Sioga-Agus-Arrachtaigh
I feel like I should be doing this professionally ....
And so today I got to do my annual unplanned baby bird rescue(yes, I do mean annual. I've had to rescue baby birds every year without fail since we moved here like 7 years ago). Got to save this baby sparrow from the chickens. Chickens are omnivores and opportunists when it comes to eating habits. If it's small enough that it can be torn into manageable chunks, they WILL try to eat it. Chickens are kinda rude that way. :P Anyways, I spotted this cute little guy in the grass right about the same time the hens did, and once they started approaching him everything in his body language told me he was thinking 'this is it this is how I die. 0n0;'
The hens had gotten a couple of pecks in by the time I got close enough to intervene, and let me tell you, a baby bird screaming in fear/pain will make your heart go 'ow'. The little guy was actually pretty calm once he was in my hands though. I suppose because it was better than the alternative. That or he was just too young and stupid to consider humans a threat like most wild birds do. Either way, he actually fell asleep several times while I was carrying him around looking for his nest/parents(we have a LOT of sparrows around here. Determining who was the correct mommy and daddy sparrow was pretty difficult). Finally found the appropriate place in the beams of one of our barn stalls.
GETTING him back in the nest was even more fun. I needed to get on a ladder. 1) I, for reasons unknown to even myself, am TERRIFIED of being on ladders. Don't really know why. I have zero fear of heights whatsoever and actually love being off the ground, but ladders are a NOPE. 2) The ground in the stalls is neither even nor stable, so the ladder was wobbly as shit. 3) The donkey kept trying to 'help'. Being on top of an already wobbly ladder with a donkey mouthing and tipping it every five seconds isn't fun. I actually wasn't worried about my safety at the time though. All my attempts to shoo Donkey away and threaten to turn him into donkey burgers was more aimed at the fear of what would happen to that baby sparrow(who was sleeping in my hoodie pocket at the time to make adjusting and climbing the ladder easier) if I fell. Helpless baby animals trigger my mommy instinct more than actual human children do. =A=; Anyways, finally got the little featherball up to the nest, which he promptly hopped right on into without a second thought, so I'm assuming I got the right nest. I sure hope so because mama bird was cussing me out something awful nearby. It's probably for the best that I don't speak sparrow. :/
I feel like I should be doing this professionally ....
And so today I got to do my annual unplanned baby bird rescue(yes, I do mean annual. I've had to rescue baby birds every year without fail since we moved here like 7 years ago). Got to save this baby sparrow from the chickens. Chickens are omnivores and opportunists when it comes to eating habits. If it's small enough that it can be torn into manageable chunks, they WILL try to eat it. Chickens are kinda rude that way. :P Anyways, I spotted this cute little guy in the grass right about the same time the hens did, and once they started approaching him everything in his body language told me he was thinking 'this is it this is how I die. 0n0;'
The hens had gotten a couple of pecks in by the time I got close enough to intervene, and let me tell you, a baby bird screaming in fear/pain will make your heart go 'ow'. The little guy was actually pretty calm once he was in my hands though. I suppose because it was better than the alternative. That or he was just too young and stupid to consider humans a threat like most wild birds do. Either way, he actually fell asleep several times while I was carrying him around looking for his nest/parents(we have a LOT of sparrows around here. Determining who was the correct mommy and daddy sparrow was pretty difficult). Finally found the appropriate place in the beams of one of our barn stalls.
GETTING him back in the nest was even more fun. I needed to get on a ladder. 1) I, for reasons unknown to even myself, am TERRIFIED of being on ladders. Don't really know why. I have zero fear of heights whatsoever and actually love being off the ground, but ladders are a NOPE. 2) The ground in the stalls is neither even nor stable, so the ladder was wobbly as shit. 3) The donkey kept trying to 'help'. Being on top of an already wobbly ladder with a donkey mouthing and tipping it every five seconds isn't fun. I actually wasn't worried about my safety at the time though. All my attempts to shoo Donkey away and threaten to turn him into donkey burgers was more aimed at the fear of what would happen to that baby sparrow(who was sleeping in my hoodie pocket at the time to make adjusting and climbing the ladder easier) if I fell. Helpless baby animals trigger my mommy instinct more than actual human children do. =A=; Anyways, finally got the little featherball up to the nest, which he promptly hopped right on into without a second thought, so I'm assuming I got the right nest. I sure hope so because mama bird was cussing me out something awful nearby. It's probably for the best that I don't speak sparrow. :/