the fledgling

5/27/99

Stayed out late last night with Eric. Would have been fine, but for some reason my body insisted that I wake up this morning at 8:30. No joke.

Julia doesn't play fair. I wanted to strangle her today. It's Learn-To-Fly day in the ‘hood. A family of sparrows spent much of the day hopping about the carport, fluttering, squawking. And getting caught in the teeth of one huge cat.

The first one, I cried. Wept. I was sitting on the back step when Julie trotted up with a tiny bird in her teeth. I made eye contact with the godforsaken thing. When I screeched at the cat, she picked up the pace and headed for the shrub, where I could not follow. (Though I tried.) The poor thing had no chance, it hadn't figured out the flying thing yet. I'm still haunted by the look in its eyes, beyond shock, where animals go when they...well...when big, fat, mean, unfair cats get them.

I put it at the back of my mind. I hated my cat and hated myself for having the cat. The cat who cheats, preying on defenseless baby birds. When Julie emerged from the bushes, I tossed her into the house and slammed the door.

I hadn't realized the whole neighborhood of young birds was having flying lessons today. I finally let the cat back out, and she headed straight over and came back with a second little guy. GAAAH! This time I snatched the cat right around her fat tummy and threw her back in. I scooped the tiny bird into a box and called a wildlife shelter.

They told me to bring him in, so I drove out into the country and brought him. The shelter was fantastic--supposedly the biggest wild animal rehabilitation center in the state. An albino peacock (since when are peacocks native to Michigan?) greeted me at the drive, and a fawn peered over a fence, seeming to say, "Hello! Hi! Hi there! Hello! I'm so glad you're here! Hi! Hi! Hi!"

God, I make me laugh.

So I took in this bird, who turned out to be fine, other than the rotten day he was having. They told me to take him back home and put him where I found him. Now, I'm not sure, but isn't that the reason I called in the first place? To see whether I should bring him in? All the way home I helped him work on his abduction story. Told him to be sure not to remove the chip in his neck.

At the end of it all, I was on the couch with a big pile of volunteer information about this shelter. I'm a sucker for animal shelters. This one would be easier for me to work for--no puppies and kitties looking for homes. Just wild animals, and the volunteers are not allowed to tame them. Turns out they won't have me as a volunteer because I'm moving away and couldn't make a six-month commitment. I had a blast reading their informative booklet, though.

Some Definitions:

UFO - Unidentified Fuzzy Object. A baby bird which is not old enough to determine type. Also sometimes referred to as "Itty Bitty."

Nestling - A young bird which is starting to feather but is not old enough to be out of the nest. Flies like a rock.

Fledgling - A young bird fully feathered and old enough to be out of the nest, but not fully independent. Flies like a small rock, with bounce.

(From the Critter Alley Wildlife Rehabilitation Center Volunteer Manual.)

My little abducted buddy bounced a few times when I released him into the grass. Bounce-and-flutter. When I checked back fifteen minutes later, he was gone.

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Speaking of fledglings....

Eric started his own journal. Another one turned over to the dark side.