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Yesterday was a chilly, windy and rainy fall day here in Virginia. The kind of damp chill that just reaches in and goes right down to the bones.
Last night, I had the dogs out in the backyard for their last outing before bed and turned on the outside patio light. When I did so, I saw a tiny little "ball" of something under the swing of the patio. Moving over to look more closely, I realized it was a tiny little bird, huddled on the wet pavement looking quite miserable.
Not sure if the poor little guy was injured (possibly having hit the side of the house or the patio door) I decided there was no way I could leave him outdoors all night to fend for himself. (Too many wayward cats in this neighborhood)
I ran upstairs and got my little travel cage, quickly removed all the toys, and put in two natural branch perches. I opened a new bottle of children's pedialyte and put a few drops in fresh water in the water dish of the cage.
I took used a clip to secure the door of the cage in an open position, went outside and sat the cage down near the little bird. When I started to pick up the little guy, he hopped right into the cage! :wow:
I brought the cage in, placed it on a table and covered the top and three sides with a towel. Unsure whether the little fellow would live until morning, I had a very restless night. However, my thought was that at least he'd be warm and dry no matter what happened.
This morning I came down to check on how he was doing and was greeted by this beautiful sight.
From the research I've done this morning, it appears that he is an immature pine warbler (common to this area). They live primarily in the tops of pine trees and there is a white pine just behind our back fence.
Right now he is in the little cage sitting quietly on one of the branches looking around the house and watching Skipper and Scooter fly madly about. PeeWee has managed to fly from the floor of the cage up to the branch perches with no problem so I believe he's going to be just fine.
In a little while, when it has warmed up a bit more outdoors, I will be taking PeeWee back outside to set him free.
Last night, I had the dogs out in the backyard for their last outing before bed and turned on the outside patio light. When I did so, I saw a tiny little "ball" of something under the swing of the patio. Moving over to look more closely, I realized it was a tiny little bird, huddled on the wet pavement looking quite miserable.
Not sure if the poor little guy was injured (possibly having hit the side of the house or the patio door) I decided there was no way I could leave him outdoors all night to fend for himself. (Too many wayward cats in this neighborhood
)I ran upstairs and got my little travel cage, quickly removed all the toys, and put in two natural branch perches. I opened a new bottle of children's pedialyte and put a few drops in fresh water in the water dish of the cage.
I took used a clip to secure the door of the cage in an open position, went outside and sat the cage down near the little bird. When I started to pick up the little guy, he hopped right into the cage! :wow:
I brought the cage in, placed it on a table and covered the top and three sides with a towel. Unsure whether the little fellow would live until morning, I had a very restless night. However, my thought was that at least he'd be warm and dry no matter what happened.
This morning I came down to check on how he was doing and was greeted by this beautiful sight.
From the research I've done this morning, it appears that he is an immature pine warbler (common to this area). They live primarily in the tops of pine trees and there is a white pine just behind our back fence.
Right now he is in the little cage sitting quietly on one of the branches looking around the house and watching Skipper and Scooter fly madly about. PeeWee has managed to fly from the floor of the cage up to the branch perches with no problem so I believe he's going to be just fine.
In a little while, when it has warmed up a bit more outdoors, I will be taking PeeWee back outside to set him free.
The temperature is up to 58 degrees now so I took a couple more pictures
Said goodbye to PeeWee, took him out to the back fence and watched him fly merrily on his way!
I'm glad I was able to provide him with a warm dry place to rest last night.
:wave:
Said goodbye to PeeWee, took him out to the back fence and watched him fly merrily on his way!
I'm glad I was able to provide him with a warm dry place to rest last night.
:wave:
