Another Good Day

I stopped by The Center Wednesday in the middle of the day... now that I am working full time, and was packing/moving/unpacking in every spare second for the last 8 weeks, AND have had the absolute worst seasonal allergies ever for months, I have not been able to physically volunteer there. I have been doing other things for them and I do miss being hands on.

But I found a juvenile blue jay floundering in the middle of the road with two cars speeding toward it from opposite directions. I thought someone had hit it or it'd fallen out of a nest or had crashed trying to learn to fly. I leapt out of my car, stopped the traffic, grabbed some cloth from the backseat, slowly approached the bird, and it allowed me to pick it up ever so gently.

The mother was doing all kinds of kaw-ing and fluttering from branch to branch overhead. I did follow her onto someone's lawn and held the baby up to the mother, who definitely turned her head so that one eye could fix on the fledgling. I was hoping the bird would just fly up to mom, after being stunned in the street. It's mouth was wide open, and while there was no blood, it's right foot was crunched up beneath her and her right wing was askew. There was no flying to mom, and mom eventually flew further away, though still sounding distressed. I was thinking, broken wing, and was hoping it didn't mean internal injuries instead. So I put it in my carrier and called work.


My fabulous boss suggested I indeed go ahead and take it to the Center, which fortunately was only about 12 minutes drive (with me speeding a little, of course). I noticed that the bird seemed quite calm, and had shut it's mouth, and was not seeming stressed. That was good. When I dropped the bird off, no sooner was it put on triage row that it suddenly came to life. Both feet and wings seemed to work okay! And it was tapping it's beak against the glass, like let me out. I asked, "Do I take it back then, and set it free?" The answer was no. There could be injuries, it could have been a stroke... better to be there where it could be observed and treated if so, and well fed and protected from predators, leading to being set free in a few weeks anyway. Win/win.

So I went to leave, and one of the volunteers happened to walk by holding this:

A most beautiful bobcat. Look at that foot! I'd never seen a bob cat before, and here this little one was, as sweet and docile as any house kitten. I asked if she snapped or bit or clawed and the answer was no... but we all know someday soon, that will be her nature. In the mean time I did have to reach out to touch it's furry head and take hold of one paw, just because...

I'd read on their website about this one who was brought in by a hiker who said it had followed her around the woods for over an hour, no mom in sight. I thought, darn, I will not be able to see something so extraordinary, because I'm not able to be there as much right now. And lo and behold, I got this little blessing.

Add that to the fact that the blue jay did not meet her end on the hot concrete and has another chance to grow up and live and fly, and it was a damn good day.

Do you Believe It? Playing Catch with Wild Birds

Wild birds -- Blue Jays and red-headed woodpeckers to be exact -- play catch with me in the park. No, really.

Who hasn't had sparrows zoom out from nowhere for your crumbs when you're at an outdoor cafe? And in these parts, if any of the other animals are getting fed, grackles appear and want their share. They're incredibly sharp.

So I guess it's not that far a stretch to think that the other birds could. But these birds sit on a nearby branch (or in the woodpeckers case, on a tree trunk) - and make eye contact with me. I show them the piece of nut or sunflower seed and when I know they've seen it I toss it -- and they swoop down and catch it in the air! They land on a branch and eat it, then return for more.

I know it's hard to believe... but, I finally caught it on film. I've several bad tries -- shooting with one hand on a little pocket digital cam (while my nice HD movie cam I bought to take with me sits at home), while spotting birds, rustling up a nut with the other hand, aiming and tossing, and trying to follow without it blurring. I'm not talented enough to do it all... but I did get this where you can see it in his mouth when he lands.

And of course, when one comes, several follow. You'll see another Blue Jay waiting for his behind the one I shot. I threw another piece in the air but he picked it up when it was on the ground (it was a bad toss), OK, are you ready? Here we go!



Woo Hooo! Isn't that fabulous? If you play it again you can see it starts with the bird on the tree trunk, where he flew to get my attention. I have never seen that happen before. I figure they cackle among themselves about how they've trained ME.

I'm in constant wonder and amazement at this and it has happened many times, so it's not just a fluke... and it's not just in one part of the woods, with the same birds. I'm telling you, someone spread pixie dust across this little park, and it's my personal slice of heaven on earth.

Can you see the Blue Jay in this picture?

The one who is waiting on the branch, looking at me, wanting me to throw him or her some bread or a piece of a nut?

I've joked about feeling like Snow White when I walk in the park near my house, as all the animals come out to me and take food from my hand. When other animals are getting fed, some kind of word goes out because before long, layer upon layer of the animal kindgom shows up to get theirs. If I'm feeding ducks the geese come, then the squirrels, then Grackles, then Blue Jays and then, if I'm really lucky, the red headed woodpeckers show up. The Grackles are smart, as I wrote about HERE, and they eye you and wait for that bread and go after it. But the Blue Jays bomb dive from the branches and nab their own.


Here is a close up.
His head is tilted slightly so he can eye me... I will hold up the bit of bread (or morsel of an almond I've cracked to size with my teeth if that's all I have on me) and he will do the amazing thing of letting me know quite clearly that he sees it. I toss it in the air and he flies off the perch at the right time to get it.

I've had the rare treat of having red headed woodpeckers do this too. Woodpeckers one up the Blue Jays though.

Forced to perch parallel on a tree trunk, their beaks pointing at the tree itself, it's a trick to look at me at all. But they too fix their sights on what I hold up... but when I toss it to them, they soar off the tree, catch it in the air and sail off like a streak of lightening to land on the closest trunk with it. Once they gulp it down, they're back staring me down for another. Again, catch my offering in mid air. I was absolutely stunned when this first happened... and honestly, I'm stunned every time it does.

Has anyone else experienced this?