Sufi's Greek Orphanage - Hand-Rearing Baby Birds
71Mother Pipit's Nest
A few weeks ago, as the fragrant spring gave way to the heat of the Greek summer, we noticed a small Pipit perched outside our window. Intrigued, we watched her for a couple of days as she flew around our balcony, looking into all of the nooks and crannies. For some reason, she took an interest in the basket of pegs hanging on the washing line, and kept hopping in and out of it. We soon realized that she was trying it out for size, judging whether it was a safe and secure enough spot to raise a family.
With the location established, the pipit and her mate embarked upon a dizzying period of activity, flying backwards and forwards with twigs, moss and cat fur. Entranced, we watched her slowly and patiently construct her nest. Carefully, she tested each twig for size and fit, noisily rejecting inferior building materials and flinging them away in disgust. This continued for a few days until, finally, the pair finished their masterwork. After a quick final check, and a swift squabble about the interior décor, the couple was ready to move into its new home.
Patiently, the pipit sat on her eggs, whilst her mate sang from the treetops, defending his territory against intruders. His mate occasionally darted off to snatch an insect or bug, but never left the nest for too long. After a couple of weeks, the activity increased and both parents started to fly backwards and forwards with all manner of bugs, insects and other delectable treats. A crescendo of vociferous ‘feed me’ cheeps confirmed that she was the proud mother of four chicks.
Delighted at the opportunity to watch nature in action, we kept an eye on them as they grew. Swiftly, they changed from little blind bundles of feathers to strong and healthy chicks, fighting, squabbling and jostling for the juiciest morsels. By now, mother was used to us, and did not concern herself when we went about our daily business.
CSI: Kastori
Over the weekend, we noticed that the mother was gone, and that the chicks were going frantic, unfed and alone. After investigating the scene, and performing a CSI style forensic investigation, a few feathers in the vegetable patch told the sad story. The mother had been caught and eaten, and had become food for the cats.
Whilst the evidence was circumstantial, and despite the large number of feral cats in the area, Suleyman was named as the prime suspect. Face it, nearly everything is his fault, and his crime sheet makes for some shocking reading. That cat is a hardened criminal mastermind!
Feeling a little guilty, because the poor bird did not deserve such a fate, we decided to try and hand-rear the chicks, which is always a difficult task. The first thing that we did was to put the nest inside an old birdcage, because Suleyman is more than capable of working out how to hook a baby bird from the nest. Now in protective custody, they were safe, and the next problem became how to find enough food for four rapidly growing Pipit chicks.
Bringing up Babies
We spent the last few days trawling the garden, trying to find juicy bugs and crickets, to fuel the growth of this greedy brood. They squawk and squabble whenever Denny comes close, seeing her as mother, and she tries to make sure that they all receive their fair share.
At the moment, the chicks are progressing nicely, and they have started testing their wings, building up their muscles for fledging. We intend to keep them in the cage for as long as possible, to make sure that they are at full strength, but it will soon be time to let them go.
Sadly, the chances are not too good, because parent birds usually continue to feed the chicks after they leave the nest, showing them how to find food and avoid predators. This brood will have to face life on their own, and run the gauntlet of cats, jays and crows.
We fear the worst but hope for the best, and if even one chick survives, then that is a nice bonus. After the epic struggles and dangers faced by our little kitten, anything is possible in this magical part of the world.
Caution – What to do if you Find an Abandoned Baby Bird
If you find baby birds abandoned, it is usually best to leave them alone. In this specific case, we knew that the mother was dead and we have experience of handling wild birds. In many cases, the parents continue to feed their young outside the nest, and intervening could well have the opposite effect. In addition, it is illegal to handle some rare species of bird without a license and you risk prosecution, even if you act with the best of intentions.
If you are unsure, contact your local
animal welfare group or ornithology charity, and they will be only too willing
to give helpful advice. The RSPB link below provides some excellent advice. If anybody has links to useful resources in other parts of the world, please feel free to post a link in the comments box.
In the UK
The RSPCA should be the first point of call if you fear that a nest of birds has been abandoned. Ifd they cannot help, they will point you to somebody who can.
This page provides excellent advice about the steps to take if you find abandoned birds. Please note that this charity does not directly resuce birds, and that is the domain of the RSPCA.
In Australia
http://rspca.org.au/help/contact-us.html
The people to call if you find any abandoned wild animal
In New Zealand
http://rnzspca.org.nz/contact/2
In Greece
http://www.ekpazp.gr/multi158/
Ekpaz arew a wonderful charity helping all manner of Greek wildlife. They gave us some excellent advice about bats, and are a charity that we are happy to offer our time to.
