Introducing some of my other birds

[littlestar]

I do rescue/rehabbing with native song birds, and non-native birds. I didn't realize it until today I posted about the pigeon that was brought to me Saturday, that I had posted in the wrong place, LOL. Well anyway I would like to share some pictures with you all of some of my birds. These guys besides my beautiful pigeons, are the sweetest birds. They say human words which I have video's of some of them talking, and are so loveable. They just love the interaction with humans. Two are 17 months old, and one is 18 months old, and two are 5 and six months old, but the sixth one I'm not sure the age, I don't think its a baby. I think he's over a year old. At times I feel like a human perch for birds, LOL. Well here are some of my babies. In the one picture all six are in the cage I built. One is Ravvie with my daughter, and one is with my three oldest and me.

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Littlestar,

You sure sound like a busy lady over there with all those birds Thank you for sharing your pictures of the starlings with us, they are lovely birds full of personality

And welcome to the forum by the way

[EvilMonkey666]

wow those are some great pics and very nice birds. They look very happy!Thanks for sharing them.

[littlestar]

Thank you so much Brad. I'm a little busy, LOL. They all have their own personalities, and are really sweet. Don't try to talk to someone in the house because they will talk over you. The funniest thing they do is make sounds like my phone, I think it's the phone ringing, it's them. The little stinkers watch me pick the phone up, and will become very quiet. They are probably laughing inside at me, and saying to themselve, she fell for it. Ones name is Trouble, and fits him to a T, LOL, but you can't help but love him. I also have a disabled sparrow, her name is Lady, and she is a lady, very sweet little bird. I also have three beautiful pigeons of my own. I always wished I had a pigeon, now I have three. I'm also rehabbing some birds right now that won't be releaseable until Spring, and one sick pigeon that was brought to me on Saturday.
Mary Ann

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Mary Ann,

Yep, you really do have your hands full over there Trouble sounds like a real stinker for sure, lol It's quite amazing some of the sounds that starlings can make. I've heard that their "specialty" is phones ringing

Well, you should fit right in here on the forum with so many little charges and patients to look after. We have quite a few rehabbers on the forum but most of them deal with pigeons only. Maggie (Lady Tarheel) does or has rehabbed other birds/songbirds in the past and is a wonderful person. Terry Whatley is another and a great lady.

Good luck with the little sparrow and...

Keep those pictures coming though, we all love pictures here

[littlestar]

Thank you and your welcome EvilMonkey. They are very happy, and have to be where ever I am. They hate it when they can't see me. I have lots of pictures of my birdies.
Mary Ann

[littlestar]

Brad, I laughing because I have so many pictures of my birdies that I could picture everybody to death with them, LOL. I love sharing picture of my guys.Yes, starling do love to make sounds like a phone, or whistle at you. I don't dare bend over around my starlings, LOL. Everyone is so helpful here, especially with the pijjie that came in Saturday, that little guy was so sick, and now seems to be getting better, and hope he makes a full recovery. My children are learning about rehabbing, and hopefully when they grow up they will get into rehabbing. I know I don't have to worry about them ever hurting a bird or animal.
Here is a picture of my racing pigeon, he was hit by a 4 wheeler, and had a badly bruised leg that healed.
Mary Ann

[Reti]

Your birds are just adorable and funny. I'd love to have a starling, they are such little trouble makers LOL.
They all look so happy and healthy.
I love your racing pigeon, what a darling.
Great job you do there, your kids are very lucky.

Reti

[Trees Gray]

Hi Mary Ann,

Thank you for sharing the pictures of your birds, they are defenitely quite a joy in life, and must be alot of fun! I can just imagine picking up the phone, and finding out it was just the birds mimicking the sound of the phone. I bet you are in stitches with laughter, as well as them.

[littlestar]

Hi Reti and Treesa, Thank so much. They are a lot of fun and laughs, especially when they mimic the phone, or someone comes to the house, they will everything to get that person to come and see them, LOL. They sure are a joy, and I feel so blessed to have them in my life. Life just wouldn't be the same without them. I keep my babies very healthy, they get their wellness checks up, and if I don't like they way their acting it's off to their avian vet. Yes, starlings are little trouble makers, but I love it.

