them.  I’ll be setting up feeding stations outside the cage before that happens, in addition to the ones out front that are already frequented by the wild birds.  The rescues will have a continual supply of fresh water, and all the foods they’re used to eating, as they spread their wings and learn to find goodies in the wild.  I’m seeing wild Grackles, Starlings and House Finches all over the area, so I don’t think they’ll have any problem at all locating their own kind, and integrating.

Life’s good, when you’re a bird at the top of Gridley Hill.

Related posts:

1. Baby Birdie Leaps and Bounds
2. Baby Bird Season, ’010 (And Then There Were Ten)
3. Baby Birds Grow So Fast!

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.

Related posts:

1. Baby Birds Grow So Fast!
2. Wild Bird Rescue in Winter
3. Baby Bird Season, ’010 (And Then There Were Ten)

One of Darcy's rescues, "Chipper"

My friend Darcy rescues squirrels.  She takes them in as little orphans, raises them lovingly, prepares them for the wild, and then releases them so they can be “real squirrels” again.  Unlike her husband Wes, who does not name wildlife (this has sort of become a running joke, perpetuated by the likes of “Oscar”, “Deja Vu”, “One-Eyed Susie”, etc), she gives each squirrel a name…and it amazes me that Darcy can actually tell them apart.

My thoughts on squirrels?  “Better her than me”.

Oh, they’re cute.  They’re energetic, lively, resilient, funny little beings.  They have unbounded energy, and one can’t help but respect their enthusiasm for life.  However, I have a bone to pick with squirrels.

You see, my rescue love, wildlife-style, anyway, is baby songbirds.  In order to release them properly, I need to keep secure feeding stations filled, so that the little ones can have plenty of sustenance available as they learn to find their wild foods in the area.

This has been made more of a challenge than necessary…thanks to squirrels.

Every morning, I take two one pound coffee cans full of seed out to my front feeders–the good stuff, too.  It’s the kind with less waste, that includes goodies like dried cherries and peanuts and raisins.  It’s the expensive stuff, as I want to make sure my birdies have a wide variety of good things to eat.  I fill those front yard feeders, and an hour later…they’re empty.

I run back and forth, scolding and chasing, but the little beasties just keep coming.  Although I probably have more than just the three, and some of what I’m seeing may of course be different squirrels, the ones I’ve spoken to, anyway, appear to be a pair of red squirrels and a single very large and extremely fluffy gray.

You know, if the squirrels were actually eating the food, I don’t think I’d mind it as much.  They’re not, though.  They’re hoarding it.  I mean, come on, three squirrels can’t possibly eat, or even remotely require, two one pound cans full of bird seed every morning.  The red squirrels tell me they have babies (oh that’s just wonderful, more squirrels to feed) but heck, they could be feeding their babies, their siblings, their first, second and third cousins, and their late Uncle Pete’s third wife’s sister in law’s entire extended family–and still have three fourths of that seed left over every day.

Even hoarding that much seed is useless.  It would rot months before they got to eat it all, and probably long before they’ll even need to tap into their stores this coming winter.

Now, you know me.  You know I’d never hurt an animal.  You know I love all wild creatures.  But I have to confess, these squirrels are pretty darned frustrating.  The red squirrels insist they need the food for the babies.  When I try to convince the gray squirrel he’s taking more than he needs, he simply cannot wrap his mind around the thought that there is such a thing as “more than he needs”.   He just brushes me off and goes on his little obsessive-compulsive pathological hoarder’s way.  I recall, when studying Native American philosophy, lessons about the wild brethren and how they take only what they need and do not waste the earth’s resources.

All respect intended, but I have a feeling the teacher who penned that lesson never met a squirrel.

I’m paying through the nose for really good, expensive bird seed…and the darned squirrels are stuffing their cheeks, over and over again, and throwing it away!

I’ve tried various deterrents.  So far the squirrels have figured them all out.  They get around the barriers–and those squirrel proof bird feeders that close the ports when the squirrel steps on the bar?  Those only work for gray squirrels to start with, as if you set them sensitive enough for red squirrels they also close on the blue jays and cardinals and doves.  As to the gray squirrels, the feeders only work until the squirrel figures out all he has to do is sit on the roof of the feeder and hold on to the edge.  Then he can lean over and snick the seeds through the ports.

I’ve tried feeding “squirrel foods” of various kinds.  They like the expensive bird seed mix better (who wouldn’t? With all those cherries and peanuts, it smells good enough for me to eat!)

For a while, I was refilling feeders in the afternoons, but that just gave the squirrels twice as much food to waste.  When I release my rescue babies, I’ll be setting up more feeders in the back yard as well…no doubt the squirrels will enjoy that tremendously.

