First Few Days of Freedom

Sammy has been free for 5 days now and is still doing wonderfully!  He seems to act just like any other fledgling Eastern Bluebird...except for the fact that he likes to land on us and have "cuddle-time".

Sammy in his "favourite" maple tree

He's been coming in for a free breakfast of mealworms and other bugs around 7:45am, flying out of a tree pretty much as soon as he sees me on the lawn.  Yesterday morning, he was calling from his tree perch when I came outside and within seconds, he was on the platform feeder in full begging mode.

We had a flock of Common Grackles come in to the front yard trees this morning which sent Sammy flying off right away.  He's also showing some signs of being territorial over the yard. He chased off a White-breasted Nuthatch yesterday from the seed feeders into the woods, the two of them zig-zagging among the trees.  And today, it was a Black-capped Chickadee's turn to be evicted from the yard by Sammy.  Both birds are competitors for cavity nesting sights for Eastern Bluebirds, and maybe somehow Sammy knows this and is trying to keep them out of his territory.  He seems to have favourite perching spots: one is a fairly big dead limb on the big maple tree overlooking the grass area by the pond, the second one is a fairly bare branch on a beech tree on the front lawn.

Sammy sitting quietly on a dead maple limb

He caught a big wolf spider that was hanging down from a maple branch and took it to a driftwood post in the garden where he proceeded to bash it until he was satisfied it was ready to eat.  We've also observed him catch and eat small brown ants on the ground, a couple small worms and some unknown bugs while in the air, so he is providing for himself as well as being supplemented by us with small green caterpillars, grasshoppers, moths and of course, his beloved mealworms.

This afternoon, Sammy landed on my shoulder and sat there contentedly, so I took him for a walk around the backyard to show him the perching posts Frank had put up for him to hunt from.  Eastern Bluebirds like to hunt from elevated perches like hydro lines, fence posts and bare tree branches. So just like the ropes Frank hung in the front yard to imitate hydro lines, these perching posts were to provide him with more spots to hunt from.  He flew onto one of the perching posts and sat there for about 10 minutes while I worked in the vegetable gardens nearby.  He flew down to the garden and ate a bug while I was there, then back onto my shoulder, so I took him over to the dogwood shrubs where there are tons of big black ants and small brown ones and showed them to him.  He hopped right down and had himself a little feast, then flew off into the edge of the woods.

Preening on one of his favourite branches

Later this afternoon, we saw him perched on the deck railing in a light drizzle, wing quivering and calling softly.  He was facing the door, which makes me think he knows this is one of the places we come out from.  I took him out some mealworms and he ate 9 of them with gusto before flying off again.  In the early evening, he landed on Frank on the deck, making himself quite comfortable in the hood of his sweatshirt..we thought he was going to go to sleep as he stayed in the hood for about 10 minutes, just resting quietly.  All of these interactions are initiated by Sammy, with a little bit of us calling to him sometimes.  He chooses to come to us and seems to enjoy being close.  For us, this has been a truly wondrous experience - having this beautiful little bird, who is completely in charge of his own life now, trust us and want to be with us.

If you look closely, you can see the vivid blue feathers just starting to show on his shoulders, as well as the rusty breast feathers starting to develop. 

Sammy having some quiet time in Frank's hood

Just before dark, Sammy did some ground hunting on the gravel driveway - most likely little ants - for about 15 minutes, before he flew up into the beech tree along the driveway for a few seconds, then onto the eaves of the garage where he tucked himself in against the house.  I think he was trying to stay dry as it was drizzling out again, and this was a sheltered, fairly safe place for him.  When I went outside at 10pm, in full darkness, he was still perching there quietly, nice and dry, so I think this is where he is going to spend the night.

Today makes Sammy 49-50 days - still going strong in the wild.

Life in the Wild

Sammy seems to be adjusting well and enjoying life in the wild the last couple days.  He's been showing up around 7 in the mornings and having his breakfast of mealworms. Yesterday, he gaped for me to feed him, just like he would have begged his bluebird parents for 3-4 weeks after fledgling.