Reti, They are as sweet and loving as pijjies. I named my racer Angel, and was so happy that I got to adopt him. This one was brought to me, and checked him out for broken bones, and everything else, but they people wanted to take him back with him to nurse him. I told them what was envolved, but they wanted to take care of him, and find the owner. I called the next day and told I would take the little guy, but they still wanted to nurse him. It was like 2-3 days later I get a call from them saying they take care him, so I went and picked him up. I took all the right steps to find the owner, and it ended up I got to adopt him, the best thing that could of happened to me. The leg is finally healed, and walks normal on it. LOL, you can't tell I love birds , can you, LOL. My kids do get to help with our pigeons, starlings and disabled sparrow. I let them watch me with the ones I rehab, and I explain thing to them as I'm going along. When their old enough they can start helping me if they like.
Mary Ann

[Pidgey]

It's a magical experience, communing with them. It expands us beyond all reason. One of my favorite quotes is from Henry Beston on page 25 of THE OUTERMOST HOUSE:

"We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err, and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth."

It was written with the air of 19th century prose. Most, today, would find it too tedious to take the time to read and consider. And that is what seems to me to be the most lost now--time. When I'm with my pigeons, the pressure of time and what must be done today is forgotten and, ironically, the essence of time as it relates to simply "being" opens, as it were, a doorway to the deepest mysteries of life and the universe.

Pidgey

[Lady Tarheel]

Hi littlestar, welcome to our forum. We are very happy to have you join us in our love of birds. The primary focus, of course, is about pigeons but everyone enjoys all birds and look forward to pictures and stories.

I have rehabbed now for 12 years and when I rehabbed songbirds one of the greatest joys was getting in starlings. They are so cute and funny. I just love how they interact with each other. I never kept one past their release age but have heard many stories about how smart they are. If you can find the book, "Arnie, the Darling Starling" it is a wonderful story about an exceptional bird. I think my favorite bird to rehab was the cardinal. They are the cutest little babies and just love you to pieces. It was always so hard to release them.

Pidgey, that was a truly beautiful post. I enjoyed it so much.

Maggie

[littlestar]

Hi Pidgey,
That is really beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing.

Hi Lady Tarheel,
Thank you so much. I have so many pics of my pigeons, starlings and sparrow. Starlings are beautiful birds, and funny isn't the word, LOL. My 5 starlings came in one at time from people who started to raise them, but on reason or another couldn't keep them. My one starling Littlefeathers was found by my daughter who brought her home for me to save. Littlefeathers was only about 5 days old. Starlings are very smart, and learn fast. My one starling at age 4 months started say human words just as clear as can be, and named my one starling. He kept saying to her, hi baby, my baby, and so that's what I decided to name her. His name is George, and that was the first human word he said. I noticed starlings do interact very well with each other. Every now and then I take one of my starlings with me when things are going on and teach children and adults about them, and boy do they ask me questions. I have heard of that book, and I think we have some people on Starling talk that has that book. I have a tee shirt that says My Darling Starling on it, with a picture of a starling. The cutest babies to me are chimney swifts, they look like bats, and even seem to sound like them. It is hard to release them, but what I think about most is them surviving out in the wild, and joining a group.
Mary Ann

[Lady Tarheel]

Mary Ann, I agree, chimney swifts are neat little guys. I rehabbed about 20 of them during the time I did songbirds but another rehabber in my area loved them so much the rest of us would give her most of the ones that came in.

I also always worried about releasing them. You had to time it just right so they were old enough to fly well but at the same time if you keep them too long they die for some reason. Their release was one of the coolest of any bird I ever had. What a thrill to take them outside and make sure there were other swifts flying and just toss the little ones up. The flock of wild ones seem to gather the new ones up into the flock and sweep them away. It was amazing to see many swifts come from nowhere when they hear the new ones call out. I released my first 3 or 4 a little too soon and they landed back in the yard but even then the wild flock came to them. I was able to release them about a week later and they went with the wild flock.

Isn't it cool to walk around with them hanging off your shirt?

Maggie

[littlestar]

Hi Lady Tarheel,
I have a lot of chimney swifts were I live, and they are neat to watch fly. It is so cool having them hang off my shirt, and my hands too, and it was easy to feed them that way. I made one bad mistake, I let my friend another rehabber take them to rehab, and everyone died. I was never so heartbroken, I actually cried. I had them doing really good, I should have just kept them instead of letting her rehab them. The next time I get any in I will rehab them myself. You worry about them in and if they are doing well out there, but it's a great feeling when you release them and watch fly up in the sky.
Mary Ann