BYE BYE BIRDIE

No I'm not talking about the 1963 movie staring Dick Van Dyke, Ann-Margaret, Janet Leigh and Maureen Stapleton but I can say that it's one of my favorite musicals!

When I should have been working on posts from our trip to Mammoth Lakes, CA I was preoccupied with taking care of a little birdie. Remember the nest in our dwarf palm tree? Well when we returned home from our trip the kids showed us that the eggs had hatched while we were gone. There were only 3 that hatched. So I reminded everyone that we need to look in that direction to make sure they are not out of their nest so Skye doesn't get them. 

Well as it turns out Skye was the one who came upon one of the birds on Monday morning about 25 feet from the nest. I had her out on a leash and she was over at her spot where she often finds lizards. She started stretching out sniffing and kinda poking her nose at something which of course was a baby bird. We went inside and I talked with Mark to see what he thought we should do. 

Well I went and looked at the nest and it had been attacked during the night. Most likely by the owls who hang around in the evening. The only other thing could have been a house cat but we rarely see them. Of course the parents were a wreck tweeting at each other. I went over and straightened the nest, put on some rubber gloves and put the birdie back in the nest. (Remember how I am missing pictures from my phone? I don't have the ones when I found him the first time.) 

Well this little guy fell out again so I made him a deeper nest by putting the nest inside a deeper basket. I read up on this and you can do that. You can also touch a bird with your hands and the mother will almost always go back to the bird but I didn't want to do that. 

So I was either sitting at my kitchen sliding glass door or sitting  in the chair by our sliding door in the bedroom watching to see how the parents reacted. Didn't take long before they were in there feeding him. I was so proud of myself. However I was concerned that he wouldn't make it through the night. I figured whoever got the other birdies would be back. But I also knew I didn't want to put him in a shoe box and feed him. 

Well the next morning I thought he was gone but I didn't see any disturbance to the nest. With a further search I found him on a branch next to the basket! 

This is him next to the deeper basket I gave him. 

"You lookin' at me!"

So being the over protective mother to this little guy I decided to get some gloves and put him back inside the nest. Wrong, he jumped and ended up going outside of our yard down the hillside beyond our view fencing. So I kept my eye on him for awhile. Amber said she would go over and get him when she got home from work. We couldn't find him at first and then suddenly I saw him but he wasn't were he was when I took this pictures. 

I put him back in his nest but eventually he got out again but before that happened the parents were right there feeding him again. Another save! I know I could have left him alone but he was not flying yet so I was concerned for his safety. 

Well I spotted him on the ground again the next day and he hopped over into the neighbors yard. I was like oh shoot, now what do I do. It was hours before Amber was going to be home. I watched from the two sliding doors on and off until Amber got home. You have to use a step ladder and jump over the fence and I knew I couldn't do that, however if Skye had gotten out down that hillside I would do it! Anyway the parents were actually going down into the bush next door and feeding him. 

When Amber got home she wanted to put the nest in a deeper box hoping that he would stay inside until he could fly. So we got the box all ready and then she hopped over to get him, handed him to me and he was back safe and sound in the new box. I then watched again and before you know it his parents were back flying in and out of the palm tree feeding him. I was feeling really happy about helping him again! 

Amber went out to check on him several times and he was looking pretty happy in the box according to her. Later that evening Mark and I went out to look for him and I couldn't find him. Then I spotted him in a tree branch next to the box. I decided to leave him there because I knew if I tried to get him he would most likely jump and end up on the other side of the fence again. The parents were still going inside to feed him. 

That was the last I saw of him but I am totally convinced that he was able to fly away. After watching his parents for several days, for many, many hours, I know he is okay. If he was missing they would be frantically tweeting to each other and looking for him which they did every other time he was out of the nest. The have not been around at all starting yesterday morning and from what I read once he begins to fly the parents and the baby stay together for awhile. They will follow him around making sure he is okay and then he is on his own. 

 The little guy is a Mockingbird! 

(not my photo)

Now on another note several years ago when my dad was out here we used a different entrance into our neighborhood which is several miles away. It was October and we spotted a Tarantula on the road. It freaked me out. Well yesterday Mark and I were driving up the hill into our side of the community and look what we saw crossing the road......I'm not going to show you the zoomed image, obviously you can see how big his is on the road! 

So I will end this on a happy not. We are going to see Adam & Tristen on Sunday. We will be meeting them half-way which is approximately Pasadena and have a meal with them! I leave you with a beautiful sunset from the other night......

Have a Wonderful Weekend!