Story of 'Mozzie' Blackbird

To my surprise, she was very much alive the next morning but thoughts of instant release were driven from my mind when I realised she wasn't even attempting to use her wings. I thought I had done an awful thing in rescuing this poor bird if she couldn't fly. She was agitated when I went in and ran and hopped to and fro underneath the staging but not so much as a flick or a flutter of wings. On the positive side, there were still no signs of dragging or drooping and no misplaced or broken feathers. She just kept her wings tucked in close to her body, and there they stayed.

Anyway, I put out fresh water and a mixture of sunflower hearts, dried mealworms, porridge oats, chopped apple and a small amount of tinned cat food. Did all this as quickly as possible and left her in peace. I was able to observe her to a certain extent as my back door is half glazed and the greenhouse quite close to the house. The panels are not glass but polycarbonate and although not as clear as glass I could see the food and water quite clearly. Almost as soon as I had gone she was over to the water dish having a drink, then set to with the food. She was very selective but fortunately had a very good appetite. Surprisingly the Cotoneaster and Pyracantha berries I had put in the night before remained untouched, yet she attacked the new food with enthusiasm...especially the chopped apple and cat food. I found it very satisfying that she was enjoying eating the catfood...poetic justice... :)

More later...

A couple of days later, still eating and drinking well and having no problems defecating, as will be seen in the pic below. A positive indication that all was well internally, though she was still not attempting to fly. Well not that I saw any evidence of anyway. She ran and hopped from ground to tub, growbag to bucket to the bottom shelf of the staging and back again. This is the only picture I have of her as I wanted to cause as little distress as possible. Each time I went in she became so agitated that I only went in once a day to change water and food. All other observations were made from the house.

By now I had discussed Ms Blackbird with a few close friends, although didn't want to go too public. I thought somehow it might jinx her progress. You know, like not telling anyone you are going for a driving test in the next couple of weeks...just in case?

I had phoned my vet's surgery and obtained the number of the nearest Wildlife Rescue Centre, Lower Moss Wood, Knutsford, so knew I could call on them if I needed advice. Mind you, I was very reluctant to even try and capture her to take her there as I knew it would have put extra, perhaps intolerable, stress on an already stressed bird. I decided, in the absence of any obvious/visible obstacles to her eventual recovery, and in the knowledge that I was supplying adequate food, shelter etc. to let things take their course. I was also keen not to try and befriend her, but keep my distance. She was a wild creature and needed to stay that way for her own future safety.

To be continued...

To continue...

After discussions between us and suggestions from an experienced birder friend we had put together a few very valid theories as to why she wasn't flying or trying to:

1. She was unable to fly for whatever reason, prior to (and the reason for) getting caught.
2. She had injuries that were not immediately apparent.
3. She was a migrant bird from another area who had become too exhausted.

I was torn. Part of me was full of hope that she would recover, given the aforementioned positives and given time. The other part of me imagined an imprisoned and probably very unhappy flightless bird in my greenhouse indefinitely.

Anyway, I told myself, it was early days yet. Our birder friend related that she once had an injured bird which lived in a cardboard box for a few days then suddenly made a miraculous recovery and flew away.

It also brought to mind another seemingly hopeless experience of my own, many years ago.

I had rescued a thrush (will refer to it as female although it could equally have been male), one of a pair, that flew too low over the road, was hit by a car and landed on the pavement outside my house, stunned and injured. It's mate was ok and flew off. I kept that bird in a large darkened shed for I forget how many days with an obviously damaged wing. I don't know how it healed but I had somehow, very hamfistedly I am sure and whilst it was still stunned, managed to splint it with matchstick and cellotape. The bird pecked it off soon after of course but perhaps it had been on long enough for blood and feathers to congeal, making a natural splint...who knows. The bird looked fine other than the one drooping wing so I decided to wait and see. After a period of time, perhaps a week, maybe two, though it must have seemed much longer at the time, to my huge relief and delight she started making short fluttering flights which got longer and stronger until I felt it was safe to set her free.

As a matter of interest, amongst a variety of other food suitable for thrushes I dug up worms for that one, put them in a tray of soil and she scratched them out for herself.

I will never forget the day I released her, it seemed to me nothing short of a miracle. She flew, perhaps a bit laboured to start with, to the fence. Rested a few seconds then another, stronger, flight into my neighbour's laburnum tree where another thrush was sitting. They stayed for a few minutes then flew off together! Was it the mate who was with her when she was injured or was I simply being naive in thinking that? Whatever the reality, I will stick to the idea that it was. The thrush visited my garden quite frequently after that, always recognisable by the drooping wing.

Sounds like I made it all up but I assure you it is true. So amazing that I hardly believe it myself, but all true. I suppose this is not to be recommended and some would say I should have taken the bird to a vet but I felt competent, had reared birds before, and was worried that it might be written off and euthanased.  However, my decision, my responsibility and I am so pleased it worked out ok.

The memory was hidden at the back of my mind but this brought it all back vividly. It gave me hope that Mrs Blackbird might yet fly :)

Cont shortly...

After what seemed like ages but was actually only three days, and just when I was beginning to think she would permanently walk/run/hop around with her hands in her pockets, I saw her actually move her wings!  Exciting! It was the merest flick and then a slight flutter...not a flight you understand, but more of an assisted hop from the rim of a bucket to the staging. She sort of hopped and flicked her wings at the same time....and that was that!

This behaviour went on for a few more days, occasional wing flicks and flutter hops but nothing more. Lots of sitting around resting. Her favourite roost was on the bottom shelf of the staging on top of a roll of kitchen paper on its side. She didn't seem interested in exploring the greenhouse at all, her routine was eat, drink, roost.

