I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

YramAL

I don't even have a flip phone! I have a little tiny Samsung phone that's about the size of a large hotwheel car. I like it because it is so small and fits right into my pocket. It doesn't take pictures, but I can receive pictures. I can text and get calls, and that's all I really want. I dread the day it wears out.

Mary 

pupmom

Sue, I only ride my stationary bike. Did half an hour and need to get another half in before bed. I can't sympathize with it being cold there. We've had temps in the 100's for weeks! It has gotten a little better. Only the high 90's now.

ananda8

Blue,

She is just beautiful.  Did you know that until a songbird is old enough to get its adult plumage all songbirds are referred to as she? 

Boy, I miss working with a wildlife rehabilitator and raising and releasing Finches.  It was tiring but so much fun.

suzieq60

I'm still cold - Poppy has just gone outside to find some sun - might be a good idea. Have to have my shower yet - where could I go shopping??

We don't have central heating over here and only ever use a space heater at night, I'm sitting here shivering.

bluedahlia

notself I didn't know that.  This one is has started singing, so I know Sylvester is perfect for him.  I love songbirds.  How does one rehabilitate them to go into the wilderness if they are not born there?

Susie, just think of us melting here.  That should warm you up!

ETA - This is why I named him Sylvester  hehehehehe!

ananda8

Blue,

I raised them from little naked things through release.  Since they are seed eaters and flock birds things are easy when it comes to getting them ready for release.  As soon as their their feathers are fully in and they can feed themselves, they go into a flight cage to strengthen their wing muscles.  Then depending on their age when they were brought to me, I either release them where they were found or release them from my upper deck in the afternoon. 

The older the fledgling when I received her,  the more I was inclined to release her where she was found.  Her parents might still be in the area and recognize her.  Older fledglings tend to pick up the song accent of their flocks.

If they were very young when rescued, I release them off my deck and they will most likely form a family unit. 

suzieq60

I will Blue - not that it's any near as cold as you girls get in Winter Top of 21 C today sunny out - looks lovely. I'm definitely going out shopping somewhere.

bluedahlia

notself that's so cool!

ananda8

Babies without any feathers need to be fed about every 30-40 minutes 12-14 hours a day.  The time between feeding increases as the babies get feathers and they eat more at one time.  After a couple of weeks, they start feeding themselves. 

It took me a full summer of rehabbing before it dawned on me that seed eaters sleep in to about 8:00am.  I was getting up at 5:30am because I thought all birds were early birds.  Silly me.

1Athena1

notself, that's too cool....

Momine

Lassie, where do you find iBooks? It is not on my iPad. Also, once you download a book, how do you find it on the device?

alexandria58

Blue - lovely bird. Enjoy!

lassie11

Momine - the first thing to do is to download the free app called iBooks.  After that you can go to the "store" and download whatever books you want.  There are many that are free, particularly old classics.  Because I am using an iPhone rather than an iPad, I search for new books on my desktop computer and then get them on the iPhone by synching it with the computer. It might be a bit different with an iPad. On either device, you can use Kindle or Kobo similarly. I could use the local library to download books too but the two week limit is for real - no lates on an e-book as it just disappears when your time is up!

Momine

Oh, ok. Thank you! I will try that.

Bren-2007

Hi Everyone!

Hope you're all having a good day.  I don't have an i-phone or i-pad.  But I know lots of people who really like the i-pad and say it takes great pictures.  We just got a really nice Nikon camera on Amazon.  Saved quite a bit of money by ordering it on-line.

I've been busy walking the dogs, watering the flowers and pulling weeks.  It's too hot to be outside now, although I have a lot of mowing to get done.  Now I could shoot myself for buying a house with five acres!

Blue ... How is Sylvester today?  Do Virg and Lilah like him?

Momine ... Hope you were able to get your books downloaded.

Notself ... That is really cool about the birds you rescued.  Was it any particular type of bird ... or just any kind that you could rehab back into the wild?

hugs to all,

Bren

bluedahlia

Sylvester is singing away.  I love the song.  Virg got a little annoyed with him last night but is getting used to him.  Lilah couldn't care less!

ananda8

BinVa,

We rescued all songbirds but didn't have a license for raptors, owls or vultures.  The wildlife center would keep them overnight and then pass them on to those that had the proper equipment and training. The wildlife center also rescued pelicans and all forms of sea birds and shore birds. 

Songbirds, except crows and ravens, were rehabilitated in the homes of a group of women who specialized in songbirds.  We all had small flight cages and the equipment to handle almost any species except crows and ravens. The are just too big and needed really large flight cages.

