With the arrival of spring, Powell River Orphaned Wildlife Society (PROWLS) becomes a baby nursery for a few months.
Unfortunately, robin nestlings can fall out of nests before becoming competent flyers and are usually found by a predator before long. Often, the predator is simply trying to secure food for its own young.
In this case, the robin baby was brought into a home by a cat whose alert owner promptly removed the bird from its jaws and called PROWLS.
For the next week, this hungry youngster was fed from morning to night every 15 minutes. Very quickly, the sharp baby robin learned to tell time.
Life had become satisfying and predictable. At the 15-minute mark, hungry chirps would emanate from its kennel.
The kennel door would open, its beak opened wide and well trained PROWLS society founder Merrilee Prior would insert an eyedropper into baby’s crop.
Silenced and temporarily full, wee robin rested and grew. As soon as possible, it was placed into a flight cage where it learned to fly and grab worms independently.
Within weeks, this nestling was mature and ready to re-enter the wild kingdom.
Contributed photo
