Well, good morning to you all! I hope you had a fine weekend. I’ve been meaning to do an official blog post about the cedar waxwing chick I have been taking care of for the past couple of weeks but have been so busy catching him grasshoppers to eat and trying to keep up with every day life that I just haven’t been able to find time to. But this morning, there is a small window of time available for me to give you an official introduction and explanation of how this little bird came to be in my care.
This is Mister Titus McFlightus. He is a Cedar Waxwing chick.
Over at the smokejumper base, he was found in the grass beneath a tree and it was presumed that he fell out of his nest before it was time. The boys took care of him for a day or so, Robert called me multiple times to try to get to me fetch the poor thing and bring him home to care for him and I was rather wary of this plan, not because I didn’t think I could care for a little bird, but because I knew I would fall in love with it and if it died I would be terribly sad. You know, little birds are delicate things, you don’t know how delicate until you’re trying to keep one alive. We went out to pizza that night, with all the boys, and one of them had Titus in the breast pocket of his button down shirt and he was so tiny then with hardly any wings and just a nubbin of a tail and I wound up taking him home that night and have been his happy little human slave ever since.
Having a wild animal as a pet is such a romantic way of living. I’ve always wanted to have something wild to take care of and live with. But I have to tell you something very important — wild things are very wild and they are never really tamed. Also, they’re a lot of work. I had no idea that Titus would eat between six and eight breakfasts before noon, every day. I feed him cherries, blueberries and raspberries along with living grasshoppers of varying sizes that I catch by hand outside our home here. He asks me for food constantly. And I have to feed him! So I do. But it is a tremendous amount of work and it’s only because I work from home and have an alternative work schedule that I can make this a possibility, and for that I am glad, but I just wanted to make it clear that raising a wild little baby bird is not for everyone and one should seriously consider the responsibility before making the commitment.
I know. I know. He’s just a little bird. But I already love him a bit and I want him to live and be healthy and happy. I really don’t want to fail at this so I am dedicated to the work, no matter the amount of work, and in that way, it’s been a real growing experience for me, raising Titus as his mother bird would.
Now let it be known, catching live grasshoppers for this little bird is very icky work. I don’t have a love for grasshoppers. I am from the Canadian prairies where the grasshoppers grow up to be the size of pick-up trucks and their nasty, grinding mandibles are like backhoe scoops clawing away, ripping and tearing at things. Don’t even get me started on their horny, thorny feet. Ugh. Well, I’ve had to overcome my disgust of the darn things because I probably handle about 30 or more a day now — such nasty mastication machines dribbling their horrible tobacco juices. Titus is a little bit racist and prefers the hoppers with green skin (their skin seems to be less woody, if that makes sense, they are softer, more pliable, easier to swallow). I oblige him when I am able. He also prefers his cherry meat without the skin, for the most part, unless he’s really hungry. So I peel him most of his cherries as well. He eats a couple of times an hour. Sometimes, if I’m in the middle of work, I just feed him whenever I am able to take a break which can sometimes be every hour and a half or so — longer stretches. I just feed him when I can, as often as I can.
Last week, when he was needier, I was having to take him to the smokejumper base to be babysat by the boys while I was out running errands. It was hard to get anything done. I have to be very watchful about keeping doors and windows closed. Additionally, I have to constantly watch to make sure the cats and dogs are not coming in the house when he is out of the safety of the sun room. I really am his bird mother.
He is now beginning to fly around, quite a lot, larger distances. Our house is a high ceiling-ed cabin style home and he’s always perching up on the side beams in the rafters and zooming about the kitchen when he’s in the mood to zoom. It can get him in trouble. He fell in the dishwater a few days ago.
He’s quite the sassy fellow in the mornings. When I wake up, I immediately find him two grasshoppers outside, let him out of his sleep basket in the sun room, feed him those bugs because he’s going berserkers asking for food (flapping his wings, gaping, cheeping and jumping off the floor). In the kitchen, I place him on the window perch in the sunshine and immediately give him a few pieces of cherry meat as well as two droplets of water from my fingertip to hydrate him. I pour him a shallow bird bath in a dish and place him in the water if he doesn’t hop down himself. Then begins his wild little ablution circus. I wish you could see it in person.