Sitting on the eaves

Doing some preening

Tenley, my 3 year old grand-daughter is here for a few days, and when she came outside for the first time yesterday morning, Sammy was perched on a rope and flew right down to her, sitting comfortably on her shoulder and chest for quite awhile.  It's been over two weeks since he has seen Tenley, but I'm positive he remembers her.  She was so thrilled that he came to her all on his own and had a cuddle with her.  She simply adores him and I truly believe this love is reciprocated by Sammy.

Late this morning, Frank saw Sammy sitting on our ATV in the parking area, so he took him over some mealworms.  He was gobbled down about 15 mealworms and a spider, he must have been very hungry.  It's got to be hard work learning to locate and catch food, and unfortunately he doesn't have his parents to watch and learn from.  After filling his belly, he hopped onto Frank's finger, so he walked around the house throughout the yard with Sammy.  He said he was showing him around, lol. When they reached the feeding platform, he had to nudge Sammy off his finger onto the platform, he didn't want to leave Frank.  I think he's looking for companionship, which he would have had from his bluebird siblings if they had survived.

Baths are still enjoyed by him, he gave himself a good soaking both days, then flew into one of the beeches on our lawn to preen his feathers just so.  I've got my regular bird bath placed close to the feeding platform where his shallow bath from his aviary is, I'm hoping he will discover it and start using it instead.

He seems to really like the 3 ropes Frank strung up between our trees and the porch post and uses them as hunting perches often.  I'm hoping to get some pictures of this in the next few days.  He also has been up on the eaves of the house, catching bugs sometimes, but mostly just sitting snug against the house, almost like he's trying to hide.

Looking for bugs

Sammy hangs out in this corner often

Sammy doesn't seem to like our white-breasted nuthatches very much, he's chased them quite a few times off the seed feeders and over the pond into the edge of the woods.  So far, these are the only birds we've seen him chase.  I wonder if he instinctively knows they are a competitor for available nesting cavities for Eastern Bluebirds?  Watching him pursue them is fascinating, they both weave so quickly between the trees.  The nuthatches zigzag at a very fast pace and Sammy stays right behind them, dead on course like a guided missile.  We're amazed Sammy or the nuthatches haven't crashed headfirst into a tree!

Late this evening, Sammy came down for a meal and ate another 15 or so mealworms, 2 black beetles and a big black ant that I had caught for him earlier in the day.  Quite a big meal for this little bird, although we have seen him catch his own food, maybe it hasn't been quite enough for him.  After his meal, he did about half an hour of ground hunting on our stone laneway, catching and eating several small brown ants.  Eastern Bluebirds hunt several different ways including:  

- diving to the ground from a perch to catch their prey, then returning to the perch with it

- ground feeding, like American Robins, although they tend to hop along the ground rather than run like robins, cocking their heads to find their prey

- aerial hunting, which involves swooping off a perch to grab prey in mid-air, often hovering over it

- gleaning insects from leaves, branches and trunks of trees.

Sammy settled for the night at 8:50pm, in the beech tree beside the laneway again. He perched on the same branch in the same spot as the previous couple nights, concealed under a canopy of protective leaves.

Today, Sammy is 47-48 days old and surviving.

RELEASE DAY!!!

When we woke up this morning about 7am, Sammy was flying around in his aviary kind of frantic and agitated looking.  He was flying back and forth bouncing softly off the screen sides and roof of his aviary, over and over again.  I thought maybe he was out of food and was really hungry, so I took him some fresh plump mealworms, and he ate a couple, plus 2 grasshoppers and one big black ant, but that didn't help to settle him down.

He didn't try to land and perch on me, as had become his morning habit, and did not want to be picked up or to really be near me at all.  I left the aviary and sat on the front porch with Frank to watch him for awhile.  Sammy continued to seem upset, distressed and restless, flying continually back and forth from screen to screen.

I think he wanted out of his aviary and this was his way of letting me know that he was ready and eager to be out in the world.  Sammy was hunting and eating on his own very well, had successfully spent a couple of nights outside in his aviary and his flight was strong and confident. We decided we had to give him what he seemed to so desperately want...today was going to be the day he got his freedom.

