Christina and Scott have built homes for some of the migratory birds that stop on Holloway Bar to have their babies each summer. This year, a pair of flycatchers took over one of the nests that the swallows had built last summer and had two chicks. However, a few days ago, they heard a lot more chirping from the babies than they had in a while, so went out to check things out.
They discovered that the parents had left, along with (strangely) most of the other small birds that live on Holloway Bar. So, they decided to try to feed and water the little ones with the hopes that either the parents would return soon or the babies would be able to grow into young adults able to migrate south in the coming months.
Christina and Scott are trying to save these two abandoned baby birds. Life can be cruel, but with some luck, there might be a little miracle in the making. Keep your fingers crossed that that these little guys will survive the next few days..
Scott sent in an audio update last night and after an eventful day, it looked like things were going well... Unfortunately, he passed along some sad news this morning...
Scott sent this report just after 5:00 am this morning. After yesterday's sad event, Jill's holding her own and seems to be doing well. She's eating regularly and hopefully getting stronger. She'll need all the strength she can get...
Jill continues to improve and grow. Her soft baby feathers are quickly being replaced by permanent feathers. It's still cold at night, but Scott's partially enclosed the nest to keep the heat in.
All is well - except that Jill's getting almost too big for her nest! It's amazing to see how much (and how fast) she's growing now.
Jill's now catching and eating bugs on her own now, but that also means she falls out of the nest more. She even managed to fly a little when Scott put her in a larger safe area.
Jill's now starting to display some of the markings of an adult bird, so things are progressing well. She's getting more exercise and is getting stronger every day.
Jill's got a new home now - the nest was crumbling, so we had to move her inside into a large bird cage. So far, it seems to agree with her and she enjoys being close to the action!
Al's audio report gives us a little insight on why we can's always see little Jill in the nest. She continues to grow and is exploring as much as we'll let her. As she gets larger, she'll also be able to go a little further from her "safe spot".
Jill's really growing now and is starting to look more like an adult bird. Today's higher-resolution pictures and Scott's audio report will give you a good idea of what's happening in the McDame Creek Valley.
Jill's had a little mishap and hurt her wing, so she's grounded. But, she's still eating, drinking, and passing her food well. She likes people, which is good as she'll probably be here for the winter now.
Bath day on Holloway Bar. Scott put a dish filled with water in Jill's cage and she jumped in head-first and had a little bath. She looks a little worse for the wear in this picture, but she's quite happy after her bath...
Scott called late last night with the sad news that Jill has died.
After stealing our hearts for the last month (it was about this time last month that the abandoned baby birds, Jack and Jill, were adopted by Christina and Scott), Jill's gone to the big bird's nest in the sky. She got weaker throughout the day yesterday, and finally passed away peacefully last night.
