TNFR...So you all post pics of kids and Grandies...I have wildlife!

Couldn't you get her to a zoo? I am so worried what will happen to all my little tikes that

jump up on my lap for peanuts and the raccoons that are starving to death (we even bought a 10,000 pound bag of dog food to supplement what we give them)if we move.

Maybe it should be a condition of sale that the new owners care for her.

 
Blackie is a beautiful, big WILD bird...I want to emphasize "wild". The last thing>>>

I would want for her is to be caged. I feel sorry for her (every time she lays eggs) that she doesn't have a mate. She is free to fly out whenever she feels like it, eats copious amounts of vegetation underneath the water in the lake to keep her beautiful figure. She thinks of the lettuce as candy. She just likes to "talk" to people and hang out. If DH is pulling weeds, she pulls too. When he was replacing the fence after the storm, she put that long neck into the post holes and removed dirt. She's a great buddy but she is a free, wild bird. We are just fortunate that she has chosen us to spend some of her time with.

 
I agree with you. If she is wild she needs to stay that way, and if she's

laying eggs, I doubt she's having boyfriend problems! Big, beautiful and wild - how much more attractive can you get?

 
Orchid, that is just

so wonderful. You have a true gift with her sharing her time with you. It is like magic isn't it? I once made friends with a racoon who became my buddy. He would show up and I would talk to him, and give hims some things to eat. The first time I gave him some food, he looked at it, obviously with great interest but wouldn't eat. Then I remembered about them washing their hands and went for a dish of water. That was just the thing. Rocky washhed his little hands and started patting the food and licking it off his hands.

 
Beautiful suset Orchid. Is that where you live now?...

and I kind of got the impression that she had been someone's pet and was domesticated, like a cat - wanting independence but relying on her human buddies for social interaction and some food, etc. No, I wouldn't cage her either.

Do keep us posted!

 
Yes Dawn, that sunset was just a couple of days ago. We live right>>>

at the edge of the Everglades so we really get some pretty ones. Along with iguanas, turtles and every kind of bird you could have. By the way, we haven't seen Blackie for 2 days and every time she doesn't show up for several days we always wonder if this is it...has she decided to move on? But she always shows up again and I'm sure she will this time also. She just likes us. I'm glad you all have enjoyed seeing her as much as we have.:0)

Edit: If anyone is reading this, she showed up for lunch.

 
i would have been heartbroken, too. starlings are pretty resilient birds, hopefully they're happily

exploring their new world with the good headstart you've given them. incidentally, if you're a reader you might like 'raven's end' by ben gadd - a neat novel for someone who loves birds and their personalities.

 
Clothwld...

I wouldn't worry about the babies. I have spent endless hours watching these guys and have learned that they watch each other, regardless of family, and do what needs to be done to get food.

You taught them where the food goes and they would have doubtless, watched others to see where they get it. These spring babies whine endlessly for more feeding from their parents, but when the parents aren't looking, they just calm down and get the food themselves. these guys are real survivors.

I don't know where this term 'bird brain' came from but it must relate only to size and not to capacity.

 
I enjoyed your story. Reminds me of the lonely surviving mudhen I befriended after Ivan blew thru.

I was so stunned that after 9 months, a female found him and they 'got together'. The mudhen actually looks very similar, but without the glamour.

 
Completely NFR - but your "bird brain" comment reminded me of one of my favorite professors

who studies bird brains in relation to learning and memory.

She would make jokes that being called a bird brain was actually quite a compliment

There is a famous study called Clark's Nutcrackers - fascinating how birds use spatial learning in seed storage and retrieval.

(Does talking about this make me an egghead?) smileys/smile.gif

http://www.csulb.edu/web/labs/lee/research_activities.htm

 
Well, interesting too. I have been thinking about this lately as my

cardinals did not appear for a week. First time in a year. I was actually wondering if they take a sabbatical for a week to do inventory and rearrange all the peanuts.

Then the chipmunks have me convinced that this is what they do as the cold weather approaches. there seems to be a shutdown time when they switch from eating to storing. I just wonder what those storage houses look like.

Thanks for the article Lisa. We have so much to learn from these little guys. Now I have to go find out when and why birds store and which ones.

 
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