A Bird In The Hand...

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TopRamen

TopRamen

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Today I rescued this Catbird from one of my Cats.
She had'nt had time to molest it, and I saw her right as she came out of the wood with it, so I spooked her and she dropped it.
After about 5 minutes warming up in my hands and a quick trip inside so I could snap this Pic', I took it over to a pine tree in the front yard and let it hop to a branch. I watched for another minute then it flew up and away across the street.
My Cats kill plenty of stuff, but when I can intervene safely I do because it makes me feel good. Sometimes a small bird or critter is wounded and will die suffering from the Cats play, so I put them out of their pain and kill them swiftly.
Anyhow, here's the Catbird that I rescued today.:)

Forgot to mention, my Mom is big into nature stuff and used to be into Audobon stuff, and used to send me to nature camps for the summer when I was little, so I have a lot of experience handling birds and small animals.
The Cat was'nt mad at me, because about 30 minutes later she came in and I gave her a can of wet food.:)

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gray_Catbird/videos

Little Bird 2015-06-09 001.jpg

Alans Graduation and Grey Catbird 2015-06-10 012.jpg
 
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USAFmissileer said:
Awesome pic TR! Glad you rescued that bird!

Mike
Click to expand...

Thanks.
You don't feel like you make much off a difference in the world when you leave the Military, so you learn to cherish the small victories.:wink:
Every act of mercy is a plea for redemption, but the threat is gone, and I only wish to live in peace, regardless of my readiness to go to war at a moments notice.
Life is far too precious, and must be handled as such.
At least until we get Bionics anyway.:wink:

[video=youtube;i9_hCjcFNO0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9_hCjcFNO0[/video]
 
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Normally, I would not subject the Bird to going indoors, just so that I could share a picture, but last week, I failed to get a pic' of something that was quite rare and beautiful, so I learned to look at all of them as that.
Man!, if I'de only been filming or at least getting a Pic' of the last Bird.:facepalm:
 
Ruby throated trapped in breeze way summer 2013. She took a breather and flew away after a minute or two after rescue.

"Until he extends the circle of compassion to all living creatures, man himself will not find peace." Albert Schweitzer

IMG_3829.jpg
 
Ruby-Throated HBs make it all the way up here too, and they are AMAZING!

Awesome Pic'!!!
 
Very cool story Top...
Years ago ----
We pulled into the driveway.. All 4 of us got out of the car..
My daughter Cynthia ( 14 or 15 I guess ) was the first up the back steps,, no one else was at the top of the steps with her,, the door still locked..
A Blue jay flew over and landed right on top of her head,, unbelievable...
She froze ,, panicked,, was about to scream,, I told her sternly "Shush" and she just squealed,, frozen,, I'd give anything to have a pic of her facial expression with the Jay on her head,, she was most definitely not happy.. Jays like all healthy birds usually look well groomed,, this one looked quite disheveled..
I told her walk slowly and gently down the stairs,, be very careful not to let your head bounce and come with me to the garage.. She walked over to the garage and walked in.. The Jay flew off her head and landed on a shelf.. I put 2 pie tins on a table,, one with bird seed and one with an inch of water in it.. The Jay imediatly to a reallk good bath,, soaked my tool cabinet and everything else around the table.. I hung out with it with the door wide open for over an hour,, it ate and didn't look to leave.. I closed the door at bed time and went in the house ( left a small light on so it doesn't wind up getting hurt in the dark).. The next day he looked much better..
I was in and out all day,, the door was wide open all day,, he took another bath.. I saw him eat a few times.. He stayed.. The next day all the same but mid day he left.. Flew out into a tree,, hung around a while ,, didn't seem in a great rush,, looked a lot better for sure.. And then left......
Was a big joke ever since----- CYNTHIA------- DON'T MOVE----- SHUSHHHHHHH..........

Teddy
 
TopRamen said:
Today I rescued this Catbird from one of my Cats.
She had'nt had time to molest it, and I saw her right as she came out of the wood with it, so I spooked her and she dropped it.
After about 5 minutes warming up in my hands and a quick trip inside so I could snap this Pic', I took it over to a pine tree in the front yard and let it hop to a branch. I watched for another minute then it flew up and away across the street.
My Cats kill plenty of stuff, but when I can intervene safely I do because it makes me feel good. Sometimes a small bird or critter is wounded and will die suffering from the Cats play, so I put them out of their pain and kill them swiftly.
Anyhow, here's the Catbird that I rescued today.:)

Forgot to mention, my Mom is big into nature stuff and used to be into Audobon stuff, and used to send me to nature camps for the summer when I was little, so I have a lot of experience handling birds and small animals.
The Cat was'nt mad at me, because about 30 minutes later she came in and I gave her a can of wet food.:)

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gray_Catbird/videos

View attachment 265228

View attachment 265234
Click to expand...


Great story, Top. Cats are amazing hunters, but I used to try to save the victims too. In Southern California, the cats used to bring home lots of lizards. It's always fun when the cat lets a live lizard loose in the house.

