Our little doggie Hanna sniffed out and alerted me to yet ANOTHER BABY SPARROW that had fallen (or been pushed) from the nest!
July 30, 2014
Same story (see my first blog post), same scenario (same nest on our front porch), same (me) jumping into action to rescue this sweet little baby at 11:30 at night, who's eyes were not even open. But unlike the baby that fell out last month, this one looked pink and healthy, although tiny and a bit skinny. I think it may have hatched that day, not really been fed much and then fell out this past Wednesday night! Thank goodness the "birdie slide" worked!!
The next morning, I strained my ears to see if I could hear any additional plaintive chirps from the disastrous fail of a nest... and yes... to my sadness and frustration, I did...
We had intended to take the nest down months ago, when it was abandoned, but life just got too busy and time passed quickly and here we are now with one tiny newly hatched baby fallen and the potential for another or others too also... ugh, so heartbreaking! My hope always is that nature does what nature is intended to do, and NO human intervention is needed!
Jim and debated and agonized over the decision to just let "nature take it's course" again... or to try to "save" the remaining baby/babies in the nest. But I knew I would be so unsettled knowing there was a possibility of new little lives suffering in an abandoned nest... if that was the case. We watched all day to see if there were any parents coming to the nest to feed. Didn't see any.
I even cleaned the parent poop off the chair (aka "Birdie Slide) to see if parents had come to feed, but we didn't see any recent poop indicating recent visits.
So we made the decision to go up and investigate. The nest was actually quite well constructed, and had probably been there for years and years and it had probably been a super successful nest for years and years, as babies only started falling out last year when "original" Birdie was rescued. So I gloved and masked up, and began taking the nest apart. All was quiet and I was worried the other baby/babies had already died. But to my surprise, 2 little babies slipped out into the box I had under the nest to catch the nest parts and potential babies.
At this point, I realized why all these babies had been able to slip out of the nest. It was well constructed deep into the eve of the house, but over time, one side of it must have developed a hole or weak side, allowing so many babies to fall out. My heart broke when I met these 2 additional siblings to the baby that fell out the night before. I wanted so much for the nest to be empty, and I wouldn't have to intervene with nature. But, this agenda immediately changed, and I rushed them into the house to join the other baby.
July 31, 2014
And so the round the clock, every 30-40 minute feedings began! I was so happy though to be able to join first fallen baby (the youngest and skinniest one) with it's siblings! It's beyond adorable to see them all snuggle and cuddle together for warmth and companionship. Ah, the family is back together and they have a chance at survival.
Off I went to crush into a mush, the "magic kibble" that saved First Birdie's life. It's the high protein baby sparrows desperately need to survive and thrive and it sure did the trick for First Birde! She's so healthy and happy and we still hand feed her this everyday! Sadly most well intentioned humans try to give baby birds water and human type foods, and they wind up starving or killing them. Not only was I Pre-Vet in my early college years, I read a lot online when I first rescued First Birdie. Here's a great site for anyone who might find a baby bird. Although many humans are well intentioned, they "rescue" Fledgelings" on the ground that are learning to fly, but look lost, yet are being cared for by their parents.
So I better end this post, as my new 3 babies are chirping (again :) and need to be fed! They're doing fine, and I will post another picture of them with their mouths agape successfully eating. It's not an easy task for a human to intercede on nature's perfection. I wish I didn't have to, and the babies were all happily nestled in their nest with their parents, with no chance of falling out... but that wasn't the case, so we will nurture and take care of these sweet little guys forever, if necessary. But my hope, since there are 3 of them, that we can eventually set them free... Already planning an aviary in the barn to protect them as they learn to adapt to the wild world... but don't panic, that won't be for a long time!
Their snuggle positions are so adorable!!!
