Adventures with Dr. Lady Cutie Troublemaker

Had this Dolly Parton song in my head all day. It’s from her 1999 bluegrass album of the same title, Little Sparrow:

I just went outside and checked, bringing fresh spaghetti and water. I’m pretty sure they are dead. The top paper towel covers them, and I haven’t heard mom today. They are not moving, and there is poo below one of them. Again, 99% sure that both have died, but I am going to wait until tomorrow just to see if momma needs the spaghetti… in case there are others tweeting in a nest above. If they look like they do now tomorrow, then I will find a place to put them. Not sure if I want to toss them into the woods, throw them away, bury them. I’m thinking about option #1… best they serve a good purpose in nature. It isn’t as tragic as if they had been killed by my cats, or if I was 12 years old… It’s sad though.

Thank you so much for the concern, everyone, and particular thanks to mom, Roger, and Brian for finding specific advice about baby birds fallen from the nest.

I have not gone to check whether the birds are alive since yesterday at around 4pm (when they definitely were). At that time, the baby birds were underneath the top layer of paper towel I’d put there. I don’t know if the mother bird covered them to keep them in the shade (it was hot), or if they got under there themselves. I have decided to leave the momma bird with everything I know to offer her to take care of the birds herself. I have the darkening curtain that covers the glass door to outside closed, and I’m trying to make any really loud noises in here. I don’t want to do anything to scare her away. As of yesterday at around 6pm, I did hear her out there. She chirps whenever she’s on the porch.

Here’s the really good news. The strainer that I left out there with about 15 pieces of cooked spaghetti is empty. While I am pretty much in the woods and there are lots of creatures around, the ONLY animals that have ever gotten on my porch besides little spiders, ant, and creepy crawlies, are birds. The get in through these little drainage holes at the top of the wood-framed screened in porches. So it isn’t that a scavenger squirrel or possum has gotten in. This spaghetti was definitely eaten by birds. Now maybe other birds came in and ate it all, but I really can’t see that happening. The porch bird sightings are rare, and I am choosing to believe that either momma birds is feeding this spaghetti to her young, or she’s just feasting on it herself. These are the only reasonable explanations given the setup out there.

As for moving the birds into the nest, I don’t think it’s possible. The nest is definitely on the outside of the porch, since there’s no hidden interior spaces where it would fit. The ceilings out there are high. I would need a tall ladder. I might be able to get a worker to bring one tomorrow, but I wonder about the disruption it might cause to get the birds and carry them outside and hoist them up the ladder. Maybe if I make more spaghetti and they seem stronger. I don’t know. I’ll ponder that today. I just loathe making a lot of clatter and scaring the mother away.

For all I know, the birds have died, but for now, I’m going to stay off the porch (kitties will have to deal) and occasionally provide more spaghetti as it disappears.

On a totally unrelated note, had a really fun day yesterday. Shopping with Brian and Shannon as they prepare for Bonnaroo, final home game bout of the Carolina Rollergirls, and a night shoot with the Raleigh Flickr Group. Watch my Flickr page for lots of pictures today.

Well, they are both still alive. I didn’t stay out there long, but I could tell they were moving. They are now under the top layer of paper towel. I don’t know if they did that or if the mom did that. It was really hot today. I also can’t tell if they’ve eaten any of the spaghetti. I put a little water in a dish next to the hat/nest. Not sure how momma birds give their young water, but if there’s something they do, they she has the water with which to do it! Here’s video I took early this morning when I was on the phone with my mom. At this point, there was only the one:

Baby Birds from abbyladybug on Vimeo

I don’t even really know where to begin. I woke up early today to go to a hiking meetup. I let Jeep out on the porch, and a few minutes later, I noticed her watching something. It was small and moving. I couldn’t quite tell what it was. Maybe a mouse? It seemed like it was injured, but it didn’t seem like Jeep had gotten close enough to have done anything (she was watching from a slight distance). I moved closer to see what it was, and it was a teeny tiny baby bird on its back writing around. I shooed Jeep and Maggie (who had wandered up) away from the little guy and went into to get something to flip him over. A wooden spoon did the trick. As soon as he was righted, he started doing that “Feed Me” thing baby birds do with their mouths. In seconds, he’d flipped himself back over. This bird doesn’t look like it’s going to make it. It’s soooo tiny, like a newborn. I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do. I called mom, and between her and her weekend visitor (a woman who raises birds), it was decided that I could either bring the bird to animal rescue or I could get it somewhere comfortable, cook spaghetti, and feed the bird as if I were feeding it a worm. I used the wooden spoon to get the bird on to a paper towel and lifted it into a little tupperware container.

I went off to my walk, and since I was a few minutes late, I missed the group. I walked around the lake and decided that if the bird was still alive when I got back, I’d make spaghetti for it. Sure enough, when I got back, it was still there, still writhing, so I put a pot of water on to boil. While checking the doneness of the pasta, I heard a lot of tweeting out on the porch. I looked out and saw a baby bird in the middle of the porch, far away from the tupperware. I thought it had traveled really far all by itself until I realized that this was yet another baby bird, on its back and struggling. Ugh! I ripped up paper towels to create a little nest in my overturned sunhat and used the wooden spoon to put both birds inside. I rinsed the done spaghetti until it was cold then draped several pieces of cold spaghetti around the edges of the hat. I started to hear chirping again (possibly Momma Bird), so I left the rest of the past in the strainer next to the hat, and quickly went inside and closed the drape across the door. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I think that it’s best if I stay out of it. I fully expect to find two dead baby birds out there soon, but I’m REALLY hoping I don’t.