a letter from Pacific Wildlife Project

HI Andrea, I am very sorry to hear that your little mocker did not survive the night. I wish we had been able to get back to you sooner. The economic crisis has taken its toll on wildlife and has left small, independent organizations like us without funds or adequate help. As such, we are struggling to meet the demands of the season and to effectively handle the call load.

I do want you to know that your baby should have been able to survive that period of time without a problem even though you were not able to get treatment for him right away. It is likely that the injury you saw was a fatal one. If cat caught, birds usually die within the first 24 hours and there is nothing that can be done except to keep comfortable to prevent further suffering. You were able to accomplish that and , sadly, it is sometimes the best that can be done. Internal injuries cannot be treated nor can they be detected. Because the baby died within that short period, I am guessing that some internal injuries had to be present. Nevertheless, it is heart wrenching to see the baby succumb and we share your grief and disappointment.

I hope you will not be discouraged by this event. Rest assured that you did the right thing and you made this bird's last moments warm and comfortable. The kindness of people like you make the world a better place. Thank you for all you did! Please keep the attached rescuer response / instruction on hand for your next rescue (it happens). Hopefully, it will help you in the future.

Warm Regards,

Linda McLeod
Director, Pacific Wildlife Project
director@pacificwildlife.org

saying goodbye and celebrating life

Natalie got a bit sick last night so I decided that she would stay home from school today. While I was trying to plan our day a bit I was told that Junie, the baby mockingbird, had passed away during the night. I had to break the news to Nat but she did very well with the news even through her sadness. I was very proud of her and I told her we could bury Junie next to Fred the hamster. After our breakfast we got ready to go in yard and Nat began right away digging the new little grave.

She wanted to be able to put Junie in the grave and I made sure she put on gloves before handling him. She gently put him in and said goodbye. After putting the dirt back over she started looking around for things to put on top of the grave.

She gathered a few pine cones, rocks, leaves and a magnolia flower. She amazed me as she took each item out of her bag and placed them on the grave saying something with each thing. The one that caught my attention is when she placed the first pine cone and said "the pine cone of security". Wow. So she she continued on with each item and I had to help her with a few when she couldn't think of anything else to say.

She talked about life and death and about God. It's amazing the things children grasp. Afterwards, she looked up at the clouds and noticed how quickly the clouds were coming in and said that God was moving the clouds...

Junie's farewell place.

Watering the graves, something she likes to do.

Us together, just me and my girl...

a little mockingbird...

Late last night my brother found an injured baby bird which appears to be a mockingbird. He actually rescued it from luke our cat.  We made him a little makeshift home and I just prayed that he would make it through the night. 

This morning I went to check on him and thankfully, he is still here (as I am typing this, I can hear his little chirps)! Unfortunately, as I was taking Natalie to school, I saw another baby bird, sprawled out dead on the driveway. Nattie didn't see this but my heart sank. As I returned, I saw on the other side of the lawn, another sibling who was also dead. What happened here? How did they all fall out of their nest?

I feel bad about the two lost ones but I am hoping that I can do my best to take care of this little guy. To restore him to health and long life hopefully. I don't know if Junie (i named him after the month) is old enough to feed himself (or herself for that matter) on his own. I am hoping he comes to trust me so that I can help. If anyone has any suggestions or recommendations that would help me, I would greatly appreciate it...