Jorge A. Perez

About four weeks ago, I found a baby bird on the ground next to my car. I took it home and with my wife's help we nursed it. I meant to keep him so we made a makeshift incubator. We bought baby bird formula and began to hand feed him. We got him a cage. The little bird grew. He would let us pick him up. He would start chirping loudly when he'd see me prepare his food. We often let him out of his page, and as birds naturally do, he learned to fly. When I or my wife were at home we'd open his cage and he would fly out. He would eventually fly back to his cage, hop on the swing and happily swing wildly on the swing waiting for his next feeding. My sons learned to look out for him. Now and then they would gently pick him up and return him to his open cage. I grew very fond of him. My wife went out of town so I had to feed him more often. I would bring the formula in a dropper, I would open the cage and he would jump right out the cage and call for his food. He would open his little beak and I would squeeze the food into his gullet. When I returned home from work, I sat next to his cage and opened it. When he noticed that the cage was opened, he'd jump from his perch to the gate fly around the house once and perch himself on his favorite corner outside of his cage. On several occasions I noticed a quiet sweet chriping sound while I watched tv. I turned the tv's sound off thinking that the sound came from the tv or from outside birds. But it was him! When I looked at him, his chest feathers were fluffed up and his beak was barely open. I felt as if he was singing to me! He began to peck at seeds but still wanted the formula. As of Friday august 7 he stopped eating from the dropper. He started eating seeds and drops of baby bird formula. On Sunday May 9, my older son gave the little bird a bath. My wife told me that He had done it before so I thought nothing of it. After his bath My son wrapped him in a towel. When I went to check on him my little bird was dead. I don't know what happened. We left him alone wrapped in the towel for a few minutes.

I miss this little bird so much. I was so accustomed to feeding him, to let him out of his cage, to pick him up and pet him, to let him fly around the house. I miss his quiet chirping. It is amazing to me how one little life of God's creatures can bring us so much joy, and yet how even a little life is so fragile and precious.

Posted: August 10th, 2009 | Report This Comment