Gone to the Birds...Bird Rehabilitating that is

Well...

my afternoon was spent on bird rehabilitation.

Not because I really wanted to, but when I took Collin(my mini schnauzer) out to go to the bathroom this afternoon ... he kept sniffing and straining towards the big christmas tree type tree we have in the backyard...

and that's when I saw it...a wee tiny mockingbird(about 3 inches tall) that could not hop very well at all it kept tumbling over itself, and could not get away very well at all.(Couldn't fly at all) and when it tried to hop it literally did tumbles over itself..poor thing...

So my daughter and I scooped it up, found a nest that has been blown apart and another nest that was tipped sideways in the tree, so my daughter took the one good nest and set it back upright into the tree and we put the baby bird back in the nest.

I went back out about 3 hrs later and the same scenario ensued... baby bird back on the ground, no parents around, and the nest was again tipped over.

So this time around we went ahead and scooped the baby up and brought it in to keep the ants from getting it.

I have left little birds before like this thinking that nature would do what nature would do, and the parents would find them only to return to the bird a few hours later to see fire ants having a feast...I did not want the fire ants to have a feast on this little one.

So this afternoon has been spent making sure it eats. I have also discovered that its leg is broken up near the hip joint, so I tried my best to bind the leg with some very fine,thin seam binding and tape. What a chore! Not only is the bird a little wiggle worm, but my gracious birdy legs are so thin! It is tough trying to bind a baby bird's leg.

But the good news is it is a vigorourous eater and has really been scarfing the blueberries and some moistened dog food. So that is promising.

My daughter managed to get it to eat a grub worm this afternoon too, so that is really good.

The one leg that I had to bind, it refuses to move it and the foot is just being held very limpy, the hip joint just kind of flops around, so I tried very hard to bind it up to minimize the flopping of the leg.I could see where the leg joint had gotten broken, but other than binding it up of course I don't know how to set it.At least it tries to hop around on its one good leg though.And boy it can chirp loudly too.So..that's how our day has gone this afternoon.------------We've gone to the birds..LOL
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The leg appears to still have color and blood flow to it, so that is promising at least.(same coloring in the toes and foot as the healthy leg/so this is a good sign/only thing is it isn't using the leg and the leg has a good bit of "flop" even once it is bound) it definitely eats well, and tries to peck at the foods also.... so this is a good thing.... so far it is doing well.

We are using a Warm rice pack to keep the critter warm too.

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Now if this was a baby dove I would not have even tried this, as doves have to be fed regurgitated "dove milk" ..but this one is a mockingbird, and eats a good bit differently.Had a treat of a fresh grub earlier that it enjoyed, and really enjoys fresh blueberries and moistened dog food.

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I looked all over for any signs of other baby birds that might have fallen out too but this was the only one.

Had the situation not repeated itself 3 hrs later I would have just left it alone of course.

But we have some wicked mean fire ants around here that would have had a nice lunch had we not intervened, as I saw a few of them up under the tree when we rescued the baby.

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Last year we had a baby blue jay fall from the nest and I spied the parents nearby, so I left it where it was... only to go outside a little while later to see it covered in fire ants...the poor thing. I know nature can be cruel, but I honestly did not want to give the ants a chance today.

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I looked online for wildlife rehabbers and from what I could tell... the closest wildlife rehabilitator to us is about 40 miles away. So, we will do the best we can to take care of it here.(yes, I have a little experience in these types of things as we rescued quite a number of little birds like this back when I was a teen, and I have done some research also on how to take care of the wee one/if I feel that the little leg needs to be amputated I will find a capable vet in the area/am keeping a close eye on the development with its little leg and so far the color and blood flow look to be good)

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This afternoon and evening the little chirper packed away the following:

Lunch:

the insides of about 2 big juicy blueberries

1 fat grub worm

1 rolly poly bug

and about 2 pieces of moistened dog food

dinner:

4 rolly poly bugs

and 1 big juicy blueberry innards.

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All's well so far at the "zoo" ...LOL

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Have a goood day!

~The Garden Goose!~