I took him back inside the house, which was no easy feat like it usually was.  Every time I tried to pick him up to carry him inside, he wiggled himself right out of my hands.  When I finally had him snug and secure in my cupped hands and tucked into my cardigan, I took him upstairs to my room and as soon as I opened my hands he flew right off.  While Sammy and I were inside, Frank was busy taking off the front screen wall of the aviary, so that he could choose when to leave it.  Our plan was to leave his aviary up for several days, in case he wanted to go back into it for safety and security, which is part of a soft release.

He flew the length of the room a few times before settling to perch on a window sill, where he quietly sat and looked out the window.  If I put human emotions to this, I would say he was looking wistfully out the window at the world he wanted to be a part of.

Wistfully watching the world that was about to become his

I tried offering him more mealworms, and although he ate 2, he still didn't seem like himself.  Sammy has always been a calm, confident-seeming, trusting little bird and his behaviour today just did not seem normal for him.  He didn't like me approaching him too close, didn't want to hop on my hand for food, didn't try to land on me, didn't try to have his morning cuddle, he just seemed very detached, wary, agitated and almost restless.

I brought him back outside about 8:30am, placed him on his feeding platform in his aviary, and he flew right off onto one of his perches for a few seconds.  Then he flew onto my head, hopped down to my shoulder and sat there calmly quiet.

Moments before release

I, however, was not so calm - I felt anxious, worried, nervous, excited for him and I felt like I was shaking inside.  From here on out, he would be in charge of his own fate and at the mercy of his environment and predators - I wouldn't be able to keep him safe and out of harm's way any longer.

Sammy and I

I spent several seconds savoring his closeness and just looking at him, he seemed very at ease now...so different from the start of his morning, almost as if he knew he was getting his freedom.  I stroked him one more time, whispered to him to be safe and that I loved him, took a deep breath and slowly walked out of the aviary with him perched calmly on my shoulder.

Saying goodbye...

Seconds after walking out of the aviary

Sammy sat on my shoulder for about 30 seconds, quietly looking around, then he suddenly flew onto our song bird platform feeder a few feet away from me.

First flight of freedom - to the bird feeder

Relaxing with a little scratch

He stayed there for a couple minutes, and had himself a drink of water from his shallow bath dish that I had placed there.  Next, Sammy flew onto the aviary roof for a couple of minutes, turning his head this way and that, observing everything around him.

Sammy watching his world from the roof of his aviary

I felt much calmer at this point and was enjoying watching him out where he belonged. That is until he flew off into the beech tree several feet away and several feet up.  I think my heart actually jumped into my throat, to see him so far away and out of my "reach".

First time perching in a real tree!

Sitting quietly in a beech tree

He didn't stay in the beech for long, moving to a huge hemlock tree across the driveway, then to a maple tree next to it, a few minutes spent in each one.

High up in a hemlock tree

Hunkered down in hemlock tree

Hopping along a branch

Resting quietly from his first big flights

Watching him fly so high and confidently was simply breathtaking.  His wing beats were strong and powerful, even gliding part of the way and his landings were steady.  He looked so small up in the branches and blended in to his surroundings very well.  It was a very moving experience, watching him explore his world for the first time.

Next thing we knew, he flew off over the house and was gone.  This part, I was definitely not prepared for...I guess I didn't expect him to be out of my sight so quickly.  My research on raising him had led me to believe that he would hang around for several days, weeks, if not a couple months, just as he would have stayed near his parents to be fed and protected. So I think my naive mind pictured Sammy staying close enough for me to see him.  I kind of panicked when he disappeared, and started crying while I walked around the yard calling his name "Sammy Sammy Sammy", which is what I would say (since I can't whistle) when I entered his aviary or opened his indoor cage.  I'm pretty sure this was totally inappropriate behaviour on my part - certainly not how a professional rehabber would behave - and I should have just gone about my business, happy that he survived, was healthy and able to fend for himself.  But, once again, my heart was in charge of my brain and I felt overwhelming sadness and even a bit of fear for him, worried if he was going to be okay.

