Birding - Up Close: The orphaned Goldfinch eats!

Birding - Up Close: The orphaned Goldfinch eats!

Birding - Up Close

Birding - Up Close

How to feed this little orphan?

It had been a few hours since the little bird had eaten. So with this emergency in mind I quickly searched my birds books for clues on what to do. (this time period was long before the internet) I found a picture and a brief note of a person feeding a little orphaned bird an egg and milk mixture with an eye dropper. What a good idea and I was sure she would open her beak just like the bird in the book. She did not know about the bird in the book but kept her beak firmly closed and stared at me as if she was thinking, "My mommy told me not to accept food from strangers." I resisted the strong urge to show her the picture in the book and decided to try to see and feel things from her point of view. As I was looking at this poor little waif I found myself calling her 'Tweety'. The name Tweety stuck.

First, in trying to get a 'bird point of view', I had to think of the kind of home she had. Well, a Goldfinch nest is a compact, cozy, cup-like structure lined with plenty of thistle fluff. So maybe if I could make Tweety more 'comfy' she would eat. I decided to take her out of the cage and carefully cupped my hands around her leaving only enough room for her beak to stick out. There - I re-created a nest for her the best that I could and she responded beautifully. She stopped struggling - settled down and was soon fast asleep. It was such a thrill to have this little one feeling safe again in what must have felt was a warm nest. Soon my arms were aching from keeping so still and it brought thought back to that still unsolved problem - feeding Tweety.

The Day I Met the Orphaned Goldfinch

The world of bird watching is like reading a good book. Like any good book I have never been able to put the living book down. Often I have become involved with the characters. I will never forget one character who cemented my interest in the world of bird watching forever.

It was a rainy, windy Tuesday in August that my soft-hearted husband, Larry, brought an orphan home in his lunch bucket. We had on our hands a very frightened, dedraggled house guest. If she could talk, her story may have sounded like this:
"The day started normally by Mother bringing an early breakfast and all was well and comfortable in my cozy nest. Then a storm with wind and rain and suddenly I found myself falling, falling out of my nest with my comfy nest falling in many pieces around me. I do not have very many feathers therefore I could not fly so I started walking and calling for my Mother but she did not come. Then a giant picked me up and put me in a place where he keeps his food. I must be very brave and not cry anymore."

No time for formal introductions as the priority was arranging for a safe, warm place for our new guest. We gently transferred her into a small bird cage and put her in the guest room where it was quiet and dark for her to rest. Meanwhile we tried to figure out what to do about the next pressing problem - feeding her! What? How?

Introduction to my life interest in Birding

My life long interest in birds really began in the early 1970's when a bird was spotted out by our old apple tree that we were unable to identify. It was this bird's "perkiness" that first attracted our attention to it. His sprightly manner stirred in us the desire to learn the answer to the question, "Who is this lively, handsome, red-eyed bird?"