New Meaning to the term "HOUSE" Sparrow!

Birdie, Birdie, Birdie!!!!!!!!!!!! you have taken over our lives!
Your adorable flutters, chirps, and desire to be with us is just beyond words! You have captivated our hearts and entertained us more than we could have ever imagined!

Who knew a little rescued, disabled, near death baby sparrow would grow into such a healthy, independent, hilarious, inquisitive bird that has taken over our house!
Aaaahahahaaaa I laugh at the little poops delivered on the floor, counters, cabinets, etc. during Birdie's "out of cage fly overs"!
I laugh at how I have paper towels spread all over the counters, fax machine, and other surfaces!
I laugh at how I've had to change what I wear around the house now, since Birdie insists on sitting on my shoulder anytime I am in the kitchen or family room! Old T-shirts are in, nice clothes are out! I have to quickly change my office clothes before I let Birdie out to visit, as sure enough... not long after Birdie perches on my shoulder, Birdie leaves me a poopy-present!

Not to worry, we corral Birdie during dinner time!

As these little presents are not welcomed in our food!

Here's Birdie in hisher fave spot! 

I've learned to tilt my neck towards Birdie

when heshe insists on pecking my earrings!!!

 Here's Birdie helping to write Birdie's Blog!!!

 And I finally wised up and realized that my clicking on the computer keypad

was a direct invitation to Birdie to join me!

Of course! my finger clicking-pecking imitates natural bird pecking behavior!

Therefore I became the Best Bird Parent ever to Birdie!!! 

Peck, peck, peck, peck, peck, peck!!! what a fun game Birdie thinks this is!!!

 Seriously!!! Birdie loooooooooves the computer now!

When heshe jumps on the keypad, entries happen that I don't intend!

No banking or business emails when's Birdie's out!!! ahahahahaaa!!!

And finally, Birdie's newest fave spot to hang out

is the crevice where our kitchen cabinet doors ajoin.

Birdie must think this is hisher new tree!

(sadly I can't get the video to upload :/ )

 

Bird bath video to come!!

when I can figure out why my videos aren't loading :/

Ok, I give up and have now begun creating...

A BIRDIE YouTube channel!!!!
ahahahaaaaa :)
  I'll link it asap!!!

Flying, Fluttering, Perching and Pecking at My Humans

And so as Birdie grows and develops so does Birdie's sense of self confidence, natural instinct of investigation and sparrow curiosity!

Birdie's newest adventures include fly-overs from the cage to various landing sites in the kitchen and family room. Birdie is just so smart and so fascinating to watch! We just marvel at his healthy growth and development from an abandoned and injured newborn to a full fledged confidently natural flying adolescent sparrow... just flitting and flying around our house, as if it's just the most natural thing for himher to be doing! (Little does Birdie know, this is the most "unnatural wild bird" behavior!)

At this point in hisher explorations, Birdie stays close to hisher "comfort zone", flying in close proximity to things near and around the cage. As a result, when we are hanging at the kitchen table, Birdie now freely joins us, flying over us and deciding whom to perch on (and subsequently, poop on)!

Above, Birdie's enjoying me as the perch .... 

and soon discovering shimmery post earrings are great fun to peck at!
Below, is evidence of a well-fed Birdie...lol
check out Birdie's signature on my shoulder!

 Here's a hilarious video of Birdie pecking at my earrings! It's super funny, but actually that little sparrow beak is really powerful and sharp now! I can really see now how bird beaks are a natural "weapon" in the wild! Sorry the video is tilted, I can't figure out how to set it up straight... but you'll still crack up at me being attacked by "sweet innocent baby Birdie" !!!

The World is My Perch... and Birdie Loves Phones!

Taking Flight, Fluttering Fly-Overs and Random Poop!

Who knew we would successfully raise a WILD SPARROW?! thus transforming our human household into Birdie's world. Of course this makes logical sense that a tiny abondoned, injured baby bird would come to know nothing else but our environment as hisher own and only natural habitat, yet it is still so breathtaking to observe and take part in this truly miraculous experience!

Perhaps raising baby Birdie wouldn't be so incredible and amazing if the circumstances were different..?
If baby Birdie HADN'T been so young and totally helpless, totally dependent upon us his rescuers?
If baby Birdie HADN'T been so injured, disabled, deformed?
If baby Birdie WASN'T naturally a WILD bird?
But I still wake up each morning, call down the hallway from my bedroom to Birdie and am still amazed daily when I receive the happy and urgent return chirps back to me! This little wild creature is completely at "home" in our human home!! And knows nothing else but us, and knows nothing else but the inside of our house, the security of hisher cage and our kitchen and family room as hisher "world'!!