Sammy showed up in the front yard again a long, long 10 minutes later and the relief I felt upon seeing him was overwhelming.  He went straight to our feeding station, where his mealworm dish and bath were ready for him.  He ate a couple of mealworms, had a drink of water and a quick bath - like it was just another day.  Just like a child, he was oblivious to how worried I had been.

Having a little bath

Getting good and soaked

After his bath, Sammy flew onto his aviary and on one of the 3 strong ropes that my husband, Frank, had hung at various heights between the trees and our corner porch post and spent some time preening his feathers. When Sammy flew off out of our sight about 20 minutes later, I felt much calmer, happier and confident that he would be okay.

Sammy on his perching rope

Do I look tough?

Spreading his gorgeous blue wings to dry

Eastern Bluebirds like to perch on hydro lines, fence posts, etc to scan the ground below in search of prey that they will swoop or flutter down to catch.  Since our hydro lines were underground, the idea was that these ropes would be his own personal perching lines.  I also had Frank make a couple of perching posts, kind of like crosses, out of 2 by 2 lumber and pound them into the ground, so he could use these in the backyard for hunting perches.  Did I go a little overboard in preparing for his release?  Probably, but if he was going to hang around for a little while, I wanted his territory to be as "bluebird friendly" as possible.  Remember, I'm the woman who hunted fresh bugs for him daily while he was being raised so he could learn to hunt!

We didn't see him again until mid-afternoon, when he flew towards me from the wooded edge of our backyard as I went outside.  He flew over and down towards me 3 times, then flew across our pond to a large tree and clung like a woodpecker on the side of the trunk.

Clinging high on a tree trunk

A few minutes later, he came into the front yard again, had himself a mealworm snack, perched on his ropes again (which may have been going overboard, but he definitely seemed to like them!), in the beech trees and then back onto the rope close to the porch post.  I walked over to him, held my hand out below him and he hopped right on.  Sammy moved to my shoulder, close to my neck and under my ponytail.  I thoroughly enjoyed this incredibly special "in the wild" cuddle-time that Sammy shared with me for several minutes before he was once again off exploring.

Sammy flew through the front porch a few times after that while we were sat there enjoying the beautiful day watching him come and go.  He also came in for more mealworms and a few live grasshoppers that I offered him.  He discovered a dead, exposed limb on a maple tree that overlooks the grass area surrounding our pond, a good hunting perch, and rested there for a few minutes.  At 3:45pm, Sammy flew off over the pond into the edge of the woods and that was the last we saw of him today.

At 44-45 days old, it was done.  He made it.  Sammy was free.

Overnight in the Aviary

Well, Sammy spent his first full night in his aviary last night and seemed to come through it no worse for wear!  Although, I can't say the same for me...I was a nervous, anxious wreck most of the night and didn't get much sleep.

The weather was perfect for his first overnighter:  no wind or rain, only the odd cloud to darken the skies and a lovely mild low temperature of 17C (63F).  I have to admit, I did quietly go outside just after midnight to check on him and found him sleeping quietly, all fluffed up sheltered in the cedar branches. I was relieved that Sammy had found the perfect spot to spend his night, and I had a small smile on my face as I snuck back inside.  Finding proper shelter from the elements and predators is very important for a song bird, and Sammy, being the smart little guy that he is, knew this.

This photo was taken just before full dark, before I left him for the night.

A perfect sleeping roost!

When my husband, Frank, went outside at 6am, Sammy was busy flying, preening and doing some hunting seeming totally unaffected by his night spent outside or having missed his nightly "cuddle-time" ritual.  Can't say the same for me...I was rather fond of cuddle-time myself and had worried about him all night, which had proved to be unnecessary, as Sammy did just fine.

Watching the sky...

I watched him for about an hour after I got up at 7am, and his behaviour was no different than any other day.  After watching him, I brought him some fresh insects which he caught and ate on his own. As soon as he had his fill, he flew to my shoulder and hopped under my ponytail and tucked himself right in.  I let him stay for a few seconds, then placed him on a perch, but he flew right back and snuggled in again.  I tried putting him back on a perch 3 times without luck, so I finally let him stay under my ponytail, where he sat quietly for about 15 minutes.  I guess bedtime cuddles have now moved to mornings.

