Awww, that's lovely. I hope she has a good life and grows up to have young of her own. Thanks for the update, and for being such a big softy in the first place
------------- Tigermouse
I have a very temperamental personality - 50% temper and 50% mental
Not a blackbird this time. Just retrieved a small baby bird from the cat. Not sure what it is but is is small and is older looking than last year's challenge. Don't want to pull it around or take pics at the moment as it is in some shock to say the least. Can't really blame the cat as it is nature. Bird seems ok, legs work when I pick it up, no blood but in big shock. Can't tell about wings.
Got the cat inside and put the baby in the middle of the lawn for an hour. No sign of a parent, and the little fella was getting cold off the lawn. It is getting dark, so we now have a lodger. Same set up as last time. Haven't got anything suitable to hang from a tree to leave him in overnight..
Seems ok after warming up on me and now in a little box of tissues in a bigger cat box on top of the piano in the music room. Just gonna leave him or her alone in the dark for a while and maybe offer some mince if he is awake later. Not sure we will get too much into it tonight, do not want to add to the stress. If we can get it thru the night, I will have a better chance tomorrow. Looks like the alarm will be set for 4am again!
Given the decent juvenile plumage it has, hopefully after recovering from shock and a bit of protein laden food, it will be on its way in a couple of days. Just gonna leave him or her alone in the dark for a while and maybe offer some mince if he is awake later. Not sure we will get too much into it tonight, do not want to add to the stress. If we can get it thru the night, I will have a better chance tomorrow
Wish me luck - again!
------------- The drinking will continue till the economy improves
107.7 The Bone rocks my tent (earphones after 10pm)
Oh dear another little critter for us all to worry about, I wonder how it knew you would be a good Dad!
I saved an adult starling, in garden for 3 days, eating but hiding every time a cat appeared, it was very traumatic looking out for it. But then after all the rain on Thursday he was just soaking wet on the lawn, so i scooped him up and put him in a cat basket, he ate and drank ok, no struggling. anyway I was away for the weekend so my vets took him in for the weekend,and hopefully re release him the next week in my garden.
Sadly the little chap didn't make died on Monday night, so sad.
Here's hoping you will be lucky again with this one xx
Aw, that is a shame. Well done for trying though. It is a rock and a hard place to work out what to do. Fledglings can run around on the ground for a few days being looked after by their parents as they get their wings. But just like last year, this fella seemed to be all alone.
Typically I will try to put them in a pot high in a tree so the parent can continue to visit, but I have had a clear out and just can't find anything suitable, and not over sure the parents are around anyway. Will try again outside tomorrow.
I haven't managed to ID it yet, but we have a box of blue tits on the fence that have been noisy for 10 days or so, so it could be one of them. Trouble is, without knowing what it is, I do not want to just shove it back through the hole and hope for the best.
Just been in to have a look. I am lucky to have very dim blue lighting in that room, so no real disturbance to him. He has moved from where I left him, but is very still, so I am hoping he is just asleep. Mealworms are soaking in water and tweezers are at the ready,
Better get to bed soon. Looks like an early start tomorrow for the first feed... He is in the music room at the mo, and I am breaking in a new guitar for my granddaughter this week before her birthday. It looks like I will either need to do it in another room, or this will become a somewhat different type of rock chick to those I am more familiar with!
Keep em crossed for us. The next 24 hours are quite critical.
------------- The drinking will continue till the economy improves
107.7 The Bone rocks my tent (earphones after 10pm)
It needs to go well this week. I am really busy next week combining meeting an agent in Bournemouth with a couple of days camping alone (bliss) in the New Forest weds/thu, and supposed to be in a mates recording studio in Spain after that for god knows how long.
So basically I have about a week to get him in the air.
------------- The drinking will continue till the economy improves
107.7 The Bone rocks my tent (earphones after 10pm)
January - Red Squirrel
February - Red Squirrel
March - Gimme Shelter
April - Elie
May - Noah's Ark
May - Riverside, Skipton
May - Blair Castle
June - Braithwaite Bridges
July - The Star
July - Witches Craig
July - Scone
August - Highburn House
September - Gimme Shelter
On closer inspection this morning he (or she?) turned out to be a lovely little Dunnock. He had grown into his beak well, and was a chunky little fella. He was clearly over his shock as he was bouncing all over the place but not cheeping.
Offered him food, but he was so lively that I could not get near him. Tried a few times over the hours since 5am, but needed help. So wife got up at 7 and she got half a mealworm in his beak while I held him, but he just sat there with it in his beak looking confused. I popped him back into the box, and he spat it out.
I could see he was trying to fly, not fully fledged but not far off. So, decisions decisions.... I can't feed him, he needs food for sure. I made a decision to let him have a run around the house to see him moving. He is soooo close to flying, and in good health.
Decision made. He is a fledgling who would normally be running around for a few days with his parents watching. I have only had him overnight, and I am sure his mum will be back this morning some time. So off to the garden we went. I sat with him in the cat box for a while to see if he would call or respond to a call. Nothing.
Time for one final roll of the dice, I popped him on the lawn, and without a look back, he hopped off healthily into the undergrowth flapping his almost useful wings. As much as I would like to wait until I see him fly and be able to avoid trouble, I know that at his age he should be feeding better, and obviously has not spoken to last years blackbird on how much I care about these little critters, so doesn't trust me and won't feed from me.
So, my thoughts are that he is well over the shock of last night, and would be in the best position for survival in the garden where his mum last saw him late last night. Despite the fact that my love and friendship was spurned, I will keep an eye out through he day, and keep the cat in!
