A wild shorebird lived with me for six days. Hm... I'd never thought I'd be sharing my room with a wild bird ... well...I've had a freezer at one point with a dead Philippine Pitta living in it before...
A wild shorebird lived with me for six days. Hm... I'd never thought I'd be sharing my room with a wild bird ... well...I've had a freezer at one point with a dead Philippine Pitta living in it before I finally found an ornithologist interested in collecting the sample for data. It was a dead Pitta picked up by a church guard that the guard handed to me after seeing me observing birds in the church ground. Oh, I must have freaked out the guard when I asked for his unused Mc Do paper cup to put the Pitta in it then I took it home! Well... living with a wild bird in the house was a first for me! Timing planned by nature perhaps, that I was at the right place and right time? What are the odds of what if I didn't go to the mudflat that day? Are you curious if this bird lived on the sixth day?
It was another of my usual birding day where I spent nearly six hours in the field along with food supply errands. Just enjoying the variation of plumage of migratory birds that arrived my home country's shores. Most people don't find waders attractive due to the fact they mostly look brown, grey, white when they arrive our country. But... if you know where they come from and their capabilities in migration, one just cannot be amazed! 15 minutes before sunset, as I packed up and went back to the car...
Patrick and Russel: " Ate! May ibon kami na pilay,di lumilipad! Hinintay ka namin dito" ( Sister, we have injured bird, not flying. We waited for you.)
Me: " Asan na! patingin! "( where ! show me!)
One of the kids ran back to their housing unit and came back with the bird. Ok, this is where all the teary eye and heart broken emojies came in on my part! It's a Red-necked Stint! I nearly cried! To check if the bird really doesn't fly, I told them to let it down.
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| Aug 23, 2021. 18:15hr . Red-necked Stint. The moment the kids let it down on the ground I took this photo. Local kids took it from the mudflat after noticing it won't fly. This photo was when I told them let it down, to see if it really won't fly. ICD2021 |
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| After they let it on the ground and it won't fly. I checked if there are broken parts. So far, on initial view, doesn't seem to have "pilay" . Isn't it amazing how such small pair of wings and so fragile yet so strong it could fly 5300km non stop during migration through strong winds of open sea! ICD2021 Note: If you are not trained to handle birds, don't just grab it because it might cause injury to its wings. If unsure, ask someone who is knowledgeable in handling wild birds or at least those who are raising domestic pigeons who are used to handling birds. And best is to take to the nearest Veterinary clinic or surrender to DENR offices. |
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| Aug 23, 2021 18:20hr . Ok so we have a curfew in Metro Manila of no more cars on the road by 8pm. I know if I took Merida ( I named the bird Merida) to DENR wildlife rescue centre in Quezon City, I won't be able to reach home before 8pm curfew and I'd be in trouble! Luckily I have unused dried wetwipes in the car! It is a must to wrap the bird and better cover its line of sight at least to keep it from being stressed. Hair clip is life for me and it came in handy for securing the bird! I made a decision to take home the bird in fear it will die if I leave it with locals. The kids said they took it at around 12nn and it was not given any food or water! If it is left on the mudflat it could be eaten by cats and dogs there. Yes a lot of strays and locals owned dogs running around the mudflat. |
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| Front seat ! haha! It's the most secure spot to put the bird while the car is mobile. You want to cover the eyes a bit to avoid it getting stressed. This is why I wrapped with the eyes covered. ICD2021 |
I messaged urgently to Jimmy and Chung-Yu asking for advise on what I can feed the bird for emergency rehydration and food. Well, forest birds here we know mostly what they eat. But shorebirds, it's a different thing of what you can subsitute their normal diet with .Well, I can't dig up a chunk of mud in the mudflat and take it home with me, can I? Thankfully both of them despite their busy schedule was able to reply asap! Quick stop at the grocery along the corner of our street, angels are all around me, as the grocery is cut-off for closing already. The guard only let me in because I said if I don't buy the drink needed the rescued bird I have in my car might die. Bless you kuya Guard! Daghang Salamat!
15 minutes later...back at home... first thing to do... let the bird be in a comfier state than being wrapped in dried wetwipes. Thoughts running about my head where on earth did I keep my syringes! It is urgent to hydrate it since it hasn't had food or water for more than 7 hours already by the time I got back to the house. Though it didn't look sick or sick kind of weakness. It really looked more like just exhausted.