I think he's giving me the "stink-eye"

The rest of his day was business as usual and he was definitely on track for being released in the next few days.  After worrying about him overnight, I've realized his release is going to be even harder on me than I thought.

Sammy is now 42-43 days old.

Hunting Skills Improving

Catching moths has become quite the art form for Sammy, he does really well at catching them in the air and also off the screen walls of the aviary.  His hunting skills continue to improve every day, and he is successful more times than not.  I still help him hunt sometimes, by placing his insects in front of him on his feeding platform, like the green caterpillars in this video.

Spiders, beetles and big black ants seem to be a favourite of his over the last few days.  He even caught a small spider in the house on the windowsill.

Here's a quick video of Sammy catching a spider.

I keep the curtains closed over the top half of the windows in our room where he gets indoor flight time, and the bottom half of the window is open to the screens.  This way Sammy can still watch the world outside, which he seems to love doing, while avoiding flying into hard glass accidentally.

Morning and evening indoor flight time is getting stronger and stronger, he now flies the length of our bedroom 2 or 3 times before deciding to perch somewhere, usually one of the curtain rods or a window sill.

Sammy "hiding" from the Blue Jay family

Cuddle-time before bed is still going on, and still initiated by Sammy.  I don't call him to me or encourage him in any way to land on me.  And I've decided that as long as he wants or needs to, I'm going to let him continue.  I know some people say that we can't and shouldn't attach feelings to birds or animals, but I don't believe that.   This little guy is actively seeking out my companionship and wanting (needing?) to be physically close to me.  I believe I would do him more harm by refusing him this contact, than in continuing to allow him to have it, but only when he chooses to do so. Almost every living creature needs some kind of contact with another living creature throughout their lives, at one time or another - for Sammy, I'm all he's got for now.  On a lighter note, I truly enjoy the time he spends pressed up against my neck or under my ponytail.  It's so peaceful, calming and heartwarming enjoying this little bird's affections, and I am grateful he has triumphantly made it this far.

Sammy is now 38-39 days old.

Hunting Beetles

Sammy has become quite the hunter during the past couple of days.  He has been flying down from perches catching and eating grasshoppers on the ground.  He holds one in his beak for a couple seconds at a time, then drops it, picks it up again, shakes it a bit, holds it, drops it and repeats this process until he decides it's ready to be swallowed whole.  He seems to prefer the smaller, green grasshoppers over the bigger brownish ones.

He has caught a few moths in his aviary either on the ground or on his feeding platform, holding them and dropping them as well before he eats them.  I catch moths at night under the porch lights and release them in his aviary in the morning. And, of course, he stills loves his mealworms!

And new for him, he now "hunts" black ground beetles.  These I find under rocks for him and place them on his feeding platform or on the ground for him to hunt.  Today, he saw one on the grass, flew down, caught it and beat it up before he ate it.

Here are a couple of videos showing off Sammy's beetle hunting skills.

So although he is becoming quite the little hunter, he is still quite the little beggar!  When I enter his aviary, he quivers his wings, leans forward, cheeps and gapes wide open for a free meal.  What a cutie!

Sammy is still enjoying his baths, he gets himself totally drenched and then meticulously preens his feathers.  He's also been drinking water during the day.

Sammy relaxing on my shoulder

Cuddle time before "bed" happened again last night.  His choice, and I still believe if that is what he needs/wants - company, companionship and comfort - then who was I to deny him?  He nestled right in against my neck and sat there quietly for about 15 minutes before I put him to bed for the night.

I put a sideways kleenex box, with the "entrance" side completely cut out, in a corner of his indoor cage, lined with a few kleenexes.  Eastern Bluebirds are known to roost in cavities and even nestboxes, and I thought he might like sleeping in it.  I placed him in it at lights out last night and this morning, he was still in there when I uncovered his cage.  Sammy had a good long stretch before he hopped out of the kleenex box, then he perched on the opening of his cage for a few seconds before flying out and landing on my shoulder.  He must have liked the kleenex box to roost in, maybe the shelter it provides him, it gave him a feeling of security too.

