As a keen birder (or birdwatcher as we tend to say in England) I loved this post. I was a huge bird nerd as a kid so I can relate! I still am, but I don't obsess over binocular brochures like I used to... Does Orson's interest extend to actively going birdwatching somewhere (ie the thrill of seeking them out and seeing something in particular), or is it more of a fascination with them as creatures when he is up close to them?
Connecting with The Transporters sounds very cool. I'd like to find a similar organization once we move maybe. We have a story to tell about how we helped a Cooper's Hawk that slammed into our window here once, but that's for another day...
He’s not as interested in traditional bird watching, though he likes to see them around and is good I IDing them.
We sometimes play a game at the park called Bird Search. We do a draft of the birds we think we’ll see, then you earn points for each. The winner gets bragging rights and snacks.
Great post Travis, and I also enjoyed looking at and reading about your Railfan series. The things we do for our kids that enrich us in return! Do you ever find out how the birds that you've transported fare? Or do you do your ambulance work and then move on...?
When we first started, we were eager to know the outcomes. You can email the Wild Bird Fund with the drop-off information, and someone will eventually get back to you with an update. Over time, we stopped following up. Though we never discussed it, it felt better to assume that the birds recovered after we transported them. My daughter, in particular, quickly bonded with the birds and took any bad news pretty hard.
I really enjoyed this post, Travis. Well done on your volunteer work. Your story took me back to when I was a kid and we raised and released a young thrush (it lived for a while with my rabbit) and also a young pigeon (which led to my dad building a pigeon loft in the garden and the addition of around 15 racing pigeons).
When I was a kid my Mom worked for an animal hospital, so she was always bringing home animals for rehab. For a little while we had a crow named Raven living in our garage, I was afraid of him.
As a keen birder (or birdwatcher as we tend to say in England) I loved this post. I was a huge bird nerd as a kid so I can relate! I still am, but I don't obsess over binocular brochures like I used to... Does Orson's interest extend to actively going birdwatching somewhere (ie the thrill of seeking them out and seeing something in particular), or is it more of a fascination with them as creatures when he is up close to them?
Connecting with The Transporters sounds very cool. I'd like to find a similar organization once we move maybe. We have a story to tell about how we helped a Cooper's Hawk that slammed into our window here once, but that's for another day...
He’s not as interested in traditional bird watching, though he likes to see them around and is good I IDing them.
We sometimes play a game at the park called Bird Search. We do a draft of the birds we think we’ll see, then you earn points for each. The winner gets bragging rights and snacks.
Great post Travis, and I also enjoyed looking at and reading about your Railfan series. The things we do for our kids that enrich us in return! Do you ever find out how the birds that you've transported fare? Or do you do your ambulance work and then move on...?
Thank you, Diana!
When we first started, we were eager to know the outcomes. You can email the Wild Bird Fund with the drop-off information, and someone will eventually get back to you with an update. Over time, we stopped following up. Though we never discussed it, it felt better to assume that the birds recovered after we transported them. My daughter, in particular, quickly bonded with the birds and took any bad news pretty hard.
I really enjoyed this post, Travis. Well done on your volunteer work. Your story took me back to when I was a kid and we raised and released a young thrush (it lived for a while with my rabbit) and also a young pigeon (which led to my dad building a pigeon loft in the garden and the addition of around 15 racing pigeons).
That's so great. Racing pigeons!
When I was a kid my Mom worked for an animal hospital, so she was always bringing home animals for rehab. For a little while we had a crow named Raven living in our garage, I was afraid of him.
That’s so cool about rehabbing animals at your home.
The feeling is mutual! The calmness :) lovely Travis!!
Thank you Shital!
That is a beautiful story. Thank you for rescuing these little birdies! I also like your idea photographing the volunteers with the birds. Well done!
Thank you!
So far I'm really happy with how the portraits are going.
Excellent photos!
Hey thanks so much Alex!