Yesterday, I was asked by the SSPCA if I would care for a baby not-quite-fledged starling, called Boris.
Boris (Or LD, as he is known in this house) is always hungry.
I am not sure how old LD is – the SSPCA lady said she had been looking after him for what felt like a lifetime. Worse than a baby!
We laughed and I naively said “Surely not”.
And after 24 hours of caring for LD, I have to agree.
I am exhausted.
Every ten minutes or so, using tweezers, I drop in bits of vitamin soaked beef mince into the gaping little yellow mouth.
I have also set up a redundant iPod playing starling songs on a loop!
LD loves that. He sits between the two hinged speakers, settles down and listens to his compatriots.
Of course, as usual, I am on a vertical starling-baby-learning-curve. One thing I know – no worms – they have parasites.
LD slept well through the night. Last night he slept from 10:30 to 07:30 easily. Somewhere it says on the interweb that starling babies can sleep for 12 hours. I hold onto this thought.
This morning, I put LD in his larger cage to sit in the sunshine on the windowsill. Sunshine is good but LD needs to be warm at all times so he can’t go outside. At night, LD is in his little box (not the best catch) in a cage (two better catches) with a towel over it in front of the Rayburn while I worry in my bed, dreaming of dead starlings and also keeping an eye on Wussums (the cat), who is being remarkably cool about this new event.
Today LD and I went into the indoor school. There are many starlings shouting and LD sat and listened while I rode Haakon who has in six weeks managed to completely lose his tölt. Haakon is fat and living in Fat-Fighters Field, much to his fury.
LD = Lovey Dovey = Big Bang!
I did want to call him Blue Birdie after my favourite book but BeAnne’s little ears prick up at the Birdie word!
Awww, they know who to bring injured animals/birds to for rehab!
As usual you have set up such a perfect “home” for LD, I don’t know what else he could want.
(I will warn you; our “fledgling” starlings grow to be larger than their parents (you can tell them by the bright yellow beak), and even at that stage, follow their parents around, begging for food. Just so you know… 🙂
You’re a soft touch, Frances!! I do think he’s sweet with his fluffy feathers.
It is just adorable how he sits and listens to the birds calling on the speakers. <3
Oh my goodness, another mouth to feed! (and feed, and feed) No surprise that LD wound up at Thordale! Cute lil feller. Hope he survives and flourishes (and then joins the local starling flock). Best wishes!
PS Where does one find “starling songs” anyway? You might want to show him the youtube video of a “murmuration of starlings” in Ireland, just so he knows what’s expected of him when he grows up.
Here is the link for LD, by Sophie Windsor Clive & Liberty Smith, IslandsAndRivers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRNqhi2ka9k
If you want to be warmed and amazed at the latent talents of LD, see if you can find the book, “Arnie, The Darling Starling.” It is a wonderful book!
LD looks to be doing very well indeed. He reminds me of my rescued pigeon who would sit on my shoulder when he/she was a baby and when he started to fly he would land on my head. He is over 2 years old now and has never forgotten his home – he comes back every day about 3 or 4 times (although now he doesn’t land on my head). He has got lots of friends of his own variety now and brings them all home with him!! He’s our success story.