Mockingbird fledglings

Three evenings ago, as I was walking Minnie by herself, I came across a little mockingbird that was sitting in the middle of the dirt road. The little bird didn't move when Minnie and I came up close. Its leg was injured, which explains why it couldn't fly or dart off. I picked it up and was determined to take it home. Then I discovered another little bird and picked it up as well. The parents were nearby but didn't dive at me. Perhaps they knew their fledglings were hurt? Needless to say, Minnie's walk was quickly aborted.

The birds were scared and wanted to get away from me that first night, but neither could get very far. I was worried they wouldn't make it that first night, but in the morning they were awake and took more food from me.

I placed them in the large dog carrier in the dining room. I took an old plastic tub and filled it with shredded paper and used that as their nest. I made some runny grits for them the first night, feeding them with an eye dropper. A lot of that missed the mouths and instead dried on the young feathers, making the birds look dirty and disheveled. On the second night I used saturated cat kibble, Nutrience, Ocean fish and Duck flavored, and that seems to be a big hit. I feed them the kibble by hand when it's not too gruely, but use a teaspoon when it is. The birds are liking this food.

It's now been almost three days and the birds have gotten used to my voice. When they hear me approaching the carrier in the morning, just before sun rise, they wake up. Once the first sun rays hit them, they start chirping and I feed them their first meal. I've gotten better at feeding them by spoon, and they are getting better at taking the gruel in without wasting too much of it.

I thought one had an injured wing, but its wing is fine. The other bird does have an injured right leg and can't use it for perching. However, I do see improvement in its mobility. While it's not as fast as its sibling, the injured bird does move around more and practices its wings. I hope both birds can be released back into the wild when they have all their feathers and can fly high. In the meantime, I'm really enjoying watching these two. The healthier one does comical "butt lifts" as if it were stretching itself. It seems to want to fly more. They are very vocal and a treat to watch!

I have already contacted a wildlife rehab center in Tucson to take these two birds. I'd rather raise them to maturity myself, but I do have road trip planned next week.