Splendid Fairy Wren

A far more experienced and proficient photographer was kind enough to process this image and add a (somewhat dodgy!) signature for me :p This fairy wren, Malurus splendens look almost artificial - but they really are that blue!  Taken at Stirling Range NP, Western Australia.

The Adventures of Lucky Bird: Episode 1

My first complete memory of my fascination with birds is a sad one unfortunately.  I think I was about 4, and it occurred in the beautiful, giant garden around our home in Lilongwe, Malawi, 1989.  Back home land blocks were spacious.  A colonial lifestyle was very much the norm, so we had a gardener to mow and maintain the spacious green lawns, and tell me all about the birds and animals in the veggie patch.

Had watched some birds in the garden for a few days - cannot remember what they were - and eventually followed them to a nest. Deep inside were two freshly hatched chicks! What happens next baffles me to this day..

I waited patiently for the parents to swoop down and feed the chicks - for some reason it didn't occur to my ignorant brain this may be due to the giant nincompoop standing over their nest! I worried the chicks would starve, so the only solution was to take care of them myself (wrong!) I gently scooped out one chick, then the other, held them close to my heart and carefully made my way back to my room.

How hard could it be?  Mom had raised heaps of birds - corvids were here specialty - I knew exactly how she made up the mush mixture, and how to be careful to feed them down the right part of the throat, plus I knew where to find lots of bugs and worms for the birds too..

So I made a nest under my bed, and kept and fed the wee chicks for a couple of days, until Mom found out what I was up to - eish.  She was furious, and rightly so! She made me go outside and dirty my hands as much as I could (so they wouldn't smell like humans when I put them back - Mom said the parents would reject them if they could smell humans on them).  Shamefully, I retraced my steps to the nest, deep in the thick of the flowerbed, and returned the chicks to their nest.  I whispered goodbye and asked the big Guy in the sky to please look after the birds for me, and make sure they didn't smell like humans.. I slipped away, fearful of the reprimand I knew was waiting for me in the form of a very disappointed and angry Mom!

Hesitant, but hoping against hope that they were ok, I went back to the nest the next day: The chicks were gone. I searched the ground around the nest, the branches and bushes, crying my eyes out for being so stupid!  The parents must have left them for stinking like humans, and something must have eaten them!

Needless to say, this instilled in me a great appreciation of the need to observe nature without intruding.  I promise most baby bird adventures after this one turned out to have much happier endings..

In case you happen to find a baby bird, the following may provide some useful tips and information:

http://birding.about.com/od/birdingbasics/a/findbabybirds.htm