![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Another battle I'm going to lose...
Okay, so the storm that blew my table off the deck had another victim. A blue jay's nest got blown out of one of our trees. One of the nestlings didn't make it, but the other did. It's getting wing feathers, but not quite flying yet. The kids came and got me, and thanks to the Amazing Kitten Resuscitation Adventure, fully expected me to pull a hat out of a rabbit and Do Something.
So I did.
"Okay, y'all, back away from the bird. Where's the nest? Oh, on the ground. Okay, leave the baby alone. No, I promise, the parents are around, but they aren't going to come down here while y'all are standing around, kneeling over their baby. No, they won't smell you on the baby, birds mostly have little to very poor senses of smell. No, we can't bring the bird in the house. Come on, let's go inside and give the parents a chance to take care of their baby."
Well, apparently, I didn't make it clear enough. My kids thought Mama and Papa Blue Jay would actually PICK their baby up and fly it to a new nest. I said, no, this is a prime opportunity for them to teach their baby how to hunt for itself. Leave the baby alone.
I told them that hand raised birds very rarely survive into adulthood.
I pointed out that it is illegal in our state for someone to keep a wild bird as a pet unless they are a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.
I told them again that the parents were nearby, and that they would be watching over their baby, please put it down, leave it alone.
The results?
Yes, that is the Impertinent Daughter, with Scallop on her shoulder. Yes, the damn bird has a name. No, we do not have it in a cage in the house. It is in a NEST on the back porch. I wanted to put it back where it was found, so that Mama Bird and Papa Bird could have a chance to deal with it, but I was outvoted.
Oh well. At least it isn't a mockingbird, and won't divebomb me.
...sigh...
So I did.
"Okay, y'all, back away from the bird. Where's the nest? Oh, on the ground. Okay, leave the baby alone. No, I promise, the parents are around, but they aren't going to come down here while y'all are standing around, kneeling over their baby. No, they won't smell you on the baby, birds mostly have little to very poor senses of smell. No, we can't bring the bird in the house. Come on, let's go inside and give the parents a chance to take care of their baby."
Well, apparently, I didn't make it clear enough. My kids thought Mama and Papa Blue Jay would actually PICK their baby up and fly it to a new nest. I said, no, this is a prime opportunity for them to teach their baby how to hunt for itself. Leave the baby alone.
I told them that hand raised birds very rarely survive into adulthood.
I pointed out that it is illegal in our state for someone to keep a wild bird as a pet unless they are a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.
I told them again that the parents were nearby, and that they would be watching over their baby, please put it down, leave it alone.
The results?
Yes, that is the Impertinent Daughter, with Scallop on her shoulder. Yes, the damn bird has a name. No, we do not have it in a cage in the house. It is in a NEST on the back porch. I wanted to put it back where it was found, so that Mama Bird and Papa Bird could have a chance to deal with it, but I was outvoted.
Oh well. At least it isn't a mockingbird, and won't divebomb me.
...sigh...