I volunteered at the wild life center for a little over a year and transferred to the group doing home care.  I loved caring for pelicans and Northern Fulmars at the center.  At home, I specialized in House Finches, Goldfinches, Blue Jays, and Phoebes and sparrows of all kinds.  Other home volunteers handled doves, robins, starlings, and other types of slightly larger birds.  There was even a woman who specialized in hummingbirds.  She had very steady hands to feed babies the size of jelly beans.

pupmom

Notself, how wonderful that you help these birds! I provide food and water for my yard's squirrels and birds, but would feel intimidated helping an injured or infant animal. (Of course if I found one I would scoop it up and rush it to the vet or emergency room.) I used to know somebody who volunteered to care for injured squirrels, usually babies who fell out of trees during storms. I thought the world of him. 

alexandria58

Notself:  What a lovely thing to do!  There is a wildlife rehab place 15 minutes from me, and over the years, we've taken in a number of injured animals we've found in our yard or on the stree. 

ananda8

Yorkiemom, How sweet of you to feed squirrles as well as birds.  I see so many feeders labled "squirrel proof".  I don't understant the idea that letting squirrels eat from a bird feeder is bad. 

Yes they can make a mess, but the spilled seed feeds other creatures.  Fresh water in a deep bird bath really helps birds.  If they actually jump in and bathe, it's deep enough.  Birds are plagued by feather mites and a good soaking bath help kill most of the mites.  I have a Deep bird bath and then two ceramic tray at different levels lower that the main bath.  Tiny birds need a bath that is shallow and I place one directly on the ground for the ground squirrels, opossums, skunks, etc.

alexandria58,

Have you checked into volunteering at your local center? It can be a lot of fun.

AnneW

I miss having a deep birdbath. My cats would stake it out.

I buy "squirrel food" every winter. The blue jays love it, and race to see who can get the most peanuts. We have those cute Abert's squirrels here. I call them "squabbits" because they almost have bunny ears!

Been a birder since I was a little kid. Had my first bird book at age 6. One of the biggest things I miss about my Dad is calling him when I see a "new" bird.

pupmom

Notself, I haven't heard about a bird bath on the ground. Right now I just leave water in a bowl for whomever! I give them fresh, and filtered lol, water regularly. My husband is concerned about attracting mosquitos if we have a bird bath. Are they easy to change every day?

ananda8

I use the straight high pressure setting on my hose and swish it back and forth in the deep bird bath.  The high pressure lifts out the old water and debris.  Then I turn the setting to gentle and fill the bath.  I do this every day and most days twice a day because so many birds use the bath.  The high pressure wash keeps the debris out and washes out any mosquito eggs and larvae.

The area around the bird bath must be clear from all plants.  Cats lurk in bushes and high grasses and will pluck a bird from a bath.  With enough open ground around the bath, the birds will see the cat or hawk coming.  My main bath is under a huge oak tree with the closest branches 15-20 feet off the ground.  This gives the bath shade to keep the water cool and provides a perch for birds to look out for predators.  Birds are seldom near a bird bath by themselves.  There is usually a look out. 

The bird bath on the ground is a ceramic dish that is used under large ceramic garden pots.  The dish can be bought separately.  Birds don't usually go into the one on the ground unless lots of other birds are around.  The ground dish is for small mammals such as skunks, opossums, raccoons, etc.  In this drought water is really important/

bluedahlia

I used to have a love bird.  He was 18 years ild when he died.  I sure hope this tiny fellow lives that long.

Chickadee

I'm a backyard birder and lucky to be on the flyway. Last year I spied an oriole in my backyard. 50 years in Maryland and I never saw the state bird once. Quickly I cut the only orange I had in half and stuck it on a tree branch. By the end of the week the whole flock had found our backyard and I went through bag after bag of oranges. It was very cool. I hope they pass through here again this Sept. I'll be waiting.

ananda8

I don't know about African Finches, but House Finches, if they make it through their first year, live around 17 years in the wild.  Your little guy will probably be around for at least that long.

1Athena1

Too bad that I saw Hitchcock's "Birds" as a child about five times. Since then, I can't get close to them. I like the big ones and admire the raptors, but when wing flapping starts, I get really startled.

bluedahlia

I love Alfred Hitchcock.  I have seen all his movies.  I also love Tennessee William.  "Suddenly Last Summer" being my favourite!

kira1234

The only birds I don't like are bats, and they really aren't even birds. I had one fly inches away from my face years ago, and that did me in.

I had a great time with all the ladies from Florida. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory. The food was great. We talked for about 3 hours.

alexandria58

Sunflowers sends  hugs to everyone for taking care of her favorite creature, birds.