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.

Splash Time

I've been leaving Sammy in his outdoor aviary until 30-45 minutes after dark the last couple of nights, in preparation for spending a few full nights outside in its' safety before he is released.  His release date is fast approaching, and I want him ready in every possible way.  I'm anticipating his freedom with a mix of excited anticipation, anxiousness and sadness.  I am thrilled that he will get to experience life as he was meant to do, but at the same time, I am worried about what that life will bring him.  And yes, I will miss him terribly.  Yup, I've broken the "cardinal rule" of the real rehabbers:  I am hopelessly attached to him.

The first night, he was perched on a cedar branch in the top corner of his aviary when I went to bring him inside.  The 2nd night, he was on the screen door of the aviary when I went out.  I'm not sure if he had been perching contentedly before I went out, then flew to the door when I turned the porch lights on, or if he had been "waiting" to be brought inside.  And yes, cuddle-time is still the before bed routine for Sammy.

Sammy has been busy perfecting his hunting techniques, flying down from a perch to the ground to catch beetles, grasshoppers and ants.  Moths he takes right from the aviary screen walls and roof.  He also drinks water regularly from either his water dish or his bird bath.

He's been doing a lot of calling lately, and it is such a beautiful, simple two-note sound.  He calls more when he's outside than he does when he's in the house.  He often makes these calls when I'm approaching his aviary, then usually flies to me once I'm inside, landing on my shoulder, head or arm. This could be his fledgling call that he would usually make to his parents (most often the dad) hoping to be fed by them.

After Sammy had a quick bath this afternoon and was busy preening, I got busy cleaning his bath.  As soon as I had it filled up again, he flew right back and had himself a good, long drenching bath.  It made me wonder if he was curious about what I had just done, or if that was his plan all along - to have a second bath?

Here are a series of photos taken as he preened after his bath.

Sammy's impression of "looking tough"

Sometimes he looks so grumpy...

Drying his impressive blue wings

Today makes Sammy 41-42 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.

Blue Jays and Black Bears

This morning, a very loud family of 5 Blue Jays came to help themselves to the bird feeders near Sammy's aviary.  The fledglings wing quivered, shook and cawed/screamed incredibly loud chasing their parent(s) branch to branch for handouts.  I don't think Sammy likes Blue Jays very much, he seemed to look nervous and sat very still while intently watching them. Either that, or he just thought they were loud and annoying, disturbing his sunny, quiet morning.  One of them landed on top of his aviary and peered inside, which made Sammy promptly fly to one of his sheltered perches to "hide".  Our other small songbirds fly away when a Blue Jay comes in, so it's good that he seems to know he should fly away and take cover.  As far as I know, they don't harm or attack other birds, although they have been known to occassionally steal and eat other songbird eggs and even nestlings.

A few times today, I've seen Sammy feeding himself mealworms from his dish, although he continues to beg and wing quiver to be fed, like a typical fledgling.  He's also been spending some time on the ground pecking and eating ants and who knows what else.  How he can see those tiny little brown ants from up on his perch is beyond me, amazing eyesight he has.  He also successfully hunted a cricket he spied on the grass.  He still likes to land me on often, I guess he thinks I'm another one of his perches.

Here he is checking out his cedar branches.

We had a black bear in the backyard this evening, just strolling along a few feet from the back porch. We are in bear country and ususally see one a couple times at least every spring and summer.  This past spring, the bear pulled down my bird feeder pole and ate all the seeds.  My own fault for forgetting to bring them in for the night, something we have to do in every season except winter.  The bears wake up hungry in the spring, and bird feeders are such an easy meal for them.

Today, Sammy is 30-31 days old.