Time to Lock Up the Cat

I love my cat, Corky, but this time of year, she's not so sure of that.  She is once again locked up for a while.  Next to my deck, there is a large cement slab surrounded by arborvitae, a plant species I really don't care for.  But that stand of trees shelters so many birds and shades the back of my house so well, that I can't bring myself to cut them down. Spring and summer the arborvitae tend to harbor Cardinals, one of my favorite song birds.  Chickadees and some other small birds, probably juncos, take over during the later fall/winter, while the cardinals move further back in the yard.  Last night when I was feeding rabbits as evening light waned, I heard the cardinals making a big fuss and glanced over to see what was up.  What was up was a baby bird down.  My usual response is to put the baby as high up in the trees as I can, lock up the cat for a while, and let nature take it's course.  But this baby was extremely intent on jumping off every branch I tried.  Since I can't keep the neighbors' cats locked up, baby birds are not safe on the ground around here.  I pulled out one of my rabbit nest boxes, stuffed a bunny feed bowl with hay, squashed my fist in the hay to make a depression and stuck the baby in there, on top of a bunny hutch with a tree branch hanging down over the opening and into the box.  I wished it luck and stayed away.  First light this morning, I peeked out the door and saw cardinals flitting in the area of the nest box, and lots of "chip, chip, chip" sounds.  Mom and Dad apparently found the baby.  I waited until the parents stayed away a bit, then got a photo for y'all.  Keep your fingers crossed!

Comments

[Cookie]

Corky will get over it. Fingers are crossed!

[Laurie]

Uh oh. I'd say sitting duck, but the metaphors would be mixed. I'm crossing my fingers, too.

[Manise]

Great save Chris! He is awfully cute though awfully young to be out of the nest yet. Looks like the parents will have to divide and conquer feeding and protecting him.

[Kim]

what a cutie....hopefully Mom and Dad will continue to care for him