Before starting this post, I had just loaded up my container of seed, and gone out to fill the feeders for the day.  As I stepped out onto the front deck, a blur of fur ducked under the big spruce trees near the feeders:  a gray squirrel, two red squirrels…and a pair of chipmunks.

Great.  Just bleepin’ great.  They’ve invited the neighbors.

Related posts:

1. Birds and Bird Sanctuaries
2. Baby Birds Grow So Fast!




“Like Weeds”, as the saying goes.  I’ve added some photos, taken today, May 25th, to the baby bird gallery for your enjoyment.  Compare today’s pictures to those taken a mere two weeks or less ago.  It’s astounding how fast young birds grow and change.

Of the three species here, some interesting facts:

In the wild, House Finch eggs hatch at 12-14 days, their eyes open at 4 days, they grow feathers at 3-6 days, and they leave the nest at 14-16 days.  At Gayle’s house, these finches were over four days when they arrived, as they had feathers and their eyes were open.  They are now at least fifteen days old, they’re still begging to be spoon fed, though they’re eating on their own. They fly well, but it’ll be at least a couple weeks of outdoor acclimation (still have to build the facilities!) before they can be released.

In the wild, Common Grackle eggs hatch at 12-14 days.  The babies’ eyes open at 3-5 days, they feather out at about 14 days, and they leave the nest at 20 to 23 days.  This means our young Grackle friend was a good two weeks old when he arrived, for he was quite well feathered.  That would make him at least 27 days old now, and he is still, I repeat, still not feeding himself.

Starlings.  Oh, my, Starlings.  The European Starling’s eggs usually hatch in the wild at 12-15 days, and the young are fed by their parents for 20 to 22 days.  They remain dependent on their parents for 4-5 days after leaving the nest, and will follow them and beg to be fed.  These Starlings were at least nine or ten days old when they arrived, some several days older than others, on the 12th of May.  That would make them about 22 days old now, the age at which they’d be leaving the nest.  They just started picking at the food on their own today, and are now causing me some indigestion as they randomly refuse spoon-feeding even though they’re not getting enough on their own.  However, having been down this road before (and trust me, these guys are trying to eat much younger than Stars and Stripes did!), I know this is a phase and they’re not going to starve.

In my last post, I mentioned how baby animals are so much better off being raised by their natural parents.  I’ve included the facts above to illustrate how hand-rearing wild baby birds does, in fact, set them back.  All three species are progressing more slowly than they would have in the wild … especially that darned Grackle, though I cannot shake the feeling that he’s snowing me.

The finches, if I had facilities ready to do so, would be moving outside very soon.  Tomorrow, my dear hubby is going to be swinging by Lowe’s and trying to pick me up some materials to begin building my release area.  These birds escape at the slightest sign of an opening (witness the adventure trying to get a Starling out from behind the washing machine this morning).  Should that happen outside, before they are acclimated to the outdoors, to eating from outside feeders, etc., that would be a death sentence.  Therefore, these facilities have to be pretty darned secure.

I’m looking at two-by-two lumber and hardware cloth of no more than 1/3″ gauge (1/2″ is too large — I’ve seen baby Goldfinches hang themselves in 1/2″ gauge cages).  The cages will be meshed on all four sides, with one side of each cage a door, in which there will be a secure feeding door.  I’ll also put a similar flap in the side of each cage, which will be locked shut till I’m ready to release birds.  Once they’re ready to fly free, I’ll open that small door, and let them find their own way into the wild.

I’d love to eventually get two three-foot by six-foot by six-foot tall cages built, one for large songbirds, and one for small.  For right now, though, a single cage will have to do.

I plan to build them in panels.  I’ll make three-by-three panels of lumber and hardware cloth, and create modular cages of whatever size I need.  Thus, once a single cage is done, I’ll keep making panels and adding to the facilities.

One very important part of each cage will be an entrance addition.  This will be a 3′w x 3′l x 6′h cage attached to the door end of each main cage, so that I can walk into the entry, secure the door behind me, and then enter the actual cage or open the feeding door without having to worry about birds releasing themselves before they are ready.

I’ll hang bird feeders, set up feeding trays, install water dishes/baths into the cage(s) as well as hanging and setting up identical ones all around the outside of them. The release area is going to be located under some nice bushy arbor vitae trees, for shelter, and in which to hang feeders.  Thus, the birds, when released, will have feed and water available in stations they already recognize, and plenty of shelter in the bushy branches of the trees.  I’ll also be setting up nesting/roosting areas for them.