Today, Sammy is 33-34 days old.

Bath and Cuddle Time

I've been trying to encourage Sammy to pick up his own food, so today when he was gaping and begging, I slid his feeding dish in front of him instead of popping mealworms in his beak.  I guess he was hungry enough that he decided he better feed himself and proceeded to eat 7 mealworms on his own.  After this successful self-feeding, I began alternating between offering him food from the tweezers and having him "catch" his own food from his feeding platform or dish.

To help Sammy learn to hunt grasshoppers and crickets, first I "disable" them by removing their back legs so they can't hop away from him, but can still crawl.  My thinking:  first he needs to learn what he should be hunting before he has to learn how to be really good at it.  Kind of giving him an easier learning process, like a handicap in golf!

He has been showing quite a bit of interest in his old terrarium, which is where I keep his bugs.  He perches on it and pecks at the lid trying to get at them.  There are always some loose bugs in his aviary, but the extras are kept in the terrarium.

Sammy still enjoys his baths with unbridled abandon.  Here's a video of him splashing around in his shallow bath.

Once Sammy is done his bath, he really works at getting his feathers dry and just right, as you'll see in this video.

Today, I spoke to Julie Zickefoose from Ohio.  She is a renowned writer, artist, naturalist, songbird rehabber and public speaker.  She was kind enough to call me back to answer some questions about Sammy.  I told her all about him, probably more info than she wanted or needed, and she said that it sounded like I was doing everything right!  She even thought I was doing more than I needed to, as far as catching bugs for him to eat and hunt in his aviary, mealworms would be just fine for him she said.  I'm still going to continue doing the bug-catching though, I want him to learn to hunt before he is set free.  She did suggest that Sammy be given more flight time in a bigger area, so I will start giving him longer morning and evening time in our large bedroom (28 ft long by 12 ft wide) to stretch those gorgeous wings.  Julie also looked at her records for a trio of Eastern Bluebirds she raised and said that Day 42 would be a good age to soft-release Sammy. vOf course, this tentative date was dependent on Sammy being fully capable of feeding himself and his flying strong and sure.

If you're out there Julie, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy life to offer advice about one lone little bird...what a remarkable, caring woman.

Just before dark this evening, Sammy started calling and clinging to the aviary screen door like he does when he wants more food.  I went in but he didn't want to eat, he flew to my shoulder and hopped under my hair and nuzzled himself in.  I brought him in the house early thinking maybe he was cold, it was already down to 12C (53F), cooler than he was used to.

Once inside, he ate a bit of his formula, did some flying around the bedroom, then landed on my shoulder again, hopped under my hair and perched against my neck.  I couldn't resist myself and sat down on the couch in our room and enjoyed the closeness of him.  After a few minutes, I moved him to a fold in my cardigan against my ribs, where Sammy promptly settled himself down on his feet and went to sleep.  I couldn't believe that he was so comfortable and calm with me that he actually slept on me.  He woke a couple times, did some scratching and preening, but then would close his eyes and go back to sleep.  This "cuddle-time" drew me hopelessly further in love with Sammy, which would make his release harder for me as I knew I would miss him terribly.  He was such a trusting little soul, he melted my heart daily.  Sammy and I sat like this for half an hour before I placed him in his nest inside his cage for the night.  After draping the towel over his cage, I heard a couple of soft cheeps, then all was quiet for the night.

Eating red elderberries and cuddle time

What are you lookin' at??

Sitting pretty

Sammy, the male Eastern Bluebird fledgling, has found a new food he likes:  red elderberries!  Most of his attempts at pulling them of the stem were successful, but a few slipped out of his beak.  He was very interested in them and seemed to enjoy them.

He also tried to catch and eat a moth that was below him on his perch, he managed to pick it up, then he dropped it.  After a few seconds of watching it on the ground, he ignored it.

