The birds...

The temperature was in the three-digit range and my son was cooling off in the lake when a few friends decided to drop in for an afternoon snack. The duck bread was appreciated but also too much of a temptation for the upstairs neighbors. Once they crashed the party the ducks found another place to chill out. I felt a little like Tippi Hedren. July 19th

Becoming a member made sense…

And again we found ourselves at the Mystic Aquarium. We were driving past on our way home and we needed to feed the cow nose rays one more time. Well, we needed to feed the cow nose rays, feed the birds of the outback, see the XD theater movie again, and build a few more virtual critter cams. Oh, and I had to take more jellyfish photos. They amaze me! I would love to show you photos of the cow nosed rays but getting a still shot of them while they were swimming under water that was being churned up by hundreds of hands trying to feed them was next to impossible. I have some very lovely blurry blobs that I could show you… maybe next time.

I love the seagull. He is there, on his trashcan perch, everyday. He is also huge but that makes sense since he is so very well fed! July 8th

Blackbird fly...

There are two posts for today. This one starts with a broken blackbird and ends at the place where they could fix him. The poor, startled bird found himself on his back in our driveway this morning. Well, that is where we found him.

Flashback: A few years ago, a morning dove had fallen from his nest onto our driveway and was seriously injured. After many phone calls, we found a vet who would help us. She told us that she transfers all her non-pet avian charges to the Raptor Trust. We drove to central New Jersey to see the place and were so impressed that we have gone back many times since. They are a nonprofit organization that cares for wounded birds of prey. Some of their charges that could not be returned to the wild are permanent residents, lovingly cared for and lovely to learn about. They can explain it so much better. Check them out here: http://theraptortrust.org/

Flashback back?: We gently transferred our blackbird to a roomy shoebox with holes punched in the top (In our haste, we used the one for the sandals I needed to return, rats!) and headed straight to the Raptor Trust. Our bird made it there fine and a sweet volunteer started caring for him as soon as we walked in the door. There are veterinarians that donate their time and many others volunteer to care for the birds and the upkeep of the grounds and buildings. Everyone there was so kind. My son bonded with the woman running the gift shop that day. We don’t know if our bird will make it but he is in the best place to try.

In the 30 minutes we were there, a family brought in another blackbird with a broken wing and a couple arrived after saving a red tailed hawk from a local highway. He had a broken wing too! Spring is a busy season at the Raptor Trust but they are up for the challenge. If you care to help them, there is a donation page on their site. If you live close enough, go visit. It is unique place with unique people doing wonderful things. June 26th