I'm glad you were able to rescue the bird. Kind of funny that the bird caught by your cat was a Catbird. Maybe next time your cat will bring you a Catmouse.
 
onebadhawk said:
Very cool story Top...
Years ago ----
We pulled into the driveway.. All 4 of us got out of the car..
My daughter Cynthia ( 14 or 15 I guess ) was the first up the back steps,, no one else was at the top of the steps with her,, the door still locked..
A Blue jay flew over and landed right on top of her head,, unbelievable...
She froze ,, panicked,, was about to scream,, I told her sternly "Shush" and she just squealed,, frozen,, I'd give anything to have a pic of her facial expression with the Jay on her head,, she was most definitely not happy.. Jays like all healthy birds usually look well groomed,, this one looked quite disheveled..
I told her walk slowly and gently down the stairs,, be very careful not to let your head bounce and come with me to the garage.. She walked over to the garage and walked in.. The Jay flew off her head and landed on a shelf.. I put 2 pie tins on a table,, one with bird seed and one with an inch of water in it.. The Jay imediatly to a reallk good bath,, soaked my tool cabinet and everything else around the table.. I hung out with it with the door wide open for over an hour,, it ate and didn't look to leave.. I closed the door at bed time and went in the house ( left a small light on so it doesn't wind up getting hurt in the dark).. The next day he looked much better..
I was in and out all day,, the door was wide open all day,, he took another bath.. I saw him eat a few times.. He stayed.. The next day all the same but mid day he left.. Flew out into a tree,, hung around a while ,, didn't seem in a great rush,, looked a lot better for sure.. And then left......
Was a big joke ever since----- CYNTHIA------- DON'T MOVE----- SHUSHHHHHHH..........

Teddy
Click to expand...


Thats a cool story too, Teddy. I've heard that Jays, Ravens and Crows are all related. They are all very smart and some of them like to interact with people. My dad likes to hide peanuts around his yard, and there are a few Jays that come every day to hunt for peanuts. They're fun to watch. I'm sure your Jay appreciated a helping hand during his time of need and went on to make a successful bird of himself. I hope your daughter has gotten over the trauma...
 
Until I had it fixed a few years ago, about once or twice a year birds would get down my chimney and into the living room. One of the first times this happened, a young female starling got down the chimney, panicked, and flew into the glass front door, stunning herself. My white cat quickly ran over, picked the bird up in his mouth, and strutted around like he'd just made a big capture. I was about to rescue the bird when she came to and started to struggle. The cat dropped the bird like he'd been shocked, then ran off and hid under the couch. The bird flew haltingly to the door again, which I quickly opened and let her make her escape. Some great hunter the cat turned out to be!

I've also found there seems to be a "universal" vocalization cats make whenever they see a snake. Somehow snakes get into the house from time to time, and I can always tell be the sound the cats make. I pulled into the drive one day after work and saw a cat nearby staring into the grass. As I was getting out of the car, I heard the cat (not one of mine, mine are all indoor tigers and lions), the cat started making the same sound. Sure enough, it had found a small garter snake. I shooed the cat away and carefully picked up the snake and turned it loose in the far corner of the back yard. Snakes are one of the wild critters I want to keep around, they eat bugs like crickets and other pests.
 
Nice pic and great story Top. My cats are hunters as well and bring home all kinds of "gifts"for us.
I like Catbirds, they are great mimics and copy many other birds calls. I have one sitting outside my window right now going through his/her "track list" of calls, Blue Jay, Starling, Robbin, Chickadee, Evening Thrush, Oriole, Nuthatch and Catbird. Sometimes he does the back-up beeper from the garbage truck too.
 
ThirstyBarbarian said:
Thats a cool story too, Teddy. I've heard that Jays, Ravens and Crows are all related. They are all very smart and some of them like to interact with people. My dad likes to hide peanuts around his yard, and there are a few Jays that come every day to hunt for peanuts. They're fun to watch. I'm sure your Jay appreciated a helping hand during his time of need and went on to make a successful bird of himself. I hope your daughter has gotten over the trauma...
Click to expand...

I always put bird seed out in my yard Eric,,
And for sure the Blue Jays are the most aggressive by far of any of the birds around here...
They're definitely not friendly to other birds at all..
That's why I was surprised that the Jay tolerated us,,
Heck, I was going to say being so close to us and being indoors in the garage,,
but the thing landed right on my daughters head,,
right out in the open,, this wasn't an accident..
Maybe your right,, they're not quite as skittish around people as you might be led to believe....

Teddy
 
The toughest thing to catch that my Cats brought into the house was an Eastern Flying Squirrel.
Took me three hours, beginning at 3:00AM.
Eventually I was able to corner it in the bathtub and throw a towel over it an bring it back outside.
Every time I tried to pick it up it tried to bite me, even though it would let me pet it.
 
Nice one...

I once caught a hummingbird that had knocked itself out on a window after accidentally flying inside the house. Got him outside and he was able to take off ok (but not before he left a little something).
 