When he is finished bathing, he is quite pleased with himself. I place him back on his perch in the sun where he drys and fluffs his feathers in the warmth of the day.
Having him and caring for him has been special. I know I said it’s a lot of work, and it is, but it’s a lot of fun too. I won’t fib about that.
So there you have it! The small and mighty Mister Titus McFlightus. I’ll give him a kiss on his dapper little beak for you.
oh my. so sweet.
labour of love~
Total labor of love!!!
how very special.
will little mr. mcflightus ever be returned to the wild, or has he become so humanized that you will forever be his human slave?
given time i guess you can teach him to open the fridge and get his own cherries…
I would love to set him free!!!
It’s what I hope for.
We’ll just have to see how he does.
For now, I would LOVE it if he could fetch his own cherries…
🙂
I love love love you for this… 🙂 thank you! He’s darling and so lucky to have you!
Maybe you could take a wee video of the bathing. I do so love the birds when they bathe.
Much love out to you and Titus!
I have nothing with which to film his bird bathing! Or I would!
How absolutely awesome that must feel to take care of a wild creature like that! And that says a lot about you and your soul for Titus to feel safe and comfortable with you.
WELL! That’s a very kind thing to say. Thank you.
When I was young my dad found a baby bluejay in our azalea bush. He thinks that the tiny bird fell from the nest and my dad rescued it and nursed him back to health. I remember him feeding “Birdus” with a tiny dropper, some sort of mixture w/ crushed peanuts in it. He taught Birdus to fly and we would let Birdus out into our yard and he’d stay close to the family. In fact when my dad would mow up and down our yard, Birdus would run along with him on our roof line. He’d always come back in the house when my dad would call his name and hold up a piece of cheese-he’d swoop down and land on my dad’s shoulder. Birdus was a good pet.
Birdus!
I love this story. Bluejays are beautiful and gregarious. I bet he was really fun…well, I can tell he was fun by the richness of your memory. Thank you for sharing!
I’m so in love with that little gentleman of a bird. And I can’t imagine the work of feeding him cherries and such, let alone grasshoppers. We had a Bohemian Waxwing at our feeder about a month back. Such a beautiful bird. I’m thinking he may have already imprinted on you for life.
Oh.
I hope he hasn’t.
I would really love to give him back to the mountains and rivers…
What a sweet wee thing, though I’m sure he’s been quite demanding!
Thank you for sharing his story with us.
And congrats to Jen for the give-a-way!
He has been quite demanding.
But I’m sure I was too, when I was a tiny thing.
🙂
xx
I shall call you Mama Feathers. I suppose you’d have to cut the crusts of his bread too, if he was into it. Enjoy this lil’ guy who came into your life! X
GUFFAW!!!
YES!
I probably would have to cut off his crusts. 🙂
Bird mother?? Heck! You are a mother!! This is what its like with newborns! I thought I would lose my mind the first month with my first baby! The newborn stage is just not my favorite, but I’m LOVING 2 and 3 years old right now 🙂
What a precious thing you are doing, Jillian! It truly is a labor of love, and so worthwhile to both of you.
How much longer until he is old enough to be set free, do you think?
I’m hoping to set him free this week, or begin reintroducing him to being out of doors a bit. I’m trying to wait for RW to get home since he asked me to (I think he’s really very smitten with the little feller).
He is too adorable…I have to laugh at his name a little bit…it is incredible, isn’t it? how life interacts with life..he trusts you unquestionably? Love it! xx
It is a funny name! I laugh every time I say it. 🙂
Aw, what a sweet cheeks. (That sixth photo of him bathing is HILARIOUS! He looks like he means business!)
Big congrats to Jen for winning your wonderful giveaway, too! Lucky lady! (I would have entered but I have won TWO giveaways this summer, and didn’t want to be greedy.)
