24 June 2001
I find Spencer, who is less than a week old, hairless, on the grass by the pool area at Oxbow marina on the Georgiana Slough in the Sacramento Delta. My first thought was he was dead, all splayed out on the grass. I touched him with my foot and he moved. I picked him up and his body is boiling hot from the sun and the wind blowing. I decide to take him back to Shatoosh. He may not live long but at least he will get Reiki and not die in the heat. Spencer is a baby bird, probably a sparrow.
I make a nest in a margarine bowl and line it with the softest toilet paper I have. Ann and I are having the tail end of our Sushi, so I mash up some turkey and rice and feed it to him. He eats it and is peeping. Perhaps he will live a few hours. I return from the airport run with Ann to find Spencer really hungry, so more food goes into his gullet. His skin is so thin that you can see the food inside his gullet. You can see his intestines. He is pooping and peeing so systems are go. If he lives thru the night I will buy some worms.
25 June: He is slow to wake up but eats a few bites and then goes back to sleep. I get some worms and by 1000 he is peeping and trying to crawl up the side of the nest. He gobbles up parts of the worm. I put in a call to Care, my bird friend, and she returns it to tell me that it will be rare if I can keep him alive for the 2 weeks it takes for him to learn to fly. In the afternoon after his lunch I put him out and let him stumble along the carpet. It is fascinating to watch him try to move. He crawls using his legs and wings and will try to come to my hand. If I put my finger under his jaw then he will try to stand on his legs and flap his wings. He has no control over his claws yet. I notice there is some new hair coming on his legs. The main strip of dark hair is from his crown to his sacrum, wings and tail. Some fuzz on his head and the rest is naked. This evening after I returned from eating with the gang for Taco Night at Viera’s, Spencer started stretching his head out and peeping for his dinner. He gobbled up the rest of the worm and some rice mush. He is holding his eyes open longer and will lift his head when I whistle at him. I let him crawl around on the table with some paper on it, as I know he will poop and he does.
This is so fascinating to watch his motor development. He was able to balance on his legs, k
eeping his head up and his butt off the ground for a few seconds for the first time. If he falls over on his back, he can right himself. After his exercise he finds his way back inside my hand and tries to nestle his head between my fingers. He likes to rest his chin in an elevated place to sleep. He is fast asleep in seconds. I heat up his blanket on the light bulb and he is set for the night. This little baby, listens to classical music, Om Namah Shivaya, Raga Taranga and Rama Ragava and gets Reiki at bedtime. NO way was he going to die in the hot sun on Gurumayi’s birthday. It just wasn’t in his chart.
26 June: Spencer is not a morning bird. He isn’t eating much this morning at 0600, just like yesterday. I clean his nest and off to sleep in seconds. Its now 0730 and he is still fast asleep. At 0830 he ate some but not like yesterday. Then he was hungry at 0900 peeping for food. I watched him lift himself balancing some on his hind legs with his bottom resting slightly off the bedding. I put him on the rug and he is beginning to work his long toe and hind toe claws. I notice that you can see the cranial sacral pulse in conjunction with his breathing. When he breathes in his sacrum flexes and his sacrum extends when he exhales. When I whistle he always opens his mouth. I put him on the aft cabin to hear the birds singing and he turned his head towards the sounds. In the afternoon he spit up the 3 pieces of worm that I gave him. He doesn’t look as strong today, falling asleep within seconds of eating. By late afternoon, he is failing. I hold the butter dish and am doing Reiki on him and he is taking a lot. He lifts his head to look up at my hand. Perhaps he feels the energy, but it was an acknowledgment of something. At 1830, his breathing is very slow, I hold him and continue to do Reiki. I have a sense that he is about to die, so continue to hold him and do Reiki. I warm his blanket and cover him up, his little head is resting on the fluff of the toilet paper, just like he liked it. He is very particular about how he likes his head placement. I had told Conrad and Juanita that I would come over at 7pm as they are leaving in the morning. When I returned at 2030 he was dead. I placed the lid on his butter dish nest and placed him in the dumpster.
What a cute little bird he was. I really enjoyed having him onboard and liked taking care of him. He was fascinating to watch him move about in his nest trying to get himself just where he wanted to be. To see how he developed motor wise in a few days and how his hair started to fill in. Each day was new. I’m glad he didn’t die in the sun and that he was surrounded by lots of love and nurturing..
