Update: Bernie Bird

Many of you have asked me about Bernie, the little baby bird we rescued in June after a nasty storm blew him out of his nest. Almost completely bald, with a mouth larger than his head, we named him Bernie because he looked like a little old man.

To be honest, I didn't think Bernie was going to survive his first night with us. Cold and weak and drenched from rain, he couldn't even make a sound anymore. Those first few days were tough, I had to open his beak and give him food and water in small increments every 20 minutes. After about 3 days or so, he began opening his mouth for food and making small squeaks.

Before long Bernie got stronger, his feathers burst through their casings and he developed quite a personality. We still are unsure what kind of bird he is and he can really get aggressive at times.

We've had several attempts at letting Bernie go free, but he doesn't fly well and loses his balance occasionally. I can only assume that there is some kind of hidden injury to his body that affected him this way. He did after all, fall about 100 feet from the cottonwood tree where his nest was located.

So Bernie is now our pet, he loves his cage and plays with a little dangling bell I put in there. He looks at himself in the mirror quite a bit, opening his mouth and looking down his own throat. It's comical to watch. He is now full grown, and very beautiful! You can't see it in the photo, but his feathers are brown on the tips with green and electric blue at the base with the white dots everywhere.

Bernie Bird has imitated all the whistles I've tried on him. He does the bobwhite, whippoorwill, chickadees, sparrow and cardinal calls...which are the only ones I could manage to teach him. He also does the old traditional "cat call" whistle, you know--the one construction workers use at a pretty lady walking by... He imitates the microwave beep as well. He imitates my laugh, and something else I never expected. He says "Bernie Bird" almost as clear as the human voice! My daughter told me he was talking, but I didn't believe her till I heard it myself.

I'm still not sure what kind of bird Bernie is, but I'm so happy he survived and he fills my days with the most beautiful sounds! He is a joy and a pleasure to have in my home.

With Much Love and Hugs,

Granni