On my way out of work last week, I saw a baby bird in the middle of a path, presumably having just survived its first flight. Normally you're advised to leave them alone as the parents are probably somewhere nearby and will rescue the little one, but this one was out in the open and a sitting target for any passing crow or seagull, not to mention in danger of being trodden on, either by someone nasty or by someone who just wasn't looking where he was going. So I carefully grabbed the bird, wrapping my fingers around it just tightly enough to be sure of not dropping it and definitely not tightly enough to squeeze; the legs certainly weren't constrained because the bird was moving them as if either struggling or wondering where the ground had gone. Then I put it on an embankment just to the side and left it.

A little way along the path, I realised I'd forgotten something. I went back in the hope of finding the bird again but it had gone; either it had found its own way into cover or its parents had indeed come to the rescue. And that's why you're not getting to see a photo of it. :D

But the most amusing incident didn't involve me directly. It was many years ago and it involved a cockatoo which had escaped from a pet shop inside a mall, and was now sitting on a ledge which ran around the pet shop above door and window level. The owner had got a ladder, climbed up, then the cockatoo shuffled a couple of feet to the side so he couldn't reach it. He climbed back down, moved the ladder to where the bird was now, climbed up, and the cockatoo shuffled back again. This went on for some time. :lol:
 
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adrian said:
On my way out of work last week, I saw a baby bird in the middle of a path, presumably having just survived its first flight. Normally you're advised to leave them alone as the parents are probably somewhere nearby and will rescue the little one, but this one was out in the open and a sitting target for any passing crow or seagull, not to mention in danger of being trodden on, either by someone nasty or by someone who just wasn't looking where he was going. So I carefully grabbed the bird, wrapping my fingers around it just tightly enough to be sure of not dropping it and definitely not tightly enough to squeeze; the legs certainly weren't constrained because the bird was moving them as if either struggling or wondering where the ground had gone. Then I put it on an embankment just to the side and left it.

A little way along the path, I realised I'd forgotten something. I went back in the hope of finding the bird again but it had gone; either it had found its own way into cover or its parents had indeed come to the rescue. And that's why you're not getting to see a photo of it. :D

But the most amusing incident didn't involve me directly. It was many years ago and it involved a cockatoo which had escaped from a pet shop inside a mall, and was now sitting on a ledge which ran around the pet shop above door and window level. The owner had got a ladder, climbed up, then the cockatoo shuffled a couple of feet to the side so he couldn't reach it. He climbed back down, moved the ladder to where the bird was now, climbed up, and the cockatoo shuffled back again. This went on for some time. :lol:
Click to expand...

Birds are fun. I once went out with a girl from Britain, and she was horrified of all birds.
What a lousy phobia to have, as birds can be so enjoyable.
 
I have always had cats and dogs around. Over the years we have had a a couple of cats that were quite adept at feeding themselves. One in particular would catch all manner of critters and bring them to our screened in back porch as "gifts" for the family and leave them remarkably unharmed. One memorable gift was when caught a young crow. I had heard that crows were very social birds but the experience of a murder of crows surrounding the back yard was a surprising and unexpected demonstration of social behavior.
 
zipstrip said:
Ruby throated trapped in breeze way summer 2013. She took a breather and flew away after a minute or two after rescue.

"Until he extends the circle of compassion to all living creatures, man himself will not find peace." Albert Schweitzer
Click to expand...


Wow, deja vu all over again. At work several years ago, a hummingbird was trapped in the breezeway when the roll-up door shut it in. It was too weak to fly and would have died, but I picked it up and took it inside to the kitchen and mixed some sugar in water. The hummingbird sucked it up and a few minutes later, I could feel its wings beating in my cupped hands. I took it outside and opened my hands and the hummingbird flew off into the blue yonder. It was very gratifying
 
I don't have a cool and heroic story on how I saved one, but speaking of hummingbirds...I thought I saw one feeding on some flowers in my yard, right by my sidewalk, but something just wasn't right. The wings, the size?! Did not compute. I ended up getting a pic of it, and realized after a quick Google search, it was a hummingbird -moth-! I didn't even know they existed! If I can find the pic again, I'll post it.
 
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McKailas Dad said:
I don't have a cool and heroic story on how I saved one, but speaking of hummingbirds...I thought I saw one feeding on some flowers in my yard, right by my sidewalk, but something just wasn't right. The wings, the size?! Did not compute. I ended up getting a pic of it, and realized after a quick Google search, it was a hummingbird -moth-! I didn't even know they existed! If I can find the pic again, I'll post it.
Click to expand...

:point::lol:


I got a Humingbird pic' here somewhere....




And just for the heck of it a Great Blue Heron Pic' that I took that I like:

 
Not the greatest pic, but it's in there, right at the top...

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1454930535.311054.jpg

This is a pic of a pic off the laptop. Im feeling too lazy to crop it. :/

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1454930649.017898.jpg

Anybody heard of a hummingbird moth? That's the -only- time I've ever seen one.
 
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I love birds and do what I can to see as many as possible. One of these days I want to get to the National Aviary in Pittsburgh (and that says a lot, being a Ravens fan :wink:). One of my favorite experiences was feeding birds at the San Diego Zoo with my family.
 

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