I find Spencer, who is less than a week old, hairless, on the grass by the pool area at Oxbow marina on the Georgiana Slough in the Sacramento Delta. My first thought was he was dead, all splayed out on the grass. I touched him with my foot and he moved. I picked him up and his body is boiling hot from the sun and the wind blowing. I decide to take him back to Shatoosh. He may not live long but at least he will get Reiki and not die in the heat. Spencer is a baby bird, probably a sparrow.
I make a nest in a margarine bowl and line it with the softest toilet paper I have. Ann and I are having the tail end of our Sushi, so I mash up some turkey and rice and feed it to him. He eats it and is peeping. Perhaps he will live a few hours. I return from the airport run with Ann to find Spencer really hungry, so more food goes into his gullet. His skin is so thin that you can see the food inside his gullet. You can see his intestines. He is pooping and peeing so systems are go. If he lives thru the night I will buy some worms.
25 June: He is slow to wake up but eats a few bites and then goes back to sleep. I get some worms and by 1000 he is peeping and trying to crawl up the side of the nest. He gobbles up parts of the worm. I put in a call to Care, my bird friend, and she returns it to tell me that it will be rare if I can keep him alive for the 2 weeks it takes for him to learn to fly. In the afternoon after his lunch I put him out and let him stumble along the carpet. It is fascinating to watch him try to move. He crawls using his legs and wings and will try to come to my hand. If I put my finger under his jaw then he will try to stand on his legs and flap his wings. He has no control over his claws yet. I notice there is some new hair coming on his legs. The main strip of dark hair is from his crown to his sacrum, wings and tail. Some fuzz on his head and the rest is naked. This evening after I returned from eating with the gang for Taco Night at Viera’s, Spencer started stretching his head out and peeping for his dinner. He gobbled up the rest of the worm and some rice mush. He is holding his eyes open longer and will lift his head when I whistle at him. I let him crawl around on the table with some paper on it, as I know he will poop and he does.
This is so fascinating to watch his motor development. He was able to balance on his legs, k
eeping his head up and his butt off the ground for a few seconds for the first time. If he falls over on his back, he can right himself. After his exercise he finds his way back inside my hand and tries to nestle his head between my fingers. He likes to rest his chin in an elevated place to sleep. He is fast asleep in seconds. I heat up his blanket on the light bulb and he is set for the night. This little baby, listens to classical music, Om Namah Shivaya, Raga Taranga and Rama Ragava and gets Reiki at bedtime. NO way was he going to die in the hot sun on Gurumayi’s birthday. It just wasn’t in his chart.26 June: Spencer is not a morning bird. He isn’t eating much this morning at 0600, just like yesterday. I clean his nest and off to sleep in seconds. Its now 0730 and he is still fast asleep. At 0830 he ate some but not like yesterday. Then he was hungry at 0900 peeping for food. I watched him lift himself balancing some on his hind legs with his bottom resting slightly off the bedding. I put him on the rug and he is beginning to work his long toe and hind toe claws. I notice that you can see the cranial sacral pulse in conjunction with his breathing. When he breathes in his sacrum flexes and his sacrum extends when he exhales. When I whistle he always opens his mouth. I put him on the aft cabin to hear the birds singing and he turned his head towards the sounds. In the afternoon he spit up the 3 pieces of worm that I gave him. He doesn’t look as strong today, falling asleep within seconds of eating. By late afternoon, he is failing. I hold the butter dish and am doing Reiki on him and he is taking a lot. He lifts his head to look up at my hand. Perhaps he feels the energy, but it was an acknowledgment of something. At 1830, his breathing is very slow, I hold him and continue to do Reiki. I have a sense that he is about to die, so continue to hold him and do Reiki. I warm his blanket and cover him up, his little head is resting on the fluff of the toilet paper, just like he liked it. He is very particular about how he likes his head placement. I had told Conrad and Juanita that I would come over at 7pm as they are leaving in the morning. When I returned at 2030 he was dead. I placed the lid on his butter dish nest and placed him in the dumpster.
What a cute little bird he was. I really enjoyed having him onboard and liked taking care of him. He was fascinating to watch him move about in his nest trying to get himself just where he wanted to be. To see how he developed motor wise in a few days and how his hair started to fill in. Each day was new. I’m glad he didn’t die in the sun and that he was surrounded by lots of love and nurturing..
