Amsal
By seaburngirl
19 comments
Amsal is the German for blackbird apparently [apologies for any spelling errors but it has been 3 yrs since I have done any German at school]
This blog outlines the trials and tribulations that Mother Nature forces on ‘her’ children.
Back in early August, mum and I noticed this male bird skulking in the undergrowth trying to avoid the prowling cat. When he turned away we noticed his face was badly damaged. Missing eye, bent and bloodied beak, beak that didn’t shut properly down one side and also an area of loss of feathers and skin around the side of the face.
We shooed the cat and sat close by watching this poor bird. He was clearly in distress but mum decided not to try to catch him to tend his wounds. 30 mins later he was still there and we were still watching him. I decided to put some water and some bird seed down for him. He came out for a drink but clearly struggled to get any seed in his beak.
As I have pet gerbils that like the odd dried mealworm I started throwing him the odd one which he took. Mum left me to it and a couple of hours later he had eaten 5 meal worms and seemed to be breathing easier. Mum and I speculated that the damage was probably due to being hit by a car and he would probably die of his injuries.
Next morning he was still alive and willingly allowed me to get within a metre of him and so the meal worm feeding began. This continued throughout August and when I swapped dried mealworms for alive ones he came to be fed 3 to 4 times a day. Mum suggested he was probably raising a brood as we have several nests in and around the garden.
Some days he looked really tatty, others less so. He started to get cheeky. He’d land on the garden bench, fly to the far pond wall, then to the near pond wall and even onto the kitchen window sill and stare into the kitchen. Mum or I and even dad [Grisly Adams on a good day :o)] would respond to his needs. He couldn’t sing and made a whispery whistle through his poor broken beak and once he tugged the bottom of my jeans to get my attention. I let him take a meal worm from my hand but he pecked really hard so I didn’t do it again.
The good thing was his face healed to leave healthy dark grey skin, devoid of feathers and a healed eye socket.
I went to college in September and Amsal kept coming to be fed when I got in on a night and 3-5 times during Sat/Sun.
Then in October all the blackbirds disappeared as all the birds have fledged. Last week the black birds are back but I haven’t seen Amsal. I hope he is ok and I realise that the feeding was not just for him but his brood.
I am just amazed that such an injured bird continued to feed his own brood and no wonder he looked such a mess. Mum and I hope he is alive and will come back to our garden in the future.
These last 3 photos show him landing at my feet and giving me a ‘blind stare’ before accepting a free meal worm. Thanks to mum for buy the mealworms and allowing them to sit quietly in the bottom of the fridge.
I hope the pictures don’t put you off your tea.
24 Nov, 2014
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Comments
Aaaaw what a lovely heart warming story Sbg your patience obviously paid off and you helped not only him but his family too!!, lets hope he returns to your garden to let you know he's ok.
24 Nov, 2014
Truly heart-warming story of a very brave little bird who received help just when he needed it. You did well for him.
24 Nov, 2014
I see my daughter has been hijacking my blogs again!
Yes she has done very well to look after this little chap. I do hope he survives. He used to run the length of the garden when we opened the back door.
She logged this at her animal welfare course as ' working with wildlife' as an on-going assignment.
24 Nov, 2014
Well done Seaburns daughter, you must have a lot of patience and certainly a caring nature, I hope the blackbird is still around somewhere, if not you can be proud of the fact that you did your best for this little bird, he obviously trusted you.
Its a great blog......
24 Nov, 2014
Well done indeed, V! :-))
25 Nov, 2014
So good of you both not to give up on the poor, injured blackbird. Lovely blog :)
25 Nov, 2014
What a heartwarming blog. As I began to read I was worried that the cat you mentioned at the start would have managed to catch your Blackbird, but I was pleased to continue reading and to discover that all was well and that he continued to recover. I do hope he's still around and that you catch sight of him soon :)
25 Nov, 2014
Lovely story.....well done!
25 Nov, 2014
I'm pleased you like my blog. One of my college lectures thinks he may still be alive as they can live for 5+ years. Though he may not be able to 'secure a mate' as he wasn't able to vocalise much this summer.
Mum is off work with proper flu and a chest infection and she has spent a lot of the time watching the birds from the conservatory. She has seen loads of blackbirds but not him.
Our garden forms the boundaries between 3 blackbird territories whether he can defend his again is not likely sadly.
26 Nov, 2014
Well done both of you ! Many people wouldn't have bothered. I hope Amsal is still alive somewhere and if he is, then it's thanks to you :o)
26 Nov, 2014
So good to read that you managed to keep him going - and probably his brood too. Here's hoping he is alive and well and living somewhere not too far away.
27 Nov, 2014
What a wonderful blog! I thought it strange that "mum Sbg" should have forgotten her German only 3 years after school as I thought she was much older than that! I felt confused at first then I noticed it wasn't" mum Sbg" but "daughter sbg"! Lol!
Nevertheless it was a great thing to do & took patience & a love of other living things to bring it safely through! Like you I really hope he has managed to survive & that one day soon you both might see him again!
Would "daughter sbg" please identify herself so we can all address her by name, please? :-))
28 Nov, 2014
Hi mum SBG here, daughter is Victoria, aged 17.
There are a few photos of her in my pictures.
I forgot my German back in 1974, pity my O-level exam was 1975!
29 Nov, 2014
Thanks, mum SBG for telling us your daughter's name.
I got my O-level Spanish back in 1981. With the highest pass note possible! The examiner said I could have done A-Level & probably passed with very good notes as well!
By then I'd lived at least 5 years in Spain & was married to a Spanish lady with whom I had 3 kids!
2 Dec, 2014
That was a brilliant coup non the less balcony :o)
Just think of how many of our kids don't get their English language exam and they've lived and spoken it all their lives [ badly usually :o)]
3 Dec, 2014
Thank you, SBG! :-)) I did find it incredibly easy! You are right about English Language exams. I found them quite easy when I went to school. I always did best in English, though, whereas in maths I'm a zero on the left! :-((
4 Dec, 2014
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You did well to help this blackbird ... let's hope he's still alive and perhaps visiting where someone is putting out food for the birds.
I checked on the internet, and the German spelling is Amsel, but I think Amsal seems a very nice variation, and according to my searching, is a first name used for people of other nationalities. :o)
24 Nov, 2014