The wildlife unit, as always at this time of the year, is dominated by chicks, along with rabbit kits. The corvidae chicks are always the loudest, and the most demanding. They are also highly intelligent so it’s fairly easy to get them feeding themselves. I’m a huge fan of jackdaw chicks, I find them fascinating, each year, I learn a little more about them.
Often, they get so excited at the prospect of a good feed they end up shoving their beaks down one another’s throats. I wonder why, maybe this is instinctive, I’ve often seen the first weaned chick in a brood feed it’s siblings.
We have about seventy ducklings, of all ages at the moment, they really are extremely high maintenance due to the amount of water they get through each day, so need mucking out frequently. Every now and then we get a more unusual chick in. This little beauty is a shelduck chick, hiding here under a heat pad. How pretty!
Some chicks that arrive are tiny. This little guy is probably a day old and may be a sparrow chick, hard to call at this point. The featherless wing looks exactly like an arm, elbow, fingers/claws and all!
It’s terribly daunting feeding such a tiny creature. Exerting too much pressure on a syringe will choke a chick this small in a second. Nerve wracking it is! I get the shakes every time, then do a few ommmmsss, calm down, and get on with the job. I’m always astonished when something so young thrives, and is eventually released. you’d be surprised at the success rate!
This is a day old squab, a wood pigeon chick. It was found lying on the pavement next to it’s shell. Given it was still warm we know that it was only a few hours old. Initially, squabs live off the egg yolk, so we only feed minute amounts of food for the first day or two.
Birds released in my garden this week. One dove, three fancy racing pigeons, and three feral pigeons.
Just look at that long grass! Now I’ve re-seeded the lawn hubs has to hold fire re the mowing….
I never rush when releasing birds. I leave them in their crates for a while, giving them a chance to calm down and smell the air…and ..where the water is, then I open the crate doors and give them all the time they need. Sometimes they can take thirty minutes before they make a move.
When one brave soul goes for it, they all do. I was hoping that dove may hang around and grace my garden, but no….pouff, and it, along with all the others were gone, so fast I didn’t even get a photo. I do enjoy watching them all come out, tentatively checking out their new environment.
Seeing them all fly though is just the best feeling ever!!!
I’ve also released more hogs this week, three males. It’s brilliant to know that healthy, fat, fit specimens are out in the wild again, especially as these creatures are seriously endangered. Hubs now refers to his car as the critter-cab, as the boot is packed full of animals on a regular basis.
I have to tip my hat to hubs; he is superb at finding the perfect habitats for releasing hedgehogs, and he has a huge checklist re what’s suitable. Always comes up with the goods, he does. He’s also great at keeping dixie while I release them, making sure no people or dogs creep up on us.
I’m the one who gets scratched by brambles and stung by nettles while releasing these guys, as I often have to creep/crawl into the undergrowth…..But it’s just fantastic seeing them wander off into that perfect new home, miles from roads!
And Finally ….
Liverpool celebrated the River Festival again this year. The sun shone and all made merry.
Taken from a rooftop bar…where else would a girl be?
RAF showing off.
You should have heard this little darling sing! She had the most beautiful, classical voice! A real treat!
Laughing at the Sammy/shelduck comparison, now you point it out….gosh YES! Hubs is a great help, especially when I have multiple carriers full of critters, he has the mondeo with a huge boot….that certainly makes life easier. Thanks Anne.xxx
Oh! If Sammy were a duck, she’d look like that shelduck – so so so cute. Though… 70 high maintenance ducklings sounds like you all must be working 24/7! Love the launching pad for those birds — carriers all lined up, doors open, ready when they are. No wonder you are thrilled. And I’m very impressed with Hubs, too, for participating with transport and re-homing of the critters. Well done, to the both of you!
My lappie doesn’t do these posts justice. I’m lapping up every detail on my desktop at this moment.
The features you are getting with your camera are great. Sounds next?
It is surprising when a demure lady sidles up to a microphone and produces a big remarkable voice from…..where?!
Your wide-mouthed chicks remind me of a time when I found a ‘clutch’ of little somethings in a garden; I cannot remember if they were Sparrows or Thrushes. A friend placed them in a cardboard carton for me…I didn’t know what to do, or, how to handle them. They quieted when the lid was closed and I went to the RSPCA with them. The guy was very paternal about the wee birds, so I happily departed minus the cargo.
It’s tremendous support you are giving all the creatures who come your way. xxxx
Why thank you Menhir, I would like to try video but have no ides how to put the finished product in a post. Oh, that girl had such a beautiful voice, it raised the hairs on my arms!
Loved the story of your clutch, so pleased to hear you got them some help! It’s astonishing how quiet chicks become when a blanket covers their container. xxx
How lovely that you managed a holiday this time! I just love the blue eyed guys! Eternally engaging they are! I’m laughing at the swallowing each other whole comment, I’ve often thought that! It is getting busy at the rescue….I’m sure many chicks will wind their wya here soon…. thanks Elaine.xxx
Hi Dina
I’m a bit late to the party as we have been away – came back on Friday. I love the picture of the jackdaw chicks, gorgeous round blue eyes and great big gobs on them – they look like they could swallow each other whole I reckon. It seems to be a busy time of year at the centre so many animals to look after I bet you are all exhausted after the days work. Nice to see the releases though proof of a job well done. Oo the river festival sounded wonderful glad you enjoyed it.
It is hard work looking after all these babies. My son and his partner did it twice, once with a blue tit and once with a starling. They were both naked little scraps and raising tnem was as bad as looking after a real baby. And you have countless babies to care for.
The river festival sounds wonderful, maybe we will come up for it one year.
Your son and partner have my sympathies…I totally agree with you, they are much harder work than raising a baby1 Bless them both! Oh…if you ever come up for the River Festival, give me a shout! I know all the best rooftop bars!xxx
Fantastic! Incredible how tiny those babies are – I’d love to see them grow and flourish under your tender loving care. Glad you had time off too!
Thanks Gilly, those chicks are terrifyingly small, you’d think I’d be used to them by now. It was nice playing out! Hope all is well with you.xxx
I love the first photo and am amazed that you manage to successfully raise any chicks that are only a day old when they arrive. I can understand how feeding such a tiny thing would be a nerve wracking challenge. Your rescue work is really wonderful. Thanks for bringing us along.
I’m always surprised at what animals and birds survive, often against the odds. Sometimes healthyish animals die while dead certs for death live. It keeps us on ours toes and ensures we do our best for every creature. Noone can guess outcomes….Thanks Brenda.xxx
A wonderful post – you do such fantastic work with these little creatures. I love the jackdaw chicks. Their beaks are enormous compared to their size – I can just imagine the noise. Seventy ducklings is a lot; where are all the mothers, I wonder. The tiny chick of unknown origin is so small; it is amazing that you have such a success rate with them.
I’m glad you found time (with all your demanding charges) to enjoy the River Festival. It’s good to see the sun shining!
Thanks Wendy, I think you would enjoy working with chicks too! I am always amazed at the size of chick’s beaks, even the tiniest birds gape for England! The noise is deafening….they call even when they’re full! xxx
That first photo is gorgeous.
Don’t young pigeon milk from parent birds crops so how do you replicate that at the rescue
Thanks Sue, jackdaw chicks are fabulous. We feed the woody and feral chicks on an egg based mixture that contains seeds. It comes dry and we just add water. xxx
So lovely to read and see your ‘releases’ I’m sure they will all do well, I certainly hope so.
It must be such a wonderful feeling to see them fly away, well obviously not in the case of the hedgehogs … they just get nestled in, I hope.
The River Festival does look like a fun event and the weather was good to!
The rooftop bar sounds an excellent place to be …LOL!
Hope your week is going well
All the best Jan
I always hope for the best when releasing wildlife, they are all in fine shape and have a second chance…..but nature is nature I suppose. It is lovely seeing them all go though, makes it all worthwhile.
Well …a gal needs to whet her whistle an all! Thanks Jan.xxx
Great post and images.
Thanks Peter.xxx
It must be wonderful when release day comes around and they safely take to the air or the nettles, as the case may be, it makes what you do so worth while. Well done both of you! And thanks for the photos of Liverpool, it is so long since we lived there, but that is where my roots are!
