Saturday 11 August 2012

Des Res for Chirpy

Sadly the little yellowbelly bird did not make it. After escaping yesterday and enjoying several hours of freedom, it was caught again last night by Mayze. It didn't have the strength to fly away and was flapping around on the ground. I tried to get it to eat, but it was exhausted. It died before I went to bed.

The first one however is very chirpy. This morning I opened up the home made nest in the plant pot at 7am to give it chance to fly away, if it could.  It managed a couple of feet of low level hopping into the hedge bottom, where it stayed perched on a low branch. I kept the cats in untill midday, to give birdie a chance of escape, but he only moved a couple of feet along the hedge. I kept feeding him every half hour with three or four small pieces of Felix wet cat food, the little chappie is always hungry.

Eventually I had to let the cats out because they were pacing up and down and crying. I needed to make something safe and secure for birdie, which was like the hedge bottom which he seemed to like so much. Ideally a big bird cage would be just right, but I don't have one. So here is my improvision. I have some metal shelves which have gone rusty and are not needed any longer. I screwed the uprights together to make a cube.

Then I wrapped some shrink wrap (like cling film only bigger), around the sides. I fastened it to the ground with tent pegs, and filled it with foliage, and branches that birdie could perch on. Then I used two of the mesh panels which I fasten across the cat house door, and laid them on the top, secured by clips and clothes pegs. To finish it off I stuck some small branches around the outside to create something like the hedge bottom. It works quite well, birdie likes it, he is safe, and I can take the top off to feed him. I have been spraying a fine mist on the top to cool him down a bit. The sun will be round the front of the house shortly and he will be in the shade.  

'Aye up, what have we here', Mayze is curious.

'Come and have a look at this, Bugsy, what do you reckon, a tasty morsel for dinner maybe.'

Chirpy is hiding from the enemy.

'Bugger, I don't think we are going to get him, that woman keeps spraying us with her water pistol everytime we get near. I don't fancy getting sopping wet in the process. Think we're going to have to give up.'

'Well I'm going to try round the back, surely there must be a way in somewhere'.

Nope, can't find it, and that woman is squirting the water about again, I'm off.'

That's got rid of them, come on chirpy open wide, hope you like chicken flavour.

'Thanks mum, it won't be long now, I'll be off as soon as I've learnt how to fly.'

14 comments:

  1. that is the best make do bird cage ever...the cats are cracking me up with their clever conversation...

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  2. Chirpy seems to be a young bird, which tend to hang round in the hedges waiting for their parents to feed them. Wait until it can fly again, but don't let it trick you into thinking it's going to starve! Once it is healed, it will be able to fly just fine and parent birds tend to slowly decrease the amount of food they give them to make baby birdie find his own!

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  3. Ilona you are a star. :)

    Trish

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  4. Looks like you have a friend for life there Ilona,as birdie will regard you as his mum now and will imprint on you.I think you will become like the bird man of Alcatraz...Good on you though for taking him on and you are a star.Pity though that Yellowbelly succumbed though.Looking at the photo it could have been a migrant on it's way to Africa and had got a bit lost and dehydrated.You did your best for him though.

    Wendy

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  5. How on earth are you going to teach it how to fly? Don't do anything rash.
    Love from Mum
    xx

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  6. Ah bless you Ilona. Like 'Mum' I am wondering how you will teach it to fly, no standing on the shed roof, ha ha.

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  7. Love it! so cute x

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  8. You have a fledgling thrush (if my UK bird recognition memory hasn't gone kaput).No need to feed every half and hour....move to one hour for a day then try him at one nd half hours...he should be OK with two hour feedings at this stage. The longer you feed him...the longer he'll stay. Leave some food for him in his mansion..if he doesn't notice it then place some small mealworms or small worms on the top of the food...the wriggly movement will catch his eye and he will be tempted. If you leave some chopped fruit such as rasberry/strawberry/blueberry in his food you will know if he is capable of self feeding because his poop will be purple!! He's going to need some flight time soon to build up his flight muscles...so a bigger,taller mansion soon will be just the ticket.
    Jane x

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  9. You have a good heart, and that's why you came along when you did to help the birdies in trouble.
    Sorry that the little yellowbelly one did not make it.

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  10. Your an angel Ilona. What a fantastic idea that mansion is.

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  11. I have rescued a few fledglings in my time, but I never went as far as you in building a des-res for them, lol. You are a good woman. It looks like a blackbird to me, but cant see properly.

    Hope you can keep the cats away long enough for him to get his wings working.

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  12. God bless you for your loving care of all creatures great and small x

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