Wednesday June 22. The sun was shining and it was very warm. Too warm for us but we don't complain. We haven't been blessed with nice weather recently.
We have a Dutch expression for weather being too hot: "It is that hot that the sparrows drop dead from the roof" (het is zó heet dat de mussen dood van het dak vallen).
But on Wednesday it wasn't a dead sparrow but a dead baby starling.
Tjep found it on our doorstep. It was so tiny and fragile. it must have been hedged from the egg not long ago as his little tummy was round and filled with egg.
We felt so sorry for the little fellow but couldn't do anything about it anymore.
It wasn't quite clear where he came form. Did the dog bring it home?
A few hours later we could hear little starling voices when Mum or Dad arrived with worms, flies and more delightful food. We now knew the nest was in the top corner of our roof, straight above the back door. We smiled and watched Mum and Dad flying on and of.
Monday June 28. Both dogs made a different noise than usually when they were playing and I went outside to see what was going on. Between the dogs, close to the backdoor, was another baby starling but this time very much alive.
I picked it up to sav
e it from the joyful dogs and looked down on this little naked bird that didn't understand what was going on. His little eyes and ears still closed, just one or two fluffy hair-like feathers. He was so vulnerable and little.No way could we give it back to the parents as we could not reach the nest.
Instead we adopted him.
Unfortunately we found one of his other brothers or sisters at the roof, dead.
Being succesful in raising little birds before we were certain we could manage it again.
We bought special food and a hypodermic syringe (without the needle of course....), gave him the name Dopey and started feeding him.
Our neighbour gave us a small electric blanket to keep him warm and we installed Dopey in a nest of warm cloths in the same container where our sparrow Fluffy was brought up 10 years ago.
Dopey felt comfortable and was always hungry. Not being able to see or hear, he accepted the syringe and my hands as being his Mum and Dad.
But little birds grow; they grow very fast as well!
Within a few days he changed from a naked bird into a bit bigger bird with small feathers on top of his little head. The first 2 photo's were taken 4 days after we found him.
His eyes and ears opened 2 days after he joined the family. The eyes were very small for a while and so different from how they are now (7 days after we found him).
Able to see and hear he very quickly got familiar with the sound we make in the house.
He now recognizes voices and footsteps and knows very well who is feeding him.
He loves to sit in my hand to fall asleep after a meal. Curled up, already trying to hide his head in his back feathers, he sleeps the sleep of the innocents.
Until the next portion of food! His yelling when hungry, gets louder and louder every day.
It is amazing how they are made to open their beak as wide as possible, folding it around the syringe.
During the day his container is in the kitchen close to the stairs and as soon as we come downstairs he sits there with his beak wide open: "Mum! Food!"
I feed him during the evening until 11 o'clock and start again between 6 and 7 in the morning.
He eats enormous amounts for such a little bird but also grows like mad.
And it is not onl
y his size that needs food and energy to grow, but also his feathers.He is changing day by day and becomes more funny too day by day! (Third photo.)
Does he miss his real Mum and Dead? I doubt, he acts like a little happy starling.
Within a short time he will eat and fly without help and will be released to find new friends.
But first we will have the joy for a while to watch him developing from a tiny naked bird that survived a huge fall, into a healthy, shiny grown up starling.
If he decides to stay with us like sparrow Fluffy and crow Caro (which we don't hope though, it is getting to crowdy here!), we will let you know.....
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