Good luck little beauty. I am good to sit in the garden watching over you today as I have a few new lyrics to get together over the next week, so will start on it out there today with his inspiration.
------------- The drinking will continue till the economy improves
107.7 The Bone rocks my tent (earphones after 10pm)
Happy days. My neighbours think I am nutz, but I guess they are used to me and my weird music by now with us partying through the night and camping as a group quite often!
Today I will be mostly starting in a listful E Minor...
Post last edited on 04/06/2014 10:08:26
------------- The drinking will continue till the economy improves
107.7 The Bone rocks my tent (earphones after 10pm)
Woh! Good questions. How long have you got? Let's not do too much boring detail eh?
Ok, right now I am quite emotionally and physically mangled after a long day sorting baby birds and working in my little music room in complete reverse to my normal mode. I may also be hitting the red today and a lot more as I write, so pleeeeeze exkuse speeelling and grandma as I progress.
Ok, today specifically. My luthier's son is a top European guitarist in a band, and needs a couple of rock ballady style tracks to complete a set list for an album which we will work on together in a couple of weeks in Galicia to build his album, so he sent me the arrangement.
Yeah, I have a track record in that sort of thing, but that is not the way I work, completely the reverse, so I am under some pressure and having to alter his composition here and there to make a lyric fit. We can argue, or "artistically refine" that in Galicia. But, since I am wasted, and you have caught me off guard with your question, and of course, it's just you and me on this thread and nobody's looking, let's talk quite unspecifically about history.
Basically, It is all of the stuff you ask above over many years, but I got some early breaks and very good friends which enabled me to have a great life from the late 70s in music going forward, and it secured my future financially. Because of that security, I am just finishing another "shove your job up your jacksie" four months sabbatical right now, watching the multitude of beautiful birds being laid in eggs, hatch and grow up in my garden while I improve my cooking skills for my beautiful wife every night. I also pi$$ her off with the odd new song.
BUT, I digress, back to your questions. In summary, I have been so privileged in my musical life to work with some magical artists, leading me to be a little part of some very spectacular recordings and shows around our globe. But right now, that is not too important, and I just wish I had not scared off a Dunnock with a Bon Jovi song in four early morning chords (but to be fair, according to my neighbours, with a seriously good vocal for the time of day). I haven't seen him since :(
Yeah, what a life you may say, but It's not all a bed of roses in this industry. It cost me a marriage, missing two kids grow up while I was on the road globally for too many years, but today, while I can use the industry for fun, I guess my kids realise what we did and how they have what they have.
But really, maybe because of this life, or maybe not who knows, I am blessed to be punching so far above my weight with my world's number one lady today, who truly understands who I am, and what I do.
So really, it has given us the life we have, and I am blessed and very thankful. Frankly, I am glad just to be alive given some of the stuff that happened over 20+ years on the road.
But fun aside, it still pays real money as a composer. It's really cool when you write stuff and forget it, and your missus is watching TV a few years later and says, "OI!, isn't that one of yours?". Kerching!.. she is very observant where royalties are concerned :)
It's also really great when you have to download tabs for 1 Direction's latest s**te to learn overnight and play with your granddaughter next day. So life is really good fun here. I am so thankful.
There, I didn't drop one big name did I?
I need sleep badly, might delete this tomorrow when I read the cra... erm, level of exposure I have written. Thank you Mr Hardys Crest Cabernet Shiraz Merlot... All of you empty bottles next to the Strat... At least I do not have to get up at 5am to feed a baby bird - or does that make me feel sad... Can't tell right now, far too emotionally and alcoholically wasted after a seriously looooong day.
Time for bed.
Yes, I did edit it this morning and had to delete a lot of "red wine".
Post last edited on 05/06/2014 10:57:28
------------- The drinking will continue till the economy improves
107.7 The Bone rocks my tent (earphones after 10pm)
Tease??? me??? Never, I am far too shy. Yeh riiiiight said mrs BttB. Less wine tonight, and sadly, less creative achievement as I have been watching tits in the garden, if you will pardon the phrase...
Name dropping is a bit crass and embarrassing, but maybe if we bump into each other on a site, my wife will tell you all about it.
As a bit of background, my agent at the time was a guy called Pete Hillier. Pete was a tour manager for some very big acts in the 80s, most of whom I got to work with one way or another.
Earlier on, in the mid to late 70s I had a girlfriend who was related to an in-demand session bassist. He got me introduced and friendly with one massively popular artist who lived quite close to her at the time, and helped me a lot in the early days, including providing an 18/19 year old BttB with his first job on a major tour! Woo Hoo!!!
Lovely guy, hugely charismatic with a stage presence like I have never seen anywhere else, and still recording today. But that tour was one hell of a knackering experience of non-stop work and play with negligible sleep. I was young and fit then, and it nearly killed me as I over indulged a bit, well actually a lot, not knowing if I would ever do anything like it again!
Glad in a way those days are gone. Really bad for your health and committed relationships. But it's still great to dabble a bit.
------------- The drinking will continue till the economy improves
107.7 The Bone rocks my tent (earphones after 10pm)
Well it looks like you must of been pretty good then to enable you to do what you have done so far.
I think it was Noddy Holder who sad in an interview if you can write a good xmas song it will be your pension for life, and he did didn't he.
OH has got an old mate in Isleworth who was in a band big in the 70's and every time we go back for a visit and see him in the local he is extolling the virtues of songwriting and just like your wife says more importantly the royalties.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Baby Blackbird Help
