Thoughtful Thursday Bird Rescue

It’s funny but you would think all the birds in our neighborhood have our address memorized. Whether they’re hungry, thirsty or need help, they know exactly where to go.

Last Saturday, hubby came home and saw something odd in the street in front of our house. When he took a closer, he saw it was a young bird, a fledgling. You could tell he wasn’t doing well because he was slumped over. It was getting dark so we put him in a box in the garage till morning because the rescue center had already closed for the day and mama bird was nowhere to be found.

We tried giving him some water but he refused so we just kept him safe for the night. First thing Sunday morning, we took him to the South Florida Wildlife Center where they rescue over 10,000 animals every year.

I couldn’t figure out what kind of bird he was. I’ve seen these birds a lot on my walks and the adults are gray with a bit of brown and a black patch on the head. They have pointy beaks and are everywhere here.

After searching the internet I finally found a bird that looked like him. It was a gray catbird.

Apparently these guys make a call that sounds like a cat’s meow and thus their name. They are masters at mimicking the calls of other birds and are known for singing beautiful songs. Sometimes they sing for as long as 10 minutes at a time. Very impressive!

I found this short video on Youtube that gives some pretty interesting facts about these birds.

I called the Wildlife Center to check up on the little guy and they confirmed he was indeed a gray catbird. They did everything they could but sadly weren’t able to save him 😥

I was really saddened by the news because I had high hopes. We gave it our best effort and sometimes that’s just how it goes. That’s life I guess. I will say that I keep my eye out for these catbirds on my walks and really appreciate their beautiful songs even more.

I hope that you get to enjoy these beautiful birds in your neighborhood too. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!!!

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Thoughtful Thursday

Our Little Bambino

Last week when I went on my walk, I was saddened to see a squirrel that had been hit by a car. About 3 days later, I went on another walk with my husband. We almost didn’t go that morning because a very bad thunderstorm was moving in.

To our surprise it moved in much faster than expected and we had to cut our walk short and run most of the way to get back home before it started to pour rain. As we came around the corner, we saw something small in the middle of the road and didn’t know what it was at first. But as we got closer we saw it was a baby squirrel which was a few feet away from where the adult squirrel died a few days earlier.

We carried the baby home and put him in a box. He was so small that he could fit in the palm of your hand. The poor little thing was very weak and we knew he needed help fast. So we made a few phone calls and found the Florida Wildlife Center would take him in.

We debated taking care of him ourselves but he was in such bad shape and needed lots of care so we thought he’d have a better chance with them. We drove him across town and dropped him off at the Center. Their policy is to rehabilitate the animal and once they’re ready, release them where they were found which made us happy.

I just received news today that the little guy is doing well. He was malnourished and dehydrated but other than that, he is recovering just fine. From what I read online, orphaned baby squirrels can’t make it in the wild until they’re around 4.5 months old because their survival instincts aren’t developed yet. I’m guessing, this little bambino has a few more months to go before being released so I’ll keep you posted.

Photo by Maria

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