Happy days, Mama Plume!
xxx
He always means business. It’s that bandit mask of his as well as his grumpy looking beak.
Mama bird!! Look at you!!! That’s a beautiful job full of tenderness- thank you for caring for him and for looking out for Nature this way. I love his name, Mr. Titus McFlightus- very cute, and he is a cutie. The bathing ritual sounds like a riot!! Enjoy this time with him- who knows when he’ll be ready to fly away…xoxo
I’m doing my very best to enjoy it. He makes it pretty easy though. He’s a real corker.
Oh my. How precious!! I am in love!!
Me too!
Oh dear! Like Erin said, that’s what it’s like with newborns… although you do get to sleep at night with Titus 🙂 Lovely story, and the bathing pictures!!!
I’ve been told this by a few mothers:)
I love Titus! I’m reading “Wesley the Owl” right now, so I’m a total bird brain at the moment.
Oh! Wesley. That was an interesting story. I’m a bird brain too, have been all summer. I’ve had so many incredible bird and owl moments here…
Lady Plume, you are truly the Queen of Cedar Waxwings!! Thank you so much for sharing this!! You made my day, week … in fact!! And kudos to you for the labour of love!! Yay!!
Well…Queen might be too big a title…..
🙂
You never cease to amaze me 🙂
You never cease to be kind. X
this is an unbelievable and soul-confirming story.
bless you for taking care of a wild thing.
Thanks, Pips!
I once raised a rescued fallen long-eared owl nestling–also a lot of work, and I won’t go into detail about how I had to feed her beyond saying how glad I was to be in a research field station where mice were being raised to feed some of the study animals. One of my friends, a Woody Allen fan, named her Woody [Owlen]. She adored my cat and would follow him about on foot. After she was fully fledged, I made sure she could hunt and then set her free.
Baby birds in a nutshell: find out what the species normally eats and feed accordingly and extremely often! Yes indeedy, it’s a helluva lot of work! But you know the rewards, my friend. Just the glow of those gold tail-feather-tips in sunlight…and the myriad other moments.
x
Woody Owlen!!!
GUFFAW!
OMG SO CUTE. really makes me think of my mourning dove
I rescued a mourning dove when we lived in Arizona! Sweet birds.
What a lucky little bird! One summer when I was about 8, I raised a mockingbird. Luckily, we lived near a lake and I could ride my bike to the bait shop and buy live worms. I named him Francis because we couldn’t tell in the early stages if he was a boy or a girl. Baby birds are indeed demanding. Francis figured out how to open his cage and would jump down the hallway, loudly announcing it was time for more worms.
Whatttt? He figured out how to open up his cage? Clever fella!
Ohhh, I love Mister Titus!
i wish you much luck with taking care of him
Hugs
Thanks Magdalena!
your story of feeding Titus reminds me of my Strongpaw-cat, and how at the tender age of 3 days she came into my life. feeding that little mewing newborn became my main job, and oh, what a job it was! not having babies of my own, giving ‘life’ to wee critters has always been such a blessing.
What an honour it is for you to give Mr Titus a chance at spreading his wings! A glorious honour! He is such a handsome little man – so cute to see his wee little crest and tiny little yellow tail feather tips.
may Titus dream of little green grasshoppers
xox
Oh yes.
3 days old is a TINY little mewing kitten!
I’m amazed you kept him alive!
Well done you! He’s adorable.
He is a sweetie! I’d agree.
so adorable!
maybe, to teach him how to fend for himself, you can put the grasshoppers in a room for him to catch on his own. baby birds are so fragile, it’s wonderful that he seems so happy and thriving under your care.
This is what I’ve been doing. I don’t have a small enough room to really contain him very well so I dispatch the hoppers and lay them within his view. He’s getting better about hopping over and picking them up on his own.
If you replace the words “Cedar Waxwing” with “Cedar O’Connor”, what you wrote could be a description of my first month of motherhood….minus the grasshoppers. 🙂
GUFFAW!!!
