Growing Up Sparrow

Our little East girl is eating and growing and cheeping and driving the dogs nuts because they can't touch her! Her nestbox also smells like dog food (she's a messy eater) and that just entices Kharma and Zelda even more.

I'm grateful for the Internet or I would have been clueless about what to feed her. As it turns out, bird parents all seem to feed their babies protein. And dog food has a nice balance of protein and grain, it's readily available, and East is thriving on it. I pulverize a handful of kibble in my blender, let it soak up some water, refrigerate it until needed and then add enough warm water to make a nice gruel for our little sparrow.

Sparrow clicker training would have been a breeze! I tried locating her box directly underneath the nest, right outside our window, but her parents never came to her rescue. She quickly associated the sound of the window sliding open with food. Due to thunderstorms, she's living inside now, and the appearance of a certain spoon makes her open her beak wide as she demands to be fed.

I had doubts about a successful outcome a week ago--now I'm amazed and grateful for this opportunity to raise our adorable little sparrow!

More photos tomorrow, even if I have to steal a working camera! She's too cute to miss.