Update on the dove hatchling I rescued.
A month ago, I posted about a dove hatchling that was blown out of its nest during a thunderstorm. It’s sibling died and the parents didn’t come back to care for the remaining baby.
I’ve spent the last month feeding this little one baby bird food with a syringe and he’s now weaned and flying pretty well. For a week he’s spent his days in an enclosure in my backyard with food and water so that he can get used to outside sights and sounds. Yesterday I let him test his wings and he took a few hot laps around the yard before settling on a structure on my patio…coming down several times to eat and drink. I’m not going to lie…I cried in and off all day worrying about this little one. He returned into the neighbor’s maple tree several times but would come back to the patio. I was able to call him down last night and brought him in to sleep.
We ventured outside today and started the whole process again. This time, he ate and drank and went straight up to the maple tree. I called him down twice before I went to work to eat/drink before he flew off again. I came home from work after three hours to find the neighbor out in his back yard with a freaking jackhammer and my little dove (we’ve named him The Ragamuffin) was nowhere to be found.
I walked all around my yard calling for him and after a half hour or so he flew into the maple tree above my patio. A little while later he came down to eat. I scooped him up and took him inside and he’s been resting. Now that the jackhammer guy has stopped, I’ll take the ragamuffin back out to see how he does.
This is so stressful and clearly I’ve become attached. We will continue to let him outside during the day and I am sure he will venture further each day. Maybe he will come and go for a while…I hope so. One of these days he just might decide to go. I don’t know what to expect. He did more today than yesterday.
Some pics of my little dude below.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Was happy to catch one of 'my' 2 fledglings today, across the creek, having apparently learned to fish.
SUCH pleasure we get from watching their progress.
Nice job nursing the birdie and then acclimating for his eventual journey into the wild.