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| Aug 23, 2021 19:00hr . Plastic tub, rubbish bag cut and put good size holes for air. Place the bird in it, tie it securely. Well, you don't want the bird running around in the bedroom and plotting connect the dots kind of bird poop all over the room! I needed to find the things I need to feed it first. I was dead hungry but oh man, I fed the bird first then my dog , then myself! ICD2021 |
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| Aug 23, 2021 19:00 hr . Uhu, several holes on the rubbish bag like this. ICD2021 |
Aug 23, 2021. sometime between19:45 to 20:15 hour. Feeding Pocari Sweat to the bird for emergency rehydration. It hasn't had any fluid / food in nearly 8 hours by this time, and in the heat of the Philippine weather this is very bad situation. Chung-Yu 's advise was best if I have glucose, if not, then sports drink will do. I don't have glucose at home and it's not easy to buy at groceries now unlike during my granny's time. So next option was , Gatorade / Pocari Sweat. Jimmy suggested give it dog or cat food soaked in water. So, I asked Kit to share her dog food, haha. Ok Merida, here we go, you're a fighter, we need you to gulp down some of the fluid and eat some of the not so tasty dog food.
Aug 23, 2021 evening on arrival at the house. Purely hand fed. The dogs were watching me feed their new friend haha! The bill is very small, so without the needle fluid and food doesn't go into its bill. But please do not copy what I did if you are not trained to handle birds. I've been taught by Jimmy and Chung-Yu in Taiwan so I was confident on how to handle it without breaking its wings , or legs, or neck! First round of Pocari sweat, Merida didn't want to drink it. But at some point it did take the fluid. I gave 1.5 cc of it. Then waited for 20 minutes before I started to feed it with mashed dog food. After 1 hour, I gave another 1.5cc of fluid.
I fed it again after 3 hours. By this time, I noticed it seemed to be able to eat on its own. Well in the field they eat so much and nearly non stop! If it just arrived that day and exhausted, it would have used up a good grams of its body weight from the migration. So it definitely needs as much food as it can get.
Aug 24, 2021 4:00hr. I woke up early to feed it. Then again, I noticed it seemed to be able to eat on its own?But not really eating as well.
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| Birding Poodles watching me feed Merida , their dog food ! |
To test my observation of it looked like able to eat on its own?
Aug 24 2021 7:00hr.. I tried to put the food close to its bill.. Yahooo!!!
Aug 25, 2021. Alternate of hand feed and let it eat on its own. Well , it seemed to dislike the food!
Note: I wrapped the bird in tissue paper to avoid it flapping its wings, also to avoid bird poop directly on my hand in case it poops!
First evening it was pretty quiet. Day 2 evening, it sounded fidgeting a lot in the tub! Day 3 evening, I could hear it flapping wings and seemed to peck the food lid more often and louder!
Alright! Thermal scanner in action! I was curious as what it was doing. Day 2 evening, it kept making sound in its " hotel room"! I could hear flap and walking from time to time. But mostly it sits and head just turn left right, left right... Aug 24th to 26th evening I was spying on it hahaha
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| Aug 24, 2021 1300hr. It was really eating on its own and it can stand up at times, but not entirely looked strong enough yet! ICD2021 |
After showing Jimmy a video of it being able to eat on its own in the tub. Jimmy suggested put rocks or sand to make it more natural for the bird. Since they don't balance very well on flat surface. So time for hotel room upgrade!
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| Upgrated Beach Resort Hotel suite for Merida! haha! ICD2021 |
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| The effects of the rocks and sand was instant! It seemed more relaxed in this manner. The rest of the afternoon and the following day, status quo. Note: Photo was taken with caution. Phone was slipped into the tub while bird's back was facing me. ICD2021 |
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| Most of the time it sits this way but can stand up on its own from time to time. The good thing is, the lid of food finishes hours after I put it in. So it really was eating on its own! ICD2021 |
August 26th. Occassional flapping but more wings flapping and walking about at night.
So, maybe it is strong enough to be released since it can stand up arleady? I decided to try it. Before releasing, I did some measurement.