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Comments
Thanks, Julie-Ann. Good luck with the search - a wild boar could be an interesting pet!
We felt that we should at least try to help them, even if there is only a small chance of survival. They should fledge in another week, so we will see what happens!
Maybe they'll keep coming back at dinner time, once they are on the wing? Ya never know!
We can only hope, Teresa!
Mind you, we have too many cats around here, so I hope that the birds find their way into the mountains and relative safety.
Here's hoping they do make it, Sufi! Must be heartbreaking to let them go - they do wrap their little wings around your hearts, don't they?
Thanks, Shalini - I love birds, so I hope that they do survive. We have been asked by Ekpaz if we would be willing to look after and rehabilitate birds-of-prey, so that should be interesting!
You and Denny are beautiful animal guardians! I enjoy reading your hubs, they're original and real.
You certainly have your work cut out! You two have hearts of gold, lets hope the birds survive so such hearts remain unbroken.... where do you get the time to write!
You are quite the humanitarian/animal caretaker sufidreamer! Once when I was a kid, I found a sparrow chick rolling around chirping on the sidewalk. I pick it up and climbed up the tree from whence he came. When I located the nest, I placed him inside.
After I climbed out of the tree, I felt like a real hero. However, the next day or so, I found the little chick on the sidewalk again! But this time he was dead. I learned later on that the mother didn't know the chick was hers because he had a different scent. I felt awful.
Hi Sufi. I enjoyed reading your hub because wild birds are my favorite creatures. I enjoy their enthusiastic songs which they are doing right now.
@Cathy - Thanks for the kind words. Glad to brighten your day, a little :)
@Cheers, bwpotman. It is always nice to help, even in a small way. The animals do keep us busy although, to be fair, Denny does most of the work and I just write about it!
That is a sad story, Dohn - it must have been heartbreaking. I am not sure about every species of bird, but most songbirds have a very poor sense of smell - if the nestling is in danger (such as on a sidewalk!), then it is worth putting it back in the nest.
Hope that makes you feel better - maybe that particular nestling was trying to fledge too early.
Me too, Raven - I love birds and spent a while working on a bird sanctuary. I loved my job! Enjoy the birdsong :)
(PS - Ravens are my favourite birds - we have a pair nesting in the mountains)
Good luck with your beautiful fledgelings. Keep us posted!
Thanks, Gypsy - we will do. It should not be long before we know, one way or another :)
Wow! You have certainly been busy with the critters lately, haven't you!? I love the photos, thank you for sharing them. The view in the background is awesome too. Good luck with the little guys. :)
Hi you da man with the cats kittens birds etc........ nice hub......
Great job. I worked for Bird on a Wing in Texas. We helped falcons, doves, and most birds with broken wings, orphaned chicks, and other problems. Got them back in the wild if we could but ended up having to adopt at the sanctuary. Most rewarding thing I ever did. Good luck and have fun.
Hi Pam - always something to do - a tortoise Hub is on the way, although it is not about orphans, this time. Glad that you liked the view - it is nice to look out of the window and see the mountain :)
Thanks, Brenda - we do seem to be gaining an army of pets. It keeps life interesting!
Great stuff, Ande - that sounds like a fantastic time. We have been asked if we will take injured birds here, so I know who to come to for advice! I will try to find the link for them, if they have a site, and add it.
Thanks for dropping by :)
Wow! Sufidreamer :) that is beautiful and thank you for sharing with us. I will share in the hope for the best for your *sons n daughters* ;)
Thanks for dropping by, Dame Scribe - always good to see you! They are all still strong and healthy, and they should be ready to fly in a few days.
Good on you Sufi. You know I am a birder and I just love how you handled this situation. I too have killer cats as pets. grrr They own my wife of course, but not I. I give her hell everytime they make a kill. I feel guilty too. thanks for a neat hub
Surfi, you are a gem. I would have had no idea what to do with the chicks. They seem healthy, and hopefully as you say, at least one of the brood will survive.
I have another to add to your list of organisations to contact. In NSW, Australia WIRES specifically deals with wildlife, and the care of injured wildlife. I think there are similar organisations in other states.
Hey, Ralwus - Great to see you! I am passionate about birds and, whilst I love cats, do hate the damage that they to. To be fair, this area has so many feral cats that they are now part of the ecosystem, but it is still guilt-inducing when one of your cats leaves a pile of feathers. Must swing by your poems sometime.
Hovalis - Glad that you liked the Hub and thanks for the kind words. I volunteered for the RSPB for a year, so picked up a lot about how to handle and look after wild birds. It is still difficult, but we can only hope.