You had me smiling talking of taking to the nettles! Releasing is the best job, it can be a little fraught at times, but it’s brilliant seeing wildlife back where they belong. You would have enjoyed the River Festival, you can’t beat hanging out by water on a warm blue sky day. Thanks Pauline.xxx
You’re a complete star to rescue all those beautiful creatures. I love the shelduck under the heat pad and the pigeons and dove getting ready to fly. Hats off to hubs for being the hedgehog habitat king! xx
Thanks Veggie Mummy, for your sweet comment. We have a brood of quail chicks in at the moment, they are just adorable. Yes indeedy, hats off to hubs!xxx
Well, Dina, we’re sitting with a dear friend in her Albuquerque living room, having helped remodel her art studio this week, and we are all SO enjoying this post!
What a lovely season for you and your sweet husband, shepherding all these precious ones to their new, wonderful lives, and nursing others towards that goal. How happy it must make you when they safely release!
I hope your week will continue to be merry and satisfying. The festival looked like a perfect adventure. Keep the stories and photos coming! And now you have a new fan in New Mexico!
How marvelous to think you are reading this while in Albuquerque, I shall have to go check it out. I’m so pleased to hear your friend enjoyed the post, the internet sure does take us to the most unexpected places!!!
Oh….seeing the creatures go free is always marvelous, I hope they all make the most of their second chance. They must be thrilled to be free. Thanks Kitty. Love and hugs to you and yours.xxx
I just came by for a second, slower read. This time, when I saw the title, I laughed. Arrivals and departures? I suddenly saw your lawn as Gatwick, or Houston Intercontinental. “Now departing for the forested lot on the other side of the stream…!” Truth is, your birds are treated better than most airline travelers these days.
Speaking of traveling, I found an interesting photo in the series I took over Memorial Day, at the Galveston cemetery. I found the marker of a man who was born in Liverpool in 1817, and died in Galveston. I’ll be sure and put it in one of my posts about the cemetery so you can see it. There were several from England buried there: London, Yorkshire, and others. Somehow, I’ve always assumed most from England landed in New England, but of course that’s not true.
Wonderful to see that little hedgehog looking so curled up and happy. They’re among my favorites of your “exotic” creatures.
You have me smiling re the airport comment, tell you what, some of the flights we endured when travelling to the Far East were harrowing to say the least! Sardines come to mind!
How interesting re the Liverpool man, I shall look forward to the picture. Just out of interest, a relative of mine, Miles Standish, was the captain of The Mayflower, that fact always makes me feel close to Americans! Thanks Linda.xxx
I love how much you love all these creatures. 🙂 They must all have amazing guardian angels that deliver them to you. If I didn’t live a continent away, I’d pop in to help you. 🙂
Ahhh, thanks Casa. How I wish you lived closer, I’m sure we’d make a great team!xxx
…I meant to write….an Australian baby cockatoo would be the first in line…
Lovely photos, especially of the chicks waiting to be fed…I think an Australian baby cockatoo with be first in line for food……every time!
Thanks Gerrie, I just loved the cockatoos we saw when we lived in Melbourne, such exotic little birds!xxx
I always learn so much from your blogs….and I loved the picture of them all lined up in your garden ready to take flight.
Also the rooftop bar sounded fantastic, as did the day…..Sending love Janet. xxx
Ahhh, thanks Janet. I do enjoy watching the birds creep out, I can just imagine what’s going through their minds. You just can’t beat a rooftop bar, especially on a lovely sunny day. Sending love to you too.xxx
Wonderful photos, especially that first one. It’s amazing that you have success with such young chicks, it must be a fantastic feeling to see them released when all they’ve known is the rescue.
Thanks Jo, jackdaws are such happy looking chicks aren’t they? It’s always the best part, releasing animals.xxx
Superb Post Title……So eloquently expounded in Word and Picture….Lovely…including your ‘parting picture’….The Lass Singing! Hugs!💓💓
Thanks Bushka, ah yes….the “parting photo”….lol. Hugs.xxx
70 ducklings?! Astonishing! Do you ever have time to sit down? I love the jackdaw chick – that photo is hilarious. What a privilege to watch your patients edging their way back into the wild. This is a wonderful – and as flighty says – enjoyable post.
We always get lots of ducklings for some reason. It’s astonishing how quickly they grow. It is a privilege seeing animals and birds finally go back to the wild, it makes it all worthwhile So glad you enjoyed the post.xxx.
A most enjoyable, and interesting, post and lovely pictures. xx
Thanks Flighty.xxx
What an adorable menagerie you have. I loved that first photo. Good luck to all the newly freed critters.
Thanks Jason. Jackdaws really are interesting birds, I could observe them forever.xxx