Talking of eating...boy did she eat well. She was quite choosy though. Mind you, that was probably my fault as I did give her quite a selection. Not huge amounts of each but she did get a good variety in her dish. She still had her staple ingredients but I also added according to what was to hand.

Boiled potato went down quite well but only a little.

Soaked sultanas...not too impressed. Raisins, yep, ok.

Blueberries? Nope.

Grated Mozzarella? Yummy! Now you're talking! More please! Now you can understand where the 'Mozzie' came from :)

Cooked basmati rice, mixed with petit pois and sweetcorn went down very well, not a scrap left!

Cat food definitely stayed on the menu.

Strange that the berries got left and strange that she didn't eat many of the dried mealworms. She did like dried insects though.

Of course, knowing that fatty foods are excellent at this time of year I had already put in a fat ball for her. She pecked away at it from time to time but I notice the grated cheese always went first. Anything left over was taken away and a fresh lot put out the next day...along with fresh water of course. She sometimes soiled her water so I put in two containers in the hope that one of them would remain clean. It worked.

One small mention re giving her leftovers from meals. I never add salt during cooking or after.

On the 21st November, day 8 of her stay, she actually managed a couple of very short flights! One up to the top of the staging, which was a bit of a flap and scramble up the side and then suddenly she was up on the high shelf at the back, well above the staging. I was elated!

My appearance had given her some impetus of course and she ran and hopped constantly to and fro, to and fro, in agitated manner, the length of the shelf and back until I had deposited her provisions and retreated.

Unfortunately I didn't see her come down from there but she was investigating the food by the time I got back in the house. There was cheese on the menu of course!

The next few days were pretty similar but I didn't see her using her wings when I wasn't there. She seemed to be taking her time and conserving energy and now that I had actually seen her semi airborne I was quite happy to give her all the time she needed. I did think about charging her rent but.... :)

Another thing I hadn't mentioned was that she had been silent up until this time. Not a squawk, not a  peep. On the 24th she showed her displeasure at my appearance by not only flapping and scrabbling upwards out of the way but also made a couple of gentle but clear warning clucks!

Trying hard to resist the old joke about cats and tongues...sorry....(he obviously hadn't)  :)

I was encouraged by all this but, underneath, doubts kept creeping in. I was still a bit perturbed about the slowness of progress and the apparent lack of motivation to explore possible avenues of escape. Although she found my presence highly unnerving she appeared to have accepted her lot and continued to sit around when not eating or drinking. Hmmm...sounds a bit like some humans doesn't it? Me included at times :)

Still, we reasoned, if she was on the verge of exhaustion when she arrived then it was quite reasonable she would want to build herself up before expending energy. Another train of thought was, if she couldn't fly properly before, then how on earth had she survived this far and was this as good as it got? Only time would tell and best to stay positive.

Meanwhile, the weather was about to change...

As it turned out, all the previous concerns about Mozzie were thankfully shortlived. She suddenly started to come alive again over the next few days and much to my delight and relief showed consistent improvement. She started to behave like a proper blackbird, digging in spent tomato compost for food and scattering it everywhere. She made a right happy mess! There were several tubs still in there, plus a grow bag and she had a go at them all. I was about to have a good clear out before she arrived but was glad that I hadn't. Not sure if she found any insects in there but it certainly kept her occupied.

By now she was constantly flicking her wings and looked far more alert than ever before. One of the days when I opened the back door of the house she flew straight up in the air against the greenhouse panelling as if trying to get out. Thankfully polycarbonate is better than glass in that respect. It does make a lot of noise if you hit it but it gives so she wouldn't do herself any harm.

Meanwhile, as she improved, the weather deteriorated. There were several thick frosts and her water was frozen in the mornings. She had plenty of places to snuggle up in the greenhouse, one of which was the polystyrene foam box underneath the staging. I put some cardboard in there too so she could climb into that if she wanted. I have no idea where she did sleep overnight but she was always bright and perky in the morning.

It would have done her a favour being in there rather than a warmer place. Not warm enough to make her 'nesh' but gave her adequate shelter until it was time.

After the frost came the snow. Not a great deal but it froze over. Although by this time Mozzie seemed well ready it was decided to wait another couple of days to see if there was a break in the weather.

That break came yesterday, an amazing 20 days after she first arrived it was finally time to go. At 11am, beautiful sunshine and clear blue sky, having got my video camera at the ready, intending to record the event, I climbed up my small stepladder and carefully removed the loose panel from the roof vent (high winds had done that earlier before Mozzie arrived. I had replaced it loosely and covered it up with an old rug). Anyway, I digress. Off came the panel...and off went Mozzie like a rocket! Whoosh!

Hey! How's that for gratitude! She totally ignored the fact that I wanted to film the event and without so much as a backward glance, made a magnificent and direct beeline for a tall conifer in the side garden and was instantly lost to sight!
 
Well, you can ALL imagine how THAT felt (despite the lack of thanks or footage) It was BLOODY MARVELLOUS! :) I stared stupidly at that conifer for ages but she didn't show herself. No idea how long she actually stayed in there or whether she did, but later on I saw two female blackbirds, just like Mozzie, on the front lawn. I would like to think one of them was her...

There was a bit more snow last night but thankfully today's rain has washed it away. Here's to all you birdies out there, keep warm and keep healthy...and right now, special thoughts go to you, Mozzie B!

Great story. Any sign of Mozzie coming back looking for breakfast?

Thanks for sharing this ChloeB - I was enjoing the story and your story-telling while you were posting, but didn't like to interrupt. Glad to hear there was a happy ending - and it was interesting to find out the range of things which blackbirds will eat!    

Thanks for the story ChloeB. I am also glad there was a happy ending as often in these stories the rescued bird succumbs to the shock.