Thanks for the link - I hope to add a few more at the weekend :)
Love this hub, Sufi. It is awesome!!! I love animals and any chance I get I will try to help them out, although, I can just imagine what my little kitten, Arrow would do if he had some baby birds to look after. I don't think the baby birds would fair too well with him around.
next yjou will be telling us there is a patter of tiny feet on the horizon... looks like you are practising to me.... xxx
Thanks, Debbie - it is nice to help animals but we have the same problem as you - cats make it very difficult! We had to put the birds in a cage for their own protection. I have a feeling that Arrow is like our Suleyman - too smart for his own good, but lovable with it :)
Hi Brenda - No chance of that, fortunately - children are far too expensive!
Oh I do hope that they survive. Your first photo shows typical Greek scenery, lovely. We tried to save a bird a few years back, but to no avail. Still better to have fought and lost, and all that. Well done you.
Nice hub Sufi - I'm not really one for animals, but this was so sweet. My dad is a big lover of birds, he's always off birdwatching somewhere. I feel sorry for the cat being blamed for everything ... my sister gets the same thing! Sounds like you've done a wonderful job raising the babies!
Thanks, Ethel - we are trying to give them every chance, but it is difficult. As you said, it is better to try because life can be very surprising, sometimes.
Good to see you, Jen - glad that you enjoyed our feathered friends. Don't worry about the cat - he is always to blame. There is something about black and white cats! He is a real character and is worthy of a couple of Hubs - we have plenty of compromising photographs to blackmail him with!
What a great story, Sufi! You have me rooting for the little fledglings. I love the picture of the basket on the clothesline because of what it shows in the background. It looks lovely and makes me want to walk around down there amongst the trees and buildings!
Thanks, Chris - Good to see you! They are still here, and they are getting a little stronger every day.
You are more than welcome anytime - it is a beautiful part of the world and has natural beauty that stirs an artist's soul :)
Wow, Sufi. You have quite the brood. lol. I thought I'd stop by and post something, ;). Actually, my cat Tuffie was quite the bird killer, too, especially in her adolescence. She has somewhat realized we will feed her now (she was an orphan, too.) We have quite the animal menagerie here, as well...and can watch the law of the jungle in progress. A large hawk made its outlook in one of our big Cottonwood trees. Proceeded to scope out and kill doves...sigh. Have not found orphaned chicks, though. Good luck with them. :)
Thanks for stopping by, Lita - always a pleasure to see you :) It is the problem with cats - I have a real love/hate relationship with them. I adore them, but hate what they do - still we can't have it both ways, and it is part of the hypocrisy of being a cat owner.
The hawk sounds cool - we had an owl last year, but they put a bright light outside the church and scared it off. Still, we have the tortoises and the bats - I feel another Hub or two coming on.....
just delightful! a great experience you've shared, and the pictures are wonderful~
Thanks, Idunn - really glad that you enjoyed the Hub. We are going to start the fledging this week - leave them out of the cage during the day, and put them back in at night.
just stopped by to get an update..... you should write a little book about all these pets you're looking after. Have you ever had a book published.
Hi Brenda - Always a pleasure.
Everything is still going well. I have had one book about to be published, but it is ghostwritten. I have one that I am finishing off, a guide for science students, and then we will see what happens :)
hope you keep us updated, sufi. :)
Have a couple of deadlines coming up, but I hope to write a sequel hub in a couple of days! :D
excuse my ignorance.... ghost written does that mean you have actually written it for someone else, so it does not go under your name
Not at all, Brenda - you are certainly not ignorant.
You are correct - it is a book written for somebody else. I have another ghostwritten book that the guy paid half the money for and then disappeared off the face of the earth. I may well publish that one myself, to try and recoup the money!
great to keep up with the little ones. hope suleman & lochi leave them alone. maybe they will still be about when I come
Thanks! Suleyman is a complete malaka, so we have to keep an eye on him. You never know, they may still be here in the autumn - we will have to wait and see :)
I have read your story of the Pitpit birds and I have to say, I fell in love with these birds as you have in rearing them, and keeping them safe. I have visited your Hubpages before, and now I am taking time to comment and appreciate. Be seeing you again soon. I look forward to the continuing story.
Thanks, AIDY - Lovely to see you, and I am glad that you enjoyed the Hub!
They are doing well, and are starting to spend a little time outside the cage. A second Hub is on its way once we manage to take some nice photos.
Take care :)
You have quite the collection there Sufidreamer! I hope the little ones are all doing well. Please do keep us all posted on their progress.
Thanks for dropping by, Mardi - we hope to put up some more photos over the weekend. Mind you, I have a half-finished Hub about tortoises to polish off, first!