KT!
Ok…but you’re lucky there weren’t grasshoppers involved…
Video?
No way to! Or I would.
Little Titus is a very lucky, plucky little waxwing.
Plucky is a very wonderful way to describe him.
A good way to get him to learn to feed himself is to give him mealworms…if you feed him one and leave a few lying around, he’ll get the idea. Probably a lot easier for him to catch than grasshoppers! He will resist the idea, though, because it is so much easier to have you feed him…Spoiled, sweet little guy.
Mealworms would be a great idea but waxwings really only eat berries. They eat bugs when they’re young, as a source of calcium and other minerals for development of bones and the like. When they grow up, they exclusively eat berries. I’ve been feeding him what the species is supposed to eat. When he is hungry enough, he will feed himself and use his beak.
when i was a kid we found a hummingbird baby in the same predicament–she had a broken wing and had probably been pushed out of the nest. we fed her with a syringe of sugar water and kept her in a shoebox lined with moss and called her sweety-bird. she would chirp ever-so-quietly when she was hungry, but we learned how to hear her. it was a pretty magical experience!
Gosh! A baby hummer! Must have been SO tiny. Incredible that you were able to keep her alive! Good job.
Oh I LOVE him! So pleased he has such a loving mama to love after him 🙂
🙂
xx
Oops! I meant look after. But love after works too!
I think, in this case, they’re one and the same.
You’re doing a great job. I’ve helped raise all sorts of baby birds when I volunteered at a wildlife rehabilitation center and once the sun was up they got fed every hour, ravenous little tykes! We no sooner got done with the last one than we began all over again. Titus is looking healthy and so cute. What a cool opportunity. 🙂
It has been a really great opportunity! A little annoying at times, to be honest, but mostly entirely wonderful.
I have never been in a position to rescue/raise a wild creature but The Daily Coyote expounds on how demanding it is. It will be intereting if Mr. TM really wants to leave home. There is a dear little book called “That Quail, Robert” about a retired couple in Cape Cod who found a quail egg and ended up raising a baby quail who never wanted to leave home. Robert, of course, imprinted on the couple immediately so that might have been a different story. She, yes she, ended up living her whole life with the couple. Very best of luck, Mama. Sounds like you are doing a great job.
I looooove that quail tale! Thanks for reminding me about that treasure, Deanna!
I gave MY Robert “That Quail, Robert” for Christmas a couple of years ago. We both loved it!
This is wonderful. I laughed at your description of his finicky taste buds – green grasshoppers, cherries without skins,,,, You are a good bird-mother! Wonder how much longer you will have to keep him “under your wing?”
I think when Rob gets home from his latest fire, we’ll probably set about releasing him down at the base where there is a little resident flock of cedar waxwings and NO CATS OR DOGS. 🙂
How I love this story of your little birdie!!!!
So glad you posted in detail with these lovely bird bath photos too.
xoxo
Hi, we found a little cedar tonight and he seems to be responding just fine to my feeding him, now that he’s calmed down. I have a feeling he will be my companion for quiet some time as well. If you have any other tips let me know. He likes to hand on me, I think because he hears my heartbeat…He has eaten partial raspberries and a partial cherry and a few drops of water from a syringe. He is fledgling level of growth, so cute. I like your name, will have to think of something. right now I think its Berry Bird. He is so cute and I guess they are very social amongst themselves and gentle…will have to set my sone to finding grahoppers tomarrow, he will nedd protein. He didn’t like the worms we found much. need sleep goning to be a long night….motherhood always means no sleep…thanks
We have 4 little waxwing chicks we rescued last week. They are just loves but man can they eat! every 30-60 min all day long – they are thriving though – now just waiting to get them old enough to fly our coup.
It’s been quite some time since I have visited your blog. My life has taken many turns and I just recently have started to make the time to sit and read. So glad I stopped by! You are amazing to be caring for this bird. I can imagine how you will feel when it’s time for him to be released. I’m certain he will stay very close and pay you many visits. Keep us posted!