And the trick is, of course … how do we afford to do this right?  As usual, for now, I’m tossing that out to the Universe and trusting that the answer will soon arrive!

Related posts:

1. Starling Sixpack, and Baby Season
2. Baby Birdie Leaps and Bounds
3. Birds and Bird Sanctuaries

The baby starlings are climbing out of their nest now, so have been put into a reptarium (mesh cloth cage) for safe-keeping and to give them room to exercise those little legs.  I’m still waiting for everyone to start eating on their own.  The finches have started nibbling at the seed, but really aren’t “eating-eating” yet, other than a few bits here and there.  It’s a start, though, and I’ve hung a millet spray in with them.  I’ll be able to tell fairly easily if they begin cracking those seeds, as the bottom of the cage below it will be littered with empty shells.  Let’s hope that happens soon.

I’ve got to get outdoor facilities set up so that, as soon as these babies are eating self-sufficiently and able to fly, I can move them safely outside. Once outdoors, they’ll begin to adapt to the point that they can eventually be released.  I’ve got great plans … now for the resources to bring them to reality!

A call came in today.  A kind gentleman found a baby fawn near the road.

I think this is a good opening to simply remind everyone that baby animals are always better off with their mothers.  Though it’s natural for humans to want to shelter and protect what they perceive as orphans or abandoned babies, most of the time those babies are not abandoned at all.  Mother deer do not stay with their fawns, at least not the tiny ones.  They leave the babies in hiding, and only return every so many hours to nurse them.  In the interim, they stay well away from the hiding site, so as not to lead predators to their offspring.  If a baby deer is found, unless the dead body of the mother is nearby and evident, there is an almost 100% chance that the mother will be back looking for it soon.  Mother deer don’t always choose the smartest hiding places (I recall a series of photos that circulated around the internet not long ago of a fawn that was actually hidden on a family’s back porch step, but the mother did come back for it).  Baby deer don’t always stay put (I had one, years ago, actually run into my arms, because she’d left her assigned spot and got confused — I eventually got her to stay in the edge of the woods and, sure enough, along came mamma a couple hours later and tended to her).  However, returning a baby fawn to the general vicinity of where it was found is always the best option, unless you’re absolutely certain the mother is dead.

Bunnies are another species often abducted from their nests by humans who think they’ve been abandoned.  A mother rabbit will only return to the nest once or twice a day to nurse her offspring.  The rest of the time, she stays well away, because a predator won’t smell or spot the hidden babies, but they might follow the adult to the nest.  So often, we receive baby rabbits that good-hearted people think were abandoned because they watched for an hour and never saw the mother nearby.  Mother most certainly returned at dusk to nurse her babies–only to find them gone.

Those babies, too, should have been returned to the spot where they were found.

Baby birds too small to hop around and flutter should be returned to the nest if possible, and if not, put near the nest location.  A makeshift nest is easily made out of a basket, such as the plastic ones strawberries come in, lined with straw or hay or even shredded and wadded up paper towels.  Even putting it in a sheltered spot on the ground near the tree that contains the original nest will allow the parents to find it.  If a nest or bird falls or blows out of an opening in a house or barn, return that makeshift nest into the opening as close to the original location as possible.  It’s an old wive’s tale that parents will reject babies that have “human smell” on them.  Those mother and father birds are usually frantic over their missing offspring, and will continue to feed and tend to them on the ground, in the new nearby location, and in the human-made pseudo-nest.

Note, too, that if a baby bird is on the ground and it is old enough to hop and flutter, has feathers, and is in the “cute as a button” stage … it’s probably on the ground on purpose.  Babies fall out of the nest as a normal part of their development.  The parents will feed the baby on the ground until it finds its wings and learns to fly well.

Unless a baby animal is obviously injured, or you are one hundred percent certain that the parents are dead, they are always best off with their natural parents.

If there is injury or no other option, then hit Google, do a search for wildlife rehabilitators in your state or location, and try to track down someone licensed to legally and skillfully care for injured and orphaned wildlife.

I know you love animals … you wouldn’t be visiting my blog if you didn’t.  Part of that love is to learn the best way to be their friend.  Thank you for caring so much for our wild relatives!

Some books you may enjoy:

• Healers of the Wild by Shannon Jacobs
• Introduction to Wildlife Rehabilitation by Nancy Schwartz
• Beginning Wildlife Rehab by Donna Ralph

Technorati Tags: animals, wildlife, birds, wildlife rehabilitation

Related posts:

1. Baby Bird Season, ’010 (And Then There Were Ten)
2. It’s Baby Bird Season
3. Baby Birdie Leaps and Bounds