I found this poor swift on the road while biking home from my Dutch lesson late Thursday evening. Must've run into a window or car because it lost one of its eyes, which doesn't bode well. Visited the rehab center the following day - at least they'll see that he's well cared for, and if he's not releasable, they'll hopefully use him for education. So much to learn from these amazing creatures!
Week prior we tried caring for this runt blue tit. Parents weren't feeding it, either because they were so busy feeding the other 5 baby blue tits -- or maybe they sensed this little guy just didn't have what it takes to survive -- he looked pretty pathetic when i took him in. At any rate, I fed him from 10:00 -6:30 pm (every 15 mins!!!!!), until I went to my Dutch class. He was doing fine when i left, but when I returned that evening he'd passed on.
Several weeks ago, this alpine water salamander (Triturus alpestris) showed up in our pond! And what a great surprise it was!!!!!!
He has the most beautiful orange underbelly, with pretty spots along the side. So far he's continuing to hang out, most likely dining on insect larvae (hopefully lots of mosquito larvae!!!!) and whatever he can find, but I'm a little surprised he's staying so long, since it's not a BIG pond (2 m x 1 m x 40 cm)! But maybe the lack of predators sold him on this real estate .... or was it the romantic tikki torches and flaming red rhododendron?
2 comments:
Hmmm...sounds as if you might be turning into a wildlife rehabber in your young age.
Today we took an adventure drive out to my favorite scenic site with short eared owls and harriers (in winter). On way we saw a fawn, all alone, crossing road. IT was still wobbly and bright red with white dots. So gentle. Walked slowly to side of road to hide behind 2 blades of grass. Then it walked a bit further and laid down behind the tiniest shrub. We approached to take a look-see. What a stroke of grace, she was.
you don't realize how fortunate you are to have so much wildlife on your doorstep, so to speak. Your experience with the fawn is so precious, but would be so rare this side of the ocean! How lucky you are! Kids must've loved it!
I do like to rescue animals, but don't have the patience/time to do rehab - just from feeding the blue tit you realize it's a full-time job!
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