Empty nest, (Compass flys home!)

This morning I went out to see if Compass was on the roof.  There was no sign of him anywhere.  Yesterday, I was fortunate to witness him flying laps around the trees in our yard.  He must have been preparing to fly home because today, he's just gone.  There were only some extra preened feathers on the ground, which I piled up on the table.  My 4 year old said "Maybe he left those feathers there so that we know he loves us."

I asked my husband to drive to the overpass where he was first found.  He just called and said that there are 12 pigeons there right now.   I really wish I'd seen him fly off myself.  Oh boy, I'll never be able to handle my kids going off to college.  The nest feels just a little emptier already, since that bird flew off with a pigeon sized piece of our hearts.

Praying only that Compass is safe and re-united with his family.  How happy he must be today!  Read Compass's full story here on his Eve's Ecopinions page.

Compass takes flight!

If you haven't read my previous posts on Compass, here's the story:
A pigeon flys head on into a moving vehicle and breaks his wing and jaw.  He crawls into a pothole and is discovered by my husband and brought to our home.  Numerous wildlife rescues were called and we were told he should be euthanised.  "Well,"  I thought to myself, " I can't do much worse than kill him."  So, I began to contact local veterinarians.  Luckily, not one but two local clinics have been kind enough to treat our avain rescue on his journey, one of which is Banfield Pet Hospital.  His home care would be my responsibility, I was nervous but would have to wing-it. (Oh-boy.)  A few weeks in a net covered sterilite container, a few more weeks next to my son's bed, he now resides on the screened in back porch.  We removed some of the screening to allow him access to the yard and sure enough, he's begining to explore.  Here's the Compass update, please click this link to read his full story if you are rescuing a pigeon.

Yesterday morning, I went out on the porch to see where Compass was hanging out... usually on the table or wood pile, but no sign of him.  Then my husband comes in and says "Guess who's on the roof of my office?"
"No way!" I gasp.  Then the boys and I go running out to see Compass hanging out on the roof!  OMG, I thought, should I get a ladder and get him down?  It was so unexpected that my first reaction was to go and fetch him.  lol!  Instead the boys and I filled up the bird feeder and he flew down when he heard the seeds hit the floor.  I was much relieved to know that he could easily get himself down from the roof without getting hurt... then it sunk in a little that he's not a toddler but a bird and one who can fly at that!

Did I mention he was curious?  As I type this Compass has come in through the back door and is checking himself out in the living room mirrors.  Can't blame him, being so handsome.

Compass’ Physical Therapy and Flying Lessons

Wow, Compass is looking great now!  I feel so proud of him.  He was a street bird with no human contact and has suffered a head on collision with an automobile, broken jaw, broken wing, imobilized limbs, weeks in my son's bedroom perched under the nightstand, being forcefed babyfood, being ooogled by kids and sniffed by dog and now he's finally got his own little house on the porch and is eating and learning to fly again.

My intentions for blogging his recovery are to offer others the confidence to care for  injured birds when professional alternatives are not available (or threaten to euthanise.)  All of the wild life rescues we called said they would euthanise and injured pigeon imediatly, so my family's care was his only chance at life.  Well, he has taken it and is well on his way!

Here are his latest photos:

A few days ago Compass got his wing cast off at Banfeild Pet Hosptial.  Many vets will not see wild birds, but Dr. Amy Walker was a kind and compassionate pro.  She showed me how to help him stretch his wing out.  Since then he's been hanging out in his new house on the porch.  I help him gently stretch the healed wing a few times a day and hold him up and let him fly back to his house.  No matter how straight he aims he  always flys in a curve, like a bowling handicap.  lol!

Week 2: Compass is flying straighter now, and he can fly UP a short distance, from the ground to the top of his house if the baby is chasing him.   I couldn't get him to fly on his own, but Meric can!

Follow Compass's journey from the first post here, just follow the link and scroll down to read past posts.

Compass is eating on his own now! Oh, Happy Day!

Remember Compass, our injured pigeon rescue?   When he arrived he had a broken jaw, broken wing and a concussion.  Now, he's halfway to recovery!  Here's the update:

Compass is hardly recognizable as the needy injured feather-ball that he arrived as.  After two weeks of syringe feeding him, his jaw is lined up perfectly again and he is eating seeds on his own!  He tries to fly too, although his wing is still bandaged.  When I come in the room he begins to flap up furiously until I take him out of his crate and let him explore my son's bedroom.  He likes to hang out by the mirror and see his reflection.  He is so fiesty now and I suspect he is looking forward to getting home to his life-mate (as pigeons do.)

I'm soooo happy I saw him eating seeds today.  When he first arrived, the wildlife rescue worker told me that a broken jaw is a "death sentence" for pigeons... not true if someone is willing to nurture them for a few weeks.  I noticed lately that instead of his jaw being lax and him readily swallowing mooshed food, that he struggled when I had to pry his beak open and seemed to not be interested in my offering.  I started "force" feeding him less and less and was hoping that he was eating on his own when I didn't see.. then today I saw him.  So happy.  It's a reward comparable to potty training my first child..lol!

Actually, we saw Compass' family hanging out under the overpass near the highway ramp where he was found and I felt a maternal twinge "Gasp!... I'll be worried about Compass balancing around on those thin ledges when he has just recently healed...."   Maybe I'll let him practice on the screened in porch for a few days before releasing him in two more weeks.  Here he is at his last vet check:

For more on Compass, click here.