I've been wondering what Sammy has been hunting on the ground, and today he confirmed it for me, he's catching little, brown ants and eating them.  He spys them from up on his perch and glides down and nabs them.  Incredible eyesight he must have to spot these little ants from up above.

Watching for little brown ants

Sammy has also been "hunting" his mealworms.  I now place some in front of him on his feeding platform and he hops to one and catches it.  I'm trying to help him learn that not all food comes in a little dish.

Preening continues...Sammy is very meticulous about his grooming.  While researching, I learned that birds clean their larger feathers, like flight and tail feathers, by drawing them through their beak, which I have seen Sammy do numerous times.  They also use their beaks to apply oily secretions from their preening (uropygial) gland, which is located on their rump, to their feathers which helps keep their feathers in peak condition. Preening is also done to remove any feather parasites (ughh!) that they may have.

Daily feather maintenance

Amazing how far Sammy can turn his head

When I bring Sammy back inside for the night, I hold him in my cupped hand with my other hand gently over his body and tuck him inside my cardigan as I carry him inside. Once in my bedroom, where his indoor cage is, I open up my cardigan and let him have some flight time.  Tonight, Sammy wasn't interested in flying.  He stayed in my open hand and ate 3 moths and one bite of nestling formula, then settled himself down on his feet and got comfortable.  It had been fairly cool and raining this evening when I brought him in, and I thought maybe he was just trying to get warmed up. So, I moved my hand against my ribs and he tucked himself in close to me beneath the opening of my cardigan and stayed sitting contentedly for about 15 minutes.  Warming up?  Needing comfort?  Or companionship?  I think it was at least one or all of those reasons, and who was I to refuse this sweet little baby blue?

After this "cuddle time", I placed Sammy into his nest for the night and he chattered very quickly for a few seconds, in protest I think, but once I draped the towel over his cage he was soon was quiet for the night.

Today, Sammy is 28-29 days old.

Grasshoppers, baths and begging

Feed me!!

Sammy continues to beg and gape for food, thank goodness!  It was quite a long time waiting for him to start doing this and I'm so glad I don't have to pry his beak open anymore.  I bet he is too!  When he sees me coming to his aviary, he starts chirping, gaping and quivering like crazy.  He readily eats live crickets and grasshoppers, and of course his beloved mealworms.  His nestling formula...not so much, lol.

He also began a new habit of calling and landing on the screen door of the aviary when he's hungry.   I guess he figured out that his meal delivery service (me) comes through that door, lol.

Sammy has enjoyed a couple more baths since my last post, he is a picture of pure, uninhibited pleasure while he bathes.   He dunk his face and breast into his shallow bath and shakes his head back and forth vigorously.  Then he lowers his back end into the water and beats his wings quickly, getting thoroughly soaked.  I'll post a video of bathtime soon!  Sammy's bath is a shallow, clear plastic tray for a plant pot that is lined with small pebbles to give him sure footing.

Playing with a twig in the bath

Sammy makes puts on quite the show when he preens after his bath, flapping  his wings so fast you can barely seem them moving.  He pulls his beak down the length of individual feathers grooming them methodically.

Sammy preening under his wings after a bath

Stretching and drying out his wings

Thoroughly soaked from his bath

Spreading his amazing, vivid blue wings

He has also started drinking little sips of water from either his bath or water dish.  He dips his beak in, gets a couple drops and then tilts his head far back and swallows.

Flying down to the grass is common now, I think he is hunting little brown ants on the ground, but I'm not sure.  He likes to spend a fair amount of time perched on a branch that runs up the side of his aviary facing the seed feeders, just taking in his surroundings and the other birds.  He doesn't seem to like when blue jays come in, they're such noisy birds when they announce their arrival, and Sammy usually flies back up to his sheltered corner perch until they leave.

Watching the sky above him

Cuddling continues to be something Sammy initiates, landing on my shoulder and then tucking himself under my ponytail or against my neck.  He's also a little intrigued by my eyeglasses and pecks them sometimes.

A little cuddle before bed

Today makes Sammy 26-27 days old.