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Tell me I'm not just an old softie!
A couple weeks ago, I had some tree work done in the yard. It was a lot of trimming, but I also had a couple of small trees removed completely. When the FIRST one was cut down, I noticed a nest hidden among the limbs and went over to look at it. It was FULL of (4) baby Blue Jays! Now don't get me wrong, I'm NO fan of those nasty, noisy, dive-bombing bastids, but I have a hard time resisting ANY baby animal. I worked the nest loose, scooped those babies up and took the whole mess into the house as the trimmers were working around the yard all day and they were ready to cut that tree up and run it through the shredder. I spent that afternoon and evening feeding them with an eye-dropper (dry cat food dissolved in bottled water). The next day, I took a plastic bowl, drilled drain holes in the bottom, placed the nest in the bowl and took it back outside. Of course, the tree the nest was in originally, no longer existed, so I placed it in a different tree about 15' away. I ran a wire through the bottom of the bowl and wired the whole mess onto a tree limb to secure it. I'll be damned if it wasn't 15-mins later, mom and dad showed up! One would guard the nest as the other kept leaving and bringing food back to feed the little critters! I watched 'em grow up over the days, but every time I tried to get near enough for photos, all Hell would break loose and it seemed every Jay in the area would be peckin' me on my big ol' noggin! The chicks rapidly started getting so big, the nest was becoming pretty crowded, and one morning, I went out to check on them and found one on the ground under the nest (dead). I disposed of the body in a respectful way (dropped it in the garbage can with no ceremony). A couple days later, I found another one on the ground under the nest, but he was in good shape and I was able to place him back in the nest. As the days progressed, I watched them grow and step out of the nest to explore their surroundings, but mama had NO intentions of letting me get close enough for pics! Time went on and one morning I went out to check on them, but they were gone! No chicks, no mama Jay tryin' to peck my eyes out ... nuttin'! I assume they flew off ... isn't that what birds do? One thing I did learn from this educational experience, is that something I've been told all my life must be b/s. I've always been told to never touch a baby bird or mama will reject or kill it. I had to handle ALL those babies to get their nest out of the downed tree and place them back in it, plus I put the one back in the nest that had fallen out. I never witnessed the slightest problem with the way mama Jay took care of the brood after all that.
Anyway, here's a couple'a baby pics. #1 right after I pulled the nest from the tree branches and #2 is after I wired the bowl/nest back into a different tree. (every time I went out to check on them, they'd perk up, open their little beaks and expect Papa Jim to feed them!) ;)
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