Baby Blue Jay
Jun. 2nd, 2008 04:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
furtechApache was barking wildly at something in the front yard a few weeks ago. At first I thought she was catching a gopher: she was barking at the ground and darting and snapping at something at the base of the front wall. I went to check it out and discovered that she was trying to impress a scrub jay nestling with her ferocity (and failing miserably: the young bird was completely unfazed by her display). I was worried that she might have injured the bird, but her border collie bite inhibition is quite good and the bird didn't even have any dog-drool on it.
I love scrub jays: I find the sound of their skrawking oddy cheerful...and they're my second favorite bird after mocking birds (I love the 24-hour songfest, especially when I'm up late working and they assure me that I'm not the last living thing on earth).
I guessed from its location that it might have fallen from the dwarf cherry tree in the front yard. I went in and got a tupperware container, some zip ties and a scrap of fur. I zipped the container to a high branch and put the bird inside. When I went to check on it later, it was out on a branch with its naked wings spread trying to cool off (heat wave-- in the 100's). Okay, mission accomplished: the bird was perching and the parents were nearby and continuing to feed it. Certainly the parents were frantic whenever the dogs or I went nearby.
When I got back later that night, there was no sign of the bird: not in the tupperware nor in any of the branches that I could see. I queried my local bird expert (Roz) and she said that based on the feathers on the wings (tips of feathers showing, but still mostly sheathed), she thought it would fledge in about 4-5 days. I hoped it was all right, but I found no sign of it in the yard or tree.
The next day, Apache was barking again and the scrub jay chick was in almost the same place as the first time I saw it: base of the wall under the cherry tree. I worried about cats and crows, so I borrowed the sprouting box (wire mesh to keep the dogs out) and stuck the jay inside with the hardware cloth pulled back (to allow the parents to continue to feed it).
I made a more elaborate "nest" this time. I took a two gallon planting container and cut the bottom off and punched holes along the bottom edge. I got more hardware cloth (1/4") and made a cone that I attached with more zip ties...the reason for the cone and not just a flat floor or a descended wall of wire was because of two concerns: it was so hot that I felt the bird needed as much airflow as possible, with a surrounding of mesh being ideal. But there was also the matter of a predicted cold snap (with possible rain), so I wanted to give it a place to take shelter if needed. I zipped another piece of fur in the sheltered section.
My thinking was that the container was deep enough that the baby jay couldn't just jump-flap out...if it was able to get out of this, it was probably fledging/could fly a little. The "faux mews" was hung securely high in the tree (even more zip ties!). I retrieved the chick from the box (parents still frantic, which was a good sign). I plopped the bird inside and was assured that it couldn't hop out.
The next day, the chick was still in its mews and the parents were still squawking. I was leaving that day for an extended stay up north, so I hoped that this set-up would succeed. If not, at least I tried. When I left about seven hours later, the bird was still pouting in the container, so I crossed my fingers and drove off.
On my return, I hoped to find an empty mews and no tiny carcass in the cage (ick)...and got my wish: the container was empty and-- the best sign of all-- there was plenty of poop! I'm pretty sure this means that the parents continued to feed it and the young bird finally got its feathers in and began its life as a squawking, flashing member of the local scrub jays.
EDIT: Thanks for the huge props! Most if the credit goes to the tenaciousness of the scrub jay parents: they were constantly around the noob chick, feeding him and "ike-ike-ing" (thanks for giving me the onomonopoeia, Okojosan!) when danger (me, dogs) were near. In fact, while I was busy making the first "nest", the chick wandered off across the driveway and I found him via his parents' ike-ing whenever I got near.
I love scrub jays: I find the sound of their skrawking oddy cheerful...and they're my second favorite bird after mocking birds (I love the 24-hour songfest, especially when I'm up late working and they assure me that I'm not the last living thing on earth).
I guessed from its location that it might have fallen from the dwarf cherry tree in the front yard. I went in and got a tupperware container, some zip ties and a scrap of fur. I zipped the container to a high branch and put the bird inside. When I went to check on it later, it was out on a branch with its naked wings spread trying to cool off (heat wave-- in the 100's). Okay, mission accomplished: the bird was perching and the parents were nearby and continuing to feed it. Certainly the parents were frantic whenever the dogs or I went nearby.
When I got back later that night, there was no sign of the bird: not in the tupperware nor in any of the branches that I could see. I queried my local bird expert (Roz) and she said that based on the feathers on the wings (tips of feathers showing, but still mostly sheathed), she thought it would fledge in about 4-5 days. I hoped it was all right, but I found no sign of it in the yard or tree.
The next day, Apache was barking again and the scrub jay chick was in almost the same place as the first time I saw it: base of the wall under the cherry tree. I worried about cats and crows, so I borrowed the sprouting box (wire mesh to keep the dogs out) and stuck the jay inside with the hardware cloth pulled back (to allow the parents to continue to feed it).
I made a more elaborate "nest" this time. I took a two gallon planting container and cut the bottom off and punched holes along the bottom edge. I got more hardware cloth (1/4") and made a cone that I attached with more zip ties...the reason for the cone and not just a flat floor or a descended wall of wire was because of two concerns: it was so hot that I felt the bird needed as much airflow as possible, with a surrounding of mesh being ideal. But there was also the matter of a predicted cold snap (with possible rain), so I wanted to give it a place to take shelter if needed. I zipped another piece of fur in the sheltered section.
My thinking was that the container was deep enough that the baby jay couldn't just jump-flap out...if it was able to get out of this, it was probably fledging/could fly a little. The "faux mews" was hung securely high in the tree (even more zip ties!). I retrieved the chick from the box (parents still frantic, which was a good sign). I plopped the bird inside and was assured that it couldn't hop out.
The next day, the chick was still in its mews and the parents were still squawking. I was leaving that day for an extended stay up north, so I hoped that this set-up would succeed. If not, at least I tried. When I left about seven hours later, the bird was still pouting in the container, so I crossed my fingers and drove off.
On my return, I hoped to find an empty mews and no tiny carcass in the cage (ick)...and got my wish: the container was empty and-- the best sign of all-- there was plenty of poop! I'm pretty sure this means that the parents continued to feed it and the young bird finally got its feathers in and began its life as a squawking, flashing member of the local scrub jays.
EDIT: Thanks for the huge props! Most if the credit goes to the tenaciousness of the scrub jay parents: they were constantly around the noob chick, feeding him and "ike-ike-ing" (thanks for giving me the onomonopoeia, Okojosan!) when danger (me, dogs) were near. In fact, while I was busy making the first "nest", the chick wandered off across the driveway and I found him via his parents' ike-ing whenever I got near.