As Birdie explores more and more and "acts" more like a "real" bird, it's hilarious to take part in hisher view of the world. Who knows how Birdie really sees us and interprets us and our world? Who knows what is triggered in hisher little brilliant brain to fly to us and perch on us? I know we are seen as the "bird parents" and hisher "flock" as a result of early Imprinting, but what goes through that little mind when heshe CHOOSES to come to us and perch on us? Guess my next career will be that of a Zoologist or Animal Whisperer, or Animal Tamer/Rescuer?

Below are a sampling of Birdie's favorite human and household perches!

ME!!! ahahaaa :)

Birdie loves Scott!

as Scott was first to encourage Birdie to learn to sit on the human hand as a perch.






Birdie also lets Scott know when he wants to be touched or petted... or not! That little beak is a powerful little weapon for sure!

Sadly Alissa missed out on Birdie's early rescue and raising being away at college,

 but Birdie quickly learned she was just another bird in our flock!

 Birdie loved nibbling on Alissa's nails!

Here's Daddy-bird Jim

So funny how Birdie gets shocked every morning
when Jim appears with a different shirt. 

Birdie is quite startled and confused with Jim changing his "feathers" daily!

And since Birdie has "grown up" with my phone taking pictures and videos since heshe opened hisher eyes, my phone is just another extension of me and one of Birdie's happy landing zones!

It's so funny trying to use my phone, or especially trying to take pictures and videos of Birdie, as the minute the phone is focused in Birdie's direction, that's an invitation to perch! I was able to catch these adorable pictures quickly using Jim's phone to take the picture

No matter the angle of my phone,
it's an invitation for Birdie to perch!

And and invitation to peck and manicure my fingers!

Feeding Baby, Eating, Growing Fast, Discovering New Foods

In just 2 months Birdie has gone from fragile injured dependent baby bird, to a strong flying, playing, pecking, normal independent eating and drinking full fledged Sparrow! This has been such a miraculous journey helping Birdie grow, thrive and survive!
This blog entry is a somewhat sequential summary of Birdie going from hand fed by necessity, to hand fed because it's fun and Birdie is beginning to expect things to nibble on!

But first, here's a short video of Birdie during the first week of dependence and disabled neck:

As Birdie became stronger, and grew more feathers

it seemed Birdie's neck gradually normalized ! 

Here Birdie is still turning awkwardly to eat

but navigating so much better!

With time, and experience as Bird-Parents, 

we also gained greater skill at getting the food into the target!

We were so excited when Birdie surprised us with sitting on our hands

almost normally! Feeding became so much easier and Birdie grew stronger fast!

Here Birdie was still in the original little nest,
but with the nest inside a larger pet carrier,
as those feathers and wings were developing quickly
and we couldn't predict if Birdie would 

suddenly take flight out of the protective enclosed area!

Here's Birdie in the BigBird cage! Graduation!

Birdie liked to perch on the little nest, munching happily from the tweezers.

But Birdie quickly transitioned from the enclosed nest area to the BigBird cage,
and as hisher wings grew strong, and Birdie flitted around the cage

I removed the little nest.. as soon Birdie preferred the upper area perches!
yep, just like what would be Birdie's natural environment...
living in a tree!

Soon Birdie learns all about hisher wings and in no time

Birdie is venturing out of the cage to perch atop the cage!

Once Birdie graduated to the cage, it seemed like heshe grew into 

a "regular" bird fast! It's been great fun introducing new foods.

Here's Birdie learning about a banana!

Yummy !

In no time, we found various colorful and delectable seeds and grains for Birdie

Bird Dad Jim brought home some cherries!

Birdie added those to the list of delicious treats!

And in no time, Birdie learned the kitchen table was a great place to hang out!

Here's Birdie and Scott having Cream of Wheat for breakfast!

In no time flat, Birdie learned spoons hold all kinds of treats!

Well we now have our very own "Starbucks" sparrow!

 I'll title these pictures: Biscotti Breakfast with Birdie :)

Jim found the most amazing mini Biscotti's at Costco and we enjoy them every morning with our coffee. Birdie soon decided this was hisher new favorite routine also, as Birdie looooooves nibbling and pecking on the hard Biscotti! Just look at the nibbling neck angle! No neck disability there!

Note the tiny little bloodspot on my thumb... Birdie missed the Biscotti
and that little beak got me, not the Biscotti!

Birdie's new beak sharpener is Biscotti!

And just this weekend, Jim decided on popcorn with his movie...

