Crow Follow-Up

Today I learned that the crow, known to us as Crowley, was found by and rejoined his crow family.

According to Lisa, a building employee, Crowley stayed in the garden for a little while, then went to the parking area.  When traffic appeared, he flew onto a car and then onto trellis work.  He stayed on the vertical trellis for about 6 hours, looking like a decoration.  As it got dark, he settled into a planter on the wall.  The next morning, after much cawing and commotion, he left with his family.

It is nice to have a rescue story with a happy ending.

Being The Bird Lady Strikes Again

I'm the "bird lady" in our building.  Any and all injured, dazed or confused birds are brought to  me for TLC. 


Today I was given a young crow with an injured toe. The bleeding has stopped and he (?) is asleep on a towel on my bathroom sink. I am sure that he is able to fly.  The window is WIDE open and he has no inclination to fly away, even when standing on my arm at the window sill. I think that rest is the best thing I can do for him now. What food will he want?  Grapes and small bits of rye bread are being ignored.  A little chopped meat was equally unwelcome.  

He made himself at home, tucked his head under his wing and took a nap.  Time passed and we had our dinner and returned to check on the bird.  Not on the sink.  He flew to the window sill where he has now been for the last three hours.

If he is still there in the morning, I think I'll treat him to a trip to the zoo.  (If he enjoys that, then we can go to the Shedd Aquarium.)

Another Bird Photo

A week or so ago, we were having dinner outdoors at Moody's Pub. The patio is tree-shaded, a pleasant place for a burger. There are house sparrows who drop by to see what they can get from co-operative diners. We always co-operate.

We were seated near the fence, beyond which is old ivy. I put some scraps on the top of the fence and a few sparrows gathered there. One even landed on my arm. We both startled each other!

My camera has a long lag time, especially when the batteries are getting old. I was trying to get a snap of the birds checking out the food, instead I got what I call "An In-Flight Meal".

The Saga of the Pigeon

Saturday night, late, the phone rang, starting an avian adventure.

I am apparently known as the bird lady in our condo, so when a beautiful banded pigeon was found in the front yard a neighbor called me. The bird had no interest in flying away and was almost caught by a curious BIG dog.

It is a lovely bird and has a bright green band on its right leg that only seems to say "1 11".

My brother is a former vet and suggested that I let it rest for the night with plenty of food and water and try to release it in the morning.

Sunday morning I tried to release the pigeon, but it does not seem to want to leave. I took a picture of it standing in one of my flower boxes, enjoying the view.

There does seem to be an injury at the vent. Fred said to check if she is egg bound. Did not seem to be.

The band is the sort that a breeder would use to identify his own birds, not a registration. No help there. I had reached someone from the racing pigeon assoc. but because it was not a racer, he could offer no assistance.

On Monday the pigeon was released. We kept it one more day for rest and recuperation.

Before going to work we put the cage and a dish of food in the bathtub and the bird on the window sill. We watched for a while while it looked out the open window. We closed the door and let it decide. When we came home from work, it had "flown the coop" so to say.


It was a strong flyer and had a few days of gentle care.

The sweet bird cheered our world for a few days and it left in better shape than it arrived.