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| Aug 26th 2021 . Just as I was thinking maybe strong enough to be released, that evening, as I put fresh food into the tub, saw it was standing up and walking! This time really walking! ICD2021 |
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| Weight of the bird was 26grams. ( 35grams bird with toilet roll - 9g toilet roll) . Normal weight is 18 to 35grams. Thank you to Dave Bakewell for helping with weight detail and other tips on feeding it ! |
Just seconds after realesing it, my heart sank! It was clear the walking bit is not its normal walk and the way the wings flap , is definitely not ok to fly! I quickly messaged Chung-Yu about it and was told ok maybe need to take to an animal hospital. Well, the problem is, in this country we do not have specialised animal hospital attending to wild shorebirds! This is different from what most people are used to. Also, based on my experience and other people's experience with taking rescued small to mid size shorebirds to DENR, nearly always end up dead! Well, the last one I took in was a Grey-tailed Tattler in November 2020, after so much process of papers to sign for " receiving the bird" rather than immediate attention to rehydration and getting it back into shape, really so much time wasted on paper works and not the actual rescue! The following day morning, DENR in house Veterinarian who received the bird from me just sent me text message , said it died! I refuse to let that happen to Merida! I was determined to get Merida back into shape to continue its southward journey. So...Armed with shorebird experts friends' instructions, I won't give up until everything is done properly and all out effort for this bird. I sat and watched for another 10 minutes in hopes it might just be needing some warm up of its wings after 4 days of being in a tub not stretching much! But no, first thought was, right, it can't fly... yet! It is not final not being able to fly! That part I was very certain after observing the bird. During this time I was hoping I can get some help in catching the bird again since I'm too heavy to step on the soft mud where it moved to. Um not that I didn't try, I took one step on that portion and just one foot it sank quite deep! I picked up a bamboo pole and stuck it in to check....oh dear me... not great! I kept watch on the bird while at the same time , scanning about and counting other birds , multi-tasking while I wait for some local kids to play on the mudflat. I need them to help me catch the bird since they are much lighter and can step on the mud without dropping waist deep. Scanning far ahead, in scorching nearly midday heat... Oooooooo!!! What do I have while I was waiting for local kids to play at the mudflat? ... Aha!!! A suspect! A suspect of what could could be, might be , an American Golden Plover! It was very far but it was so strinking wide white bit that I cannot not notice how wide it was despite the distance of more than 350m away! But I had to give up getting all details of that into photo as I cannot leave Merida behind! It was tough decision but I think a life is more important than a country record. So, I stuck to my spot just kept checking on Merida while I kept an eye on the plover if in case it flew closer to where I was. Well ,the plover stayed put there all the time!
I was surprised with what other Red-necked Stints did the moment Merida got to this spot. At least 4 other Red-necked Stints , one by one went to where Merida was. First one seemed to " communicate" with Merida. They walked together for some time and ate together. Then two others joined Merida and both stayed with her for some time. Then fourth one in the video, sat with her and preened together. It was as if its friends went to check if it was ok!
The heat is starting to sting even more through my shirt and onto my skin. Another hour of waiting, finally some local kids popped up on the mudflat! I quickly waved at them and asked if they could help me get the bird. Showing them on my scope then directing them on general direction. Amazingly they did get the bird without even getting the mud sink with their foot steps! They are around 5 to 6 yr old small kids! I told them the bird was injured and won't fly so I'm taking it to a vet. At this point the search for a clinic offering X-ray was aboslute frustration. Kit's Vet doesn't have X-ray machine and the next nearest clinic in Quezon City with good quality machine to see if there are micro fracture on the wings? Well... not great to be told they don't have vet that is knowledgeable with birds so they won't accept doing X-ray. Ok , no other choice but to take it home again. What is the plan now? Irene, think fast and decide! I checked agian. The rough bit on the "shoulder" doen't really look or feel like there is fracture though it did not feel as smooth as it should be and is very likely the reason it wasn't flying. But no harm if bandage it to lessen wing flap and allow faster healing ? Then a sudden thought popped into mind! Ok so shorebirds eat things that are from the sea, or muddy rice fields. Which means their diet should have salt in it. Dog food does not have salt since dogs are not allowed salt!
