Bounce-Back

July 12, 2010

Due to the summer/autumn drought, the berries on our native trees didn’t ripen. There’s no food for the beautiful NZ kereru (wood pigeons), and we’ve had lots of skinny, starving kereru brought in to The Sanctuary. We wondered what had become of Bounce, a beloved baby kereru whom we hand raised last spring. Bounce spent all summer in our backyard, accepting support feeds as she gained strength and confidence. Gradually she spent more and more time in the bush, and eventually disappeared to a life in the wild, as it should be. We hadn’t seen her for months, and worried about whether she’d survived. Recently we noticed a skinny kereru in our backyard, and thought: “Could it be Bounce?” We rushed outside…and she immediately flew onto Michael’s head! Sure enough, Bounce had come back to the place she knew she could get 3 good meals a day…AND she brought a handsome male with her. Smart bird! We’re delighted she remembered, and very happy to be able to support Bounce and her mate through this lean winter.