Your post reminds me of the mockingbirds I used to "adopt" when I was little. The babies would fall out of the nest above our carport, and my cocker spaniel would try to attack them. My dad and I would try to create our own nest and keep them alive.
Hi FreedomChic1776 - thanks for visiting.
Sometimes you have to intervene, especially if the baby bird is going to end up as food for a cocker spaniel. Looking after baby birds is very rewarding, although also very hard work!
No wonder you have so many interested Comments on this Hub!
So as not to hog your page, I'll just mention our latest baby bird activity: A pair of bird parents--we're not sure what species, but they're a little larger than the average sparrow and the male has a pretty cool red-orange set of feathers up the back of his head and on a pretty sharp crest--decided the backside of our Satellite dish (for Internet, enabling me to Post this) looked like a safe nesting place.
This is only five feet above the ground and easily accessible to a climbing cat, but our 3 felines are kept indoors and we haven't become aware of any feral kitties in the immediate vicinity, so hopefully.
Mama did all the nest building, Dad strictly performing Sentry Song Duty and running off one interested homewrecker of a female a few times. They're now feeding babies, though we've no idea of their exact stage--just that we can hear them yelling for breakfast from time to time.
Hi Ghost32 - Thanks for dropping by and I am glad that you enjoyed the Hub.
Sounds like you have a nice family growing up there - it is nice to have birds around. I hope that you manage to see them grow - it is rewarding when they grow up and leave the nest. You must have some fascinating wildlife in that part of the world, as well as some awesome scenery.
Cats can be a problem - ours have the run of the Garden, but three of the brood fledged, and we have one still sticking around - he should be gone soon!
Thanks for visiting :)
You were very generous to let them build in the spot that they chose. Guess you could not use those clothespins for a while! Hope your little tykes make it!
We have a birdhouse outside our kitchen dining area that is constantly occupied over and over again with birds. Fun watching all the feeding taking place right now with the hungry babies clamoring for more nourishment.
Will look forward to your tortoise hub.
Thanks for visiting, Peggy.
It was nice to see them build there, although our fears about the cats proved to be sadly true.
Only one left, now - the others have left us and gone out into the world. The remaining chick is more than capable of looking after himself,but seems reluctant to leave. Must be too used to the easy life!
I have a couple of harsh deadlines, but hope to work on the tortoise Hub soon :)
Raising orphaned baby birds is a difficult task, especially wild ones. We have swifts that build their nests on our house every year, and it's a great lesson about life for our children. No matter how many baby birds grow and fly out of the nests, it always leaves a happy but empty feeling inside. The last one will leave when it's ready, and when it does, nature will allow it to take its course.
Thanks, Beth - it certainly is a difficult task. They certainly do not have an easy life, so it is rewarding when they all fly away, hale and healthy. My partner misses them a little, but hand-rearing is a difficult job, and she was tied to the house for three weeks!
Good luck with the swifts!
:) what a great hub! i'm smiling reading this! and you're absolutely right about leaving baby birds alone...mom will come for them. one time a baby hummingbird fell out of the nest and i thought for sure he was a goner, but he sat under a shrub and Google said to let him be - his mother would come for him. sure enough, she did. the oncoming night promised to be cold and full of predators (the neighborhood cats, for example), so i leaned a big terracotta pot over him (it had a big hole in its bottom) and loosely arranged a small towel around him and sure enough, there he was the next morning all fine. that day he managed to make it into the shrub, then the next day, the bottom of the pine tree, and the next, higher still in the pine tree. my son and i named him Buzz, and today he, his mate and their offspring are happy additions to the garden outside.
Hi cosette - Thanks for visiting!
Wow - hummingbirds - it must be wondeful to have wild hummingbirds around the place. That is a wonderful story, worthy of a Hub, especially if you have some photos. You did exactly the right thing there and I am glad that he grew up to be strong and healthy.
Thanks for the lovely story :)
just came back to one of my favourite hubs, how are the birds now, have they flown..... you are such an interesting kind hearted hubber
Hi Poetlorraine - I hope that my favourite poet is keeping well :)
Thanks for checking back - they flew a few months back, up into the mountains. They were strong and healthy and we hope that they raise strong broods of their own. It is a tough world out there but, you never know, they might come back in the spring and look for a nesting site.
Mind you, somebody just dumped a little kitten on our doorstep - the cats are taking over the place :)
hiya just thought i would check in on the birds, and read your comment from my last visit. Are you going home for christmas, i am working christmas day, but going to my sons in greater manchester new year
Julie-Ann Amos says:
5 months ago
Fantastic! Well done. I keep hoping to find an abandoned baby wild boar in the Forest but no luck as yet.... Nice story and good for you making the effort to ensure they were safe!