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| Calcium tablet I grounded into powder. I nicked 1 piece of the tablet from my dad's supplement supply. hihih. Add some kitchen rock sea salt then grind together again to make very fine power. Its the salt that you buy in " palengke". I added a pinch of this mixture into the mashed dog food with every fresh food plate. The level of water has to be good enoguh to simulate their muddy feel of the their bill when dip into the mud. Calcium typically for bones. wormie with shells are often with high calcium content. They eat the wormies without the shells and could also eat what has fallen out of the shells. Dog food is high in protein but no salt. By adding this into the food... well... the result was..watch video below! Note: It is best to always consult experts on shorebirds. FYI I am not an expert. I am birdwatcher and I do shorebird census as well. But for expert advise, I seek advise from my ornithologists friends, in particular, those who handle and study shorebirds. |
Aug. 27th afternoon I started to add a pinch of calcium salt mixture into the food. By evening it was more alive! Really walking around in the tub and I could hear it eating more with its bill pecking the lid sound! I added more food every 3 hours and changed fresh food for it before I went to bed. By morning of August 28th, Oh wow!!! Not just walking but the flapping of wings was much stronger with more proper wings spread that I thought maybe I really should bandage the wings to avoid more injury in case it does have micro fracture? During cleaning the tub time... oh yes you gotta clean the poop out or else the entire room smelled! I wrapped tissue over it and then into the toilet roll carton it went. Just to give me enough time to wash the tub, stones and put fresh food. Oh I took out the sand and shells after it pooped on thos and difficult to wash! Downgraded hotel room haha! Well... I went to wash things, 10 minutes later, I came back to my room, to my horror, the bird was running about my wooden flooring !!! It was strong enough to break free from the toilet roll ! When it saw me, it flapped wings I knew that time it is ok to fly already! Ok so this looked like it is ready to be released instead of another 5 days plan! Maybe the mixture I added into the food did help? That same evening, ok so Kit and me hardly had any sleep from hearing the pecking on the food lid sound! It was eating lost I had to add 2x more fresh supply before I slept that night!
I woke up at 4am from wing flap sound so strong on August 29th. It is ready to fly! Merida was flapping its wings with a good strength to breach its " hotel room roofing" ! I could tell it was exerting much force of short strong flap to lift itself with enough force to break the plastic above its head. Instantly I knew I have to get ready in 20 minutes and leave the house to avoid it using up its reserved energy and fats, alsot o avoid injury.
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| Front seat again! On our way back to the mudflat . Aug 29, 2021. ICD2021 |
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| As we got out of the car, the moment Merida smelled the scent of mudflat.. it went crazy excited ! While walking on the mudflat to the edge of the closest softer mud, it was so excited trying to slip itself out of the toile roll carton! ICD2021 |
I was in a hurry and forgot my bridge camera! I so much wanted to have a video of it flying after realease. Same plan, I walk it over to the area less walkable to avoid people grabbing it in case it won't fly far yet. But yes it can fly now! The moment I let it down, it started to walk away from me... NORMALLY! Normal walking! It then opened its wings and as if " riding the wind, levitate some 6 inches into the air, and gently back on the mud! Then it walked again away from me! I knew right away...This is it! It started to walk more away from me and towards the road side of the mudflat. Not a good plan! I walked to the same side it walked, so it will walk back to where we started towards the soft mud less walkable side. And true enough, my effort paid off, I was watching it and used my phone to video it. Then I let it have its space to fly. I walked 5 steps forward towards where I left my tripod and I could see a few Red-necked stints coming towards where Merida and I were. I turned around to look at Merida, .... it was gone! I knew right away it flew along with its friends who seemed to come over to welcome it back to fly together! It was like when we banded birds, the birds would wait for you not to look before flying off! I kept scanning for 15 minutes and no luck, it was not anymore in that spot. But then I saw a flock of Red-necked Stints some 50 meters away, and yes, it was with them... then.. all flew farther away into the middle portion of the mudflat! That was what I thought would be the last time I'd see Merida... As I checked my phone video ... nooooooo noooo!!! I have a 10 minutes video in the phone memoery that is all blank except the first few seconds! It was very sad for me but I knew what matters is, rescue mission successful!
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| The tub on Aug 29th morning when Merida and me left the house. What was left ... But it left a good piece of memory in me ... and everytime I see a Red-necked Stint, it makes me smile even more! ICD2021 |
I must say thank you to the people who helped me with this! Jimmy, Chung-Yu, Dave, and also the people who really supported me in this! Lyn, ???, and Patty! I really couldn't have done it without all your support! It was a happy ending for Merida, but not for long as the mudflat will likely be gone next season due to reclamation.
Now I leave this for readers to think about. If big companies reclaim all our shores and mudflats and turn them into concrete facilities like airports, shopping malls, where will migratory shorebirds find food and rest stop? You see, Merida could have travelled 6300km from Siberia down to Philippines and the first stop it saw was, Tanza, Navotas. If there are no mudflat, it could have died already. Now, think about if you are on a road trip , after 800km you are running out of fuel, and the food store is some 100km away. You don't have food supply anymore and the critical part is to find the nearest fuel refilling station so you can get your food supply. If there is no fuel station, will you survive? Just the same for these shorebirds , right?