Yes, you guessed it, Birdie now loves popcorn! And actual corn too!

In addition to all these (supplemental) treats, Birdie has an endless supply of actual Bird Seed, hanging Millet Sprays, high protein Poultry Crumbles, crushed (with a baker's roller pin lol) dog kibble and Birdie still likes to occasionally eat the softened dog kibble from the tweezers.
It's certainly a relief to see Birdie so independent eating "normal" bird seed and drinking water by hisherself, but I will actually be sad when Birdie completely weans and graduates from eating hisher "babyfood" from the tweezers... but aren't all moms sentimental when their babies don't "need" them as much? :)

PS- Birdie also loves Blueberries, Green Beans, Corn, Spinach, Lettuce... whatever we eat, I let Birdie try.. well all the healthy stuff that is !

I'm a Big Bird now!

Hi Everyone! I'm such a Big Bird now!
I've developed so many healthy feathers so fasssssst, I graduated from my "human-made" nest to my new Big Bird cage!  Wow! I've had so many changes in so little time!

I was probably about 4 or 5 days old when I had my life changing fall from my sparrow family nest, around the beginning of the third week of May, 2013.
Crazy how I instantly went from being a "normal" sparrow hatchling, in a "normal" sparrow nest, to something dramatic that landed me on a human front porch, below my sparrow family nest, to being sniffed by a little doggie, who then alerted her humans that I was near death on the ground, to being rescued by these nice humans, who made a warm cozy nest for me and provided me with food, love and care... and now look at me!!! I'm probably about 2 1/2 weeks old now and my neck is straight, I can perch, and I am learning to fly!!! So much so, that I needed out of my little pet-carrier container to a super duper beautiful multilevel bird cage!
Wow! what I life I have now!

I am still being hand fed by my humans, but they have introduced me to these tasty seeds and grains and alfalfa/grass hay from their horses! I even just begun to discover water ! Whooo hoooo, what a great life for a little sparrow that almost didn't make it!!!

I have lots of cool toys and things to explore in my new environment!

And I have all these cool perches to perch on!

Here's Birdie's first time out of the cage

freeeeeee flying and learning to enjoy

just perching and hanging out!

Yiiiippppeeeee!!! here's Birdie learning to 

freeeeeee fly and perch outside of the cage!!
Those little wings are PERFECT!!!

And here's Birdie's FIRST spontaneous freeee flight

away from the cage to the highest point in our house

above the fireplace, to the top of this large picture!

So surprising and amazing to witness Birdie 

just suddenly take off and fly up up up and away!

Birdie must have thought heshe was flying to the top of a tree or house

as this picture has lots of trees and a house in it. 

Natural instincts of animals never cease to totally AMAZE me!

We wondered how we would get Birdie down from here

or how Birdie would figure out how to fly back to the cage...

but yep, you guessed it... nature knows just what to do...

and within about 5 minutes, Birdie just flew right back to the cage!

Confirming, that if Birdie was wild and outside with hisher parents

this would be the beginnings of natural flight training!

Feathers & Fluttering & Doing Fine!

Here's baby Birdie in learning to perch and gaining additional feathers daily!

At this time, we've had Birdie for about 9 days and the changes are miraculous!

Happily Birdie's neck is gaining strength and straightening out daily! 

We really thought Birdie might be disabled for life... but heshe sure proved us way wrong!!

 

Here Birdie is learning to perch on the edge of hisher nest. We still have the nest inside the pet-carrier, as Birdie is not quite ready for the Big Bird cage yet.

 Here Scott is teaching Birdie how to perch on his fingers

or perhaps Birdie is teaching Scott!

Nature is so amazing! This little abandoned Birdie 

knows just how to be a sparrow!

 It's wonderful to watch Birdie learn to balance on hisher feet

and flutter hisher wings.

Birdie's neck is still a little tilted, but getting stronger

and straighter every day!

 Birdie let's Scott know heshe is hungry

or if heshe doesn't like a particular human movement!

Note that little beak open for food

or squawking or pecking!

 

Here's Birdie showing off hisher beautiful new feathers!

Amazing how everyday when we get up, it seems Birdie

has grown more feathers overnight 

and continues to during the day!

And look at that perfect pose!

Birdie's neck is miraculously healed!

Isn't nature just so amazing!

We will never know what actually happened to Birdie's neck originally...

Was it a birth defect, therefore the parents booted himher out of the nest....

or did Birdie's injury occur when heshe fell from the nest 

and landed hard on the brick porch?

We'll never know why all this happened...

If only Birdie could tell us hisher story!!!