Our foothill home had an extra companion this week. A little house finch fell out of its nest at George's brother's house, their mom (who has a serious soft spot for displaced baby birds) revived it from the brink of death, then brought it to me to take care of while she went out of town for a few days. Me? Nurse a baby bird back to health? I don't think I had ever seen a baby bird up close before, and now I was to hand feed the poor little thing and try to keep it alive.
Turns out it's not so hard after all. I even found it highly enjoyable. Time consuming, yes. It was almost like having a newborn baby. The dishes and laundry piled up while I responded to each and every chirp (hence the bird's name, courtesy of Aidan), and held the little bird close to my heart. Maybe a little too close. When George's mom came to pick up Little Miss Chirper, my heart sank. The rest of the day, each time I heard a bird chirping outside, or when Avery's flip flops skidded across the floor making a chirping sound, my heart leaped. Then I remembered the bird had left, and I would no longer need to feed her every thirty minutes, wipe the food from her beak, or tip toe over to see if she was still sleeping.
George's mom decided to call wildlife rescue and someone came to pick up Little Miss Chirper. If she had stayed with our family she would have been spoiled, led to believe she was human, and would stand little chance of living the life of a bird. We wouldn't want to rob her of such a unique opportunity. She must soar to higher heights, flock with her kind, and find a house suitable for her own nest. As much as we wish she could stay in our nest forever and ever, we will settle for a little place in our hearts for Little Miss Chirper.
Oh my gosh - how cute! So wonderful of you to do that...
ReplyDeletewhy am i tearing up?! :)
ReplyDeletewhat a sweet, sweet post. my kids are *rescuers*, too. if i allowed it, animals would out number humans at our house.
Love the way you update your photo header!
ReplyDeleteawwww, it kinda of reminds me of Frances; but we are keeping her. sniffle sniffle.
ReplyDeletewow, that's crazy.
ReplyDeleteYour gentle kind heart is showing, Molly, bless you for it! Love from the far north...
ReplyDeletevery sweet post. Little Chirper is precious.
ReplyDeleteI love bird stories, and I love that you and your children are writing your own. I have been a crazy bird rescuer since I was little, and often to not much success. Your happy ending is encouraging.
ReplyDeleteSo sweet. Every animal can pull on our heart strings when it is young, can't it? We have baby turkeys (poults) that Gillen is raising here as their parents weren't doing the job so well at the farm. Nicolas told us to stop loving them and advised that if we name them it should be "turkey dinner"... Yet he was the guy who almost died as a kid going out onto an awning to rescue a baby bird. Too much nature on a farm I guess.
ReplyDeletewe have a baby mourning dove hopping around under the trees. My girls keep trying to catch him but he somehow manages to hide or escape. I figure he'll be okay if he can elude my determined little girls.
ReplyDeleteYour little chirper pictures are so cute. We raised many a bird growing up and now my sister is one of the wildlife rescue people you call. She's had some pretty interesting 'pick ups' including a baby deer and a hedgehog someone let loose in the woods.
xo.
aw! Farewell sweet Ms. Chipper!
ReplyDeletei remember my mom nursing birds that had been wounded by our naughty cat. a few of them even made it! good for you - great post !
ReplyDeleteAhhhh, what an incredible opportunity. You make a good "birdie momma."
ReplyDeletehow do i keep missing these things!
ReplyDeleteso precious!!! you make a good momma all around :) your own childrne. birdies. neighborhood littles when they come into your home. good momma all around indeed.
What a good mommy you are! We have an old cowboy boot that has been turned into a bird house. A couple of weeks ago I was going to move it when I realized it was chirping. Full of baby birds!
ReplyDeleteWe went out of town and came back and they were all gone. I was a bit sad...
This is so sweet; birdie mommy.
ReplyDeleteOh so sweet and so good to take care of it. I have a soft spot for wee critters too... so it's always great to see stories like this!
ReplyDeleteI just love her! And I just love you for taking care of her!
ReplyDeleteIt was very cool to see a baby bird up close. That was a first for me! What a wonderful opportunity.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm having the same problem with Google Reader ;) I didn't know you had a new header, either.