On A Happier Note

January 18, 2011

This week we received a whole nest of kingfisher babies. Their nest was in a log which was broken in half by a truck making a tight turn. Luckily the family nearby heard the little tykes and rescued them. They are covered in quills – fine hard sheaths that will soon open into beautiful feathers. But at the moment they look more like hedgehogs than birds! Now that they’ve recovered and got used to their new nest-box, they make a funny metallic sound when they want to be fed. We had to forcefeed them at first, but after just 4 days they’re grabbing slivers of meat and fish from my fingers and swallowing it themselves. All four adorable infants will make a complete recovery. They’ll probably be ready for release in two months.