One day quite a few years ago, I decided to take the dogs down onto the golf course for a walk, after quite a savage hailstorm. Typical of all hailstorms round here, it was confined to quite a narrow strip, but within that strip, the damage had been quite horrendous. Vege gardens now contained “shredded” lettuce, and fruit had been stripped from fruit trees, and in places, branches had been broken from trees.
The weather after the storm was cool and crisp, after the heat that had preceded the storm, and it was just lovely for a walk, and to survey the hail stones still piled up in places. So the dogs and I set off. Jessie and Albert were the dogs we had in those days, and both were in their prime, and loved nothing more than a walk on the golf course. They were in their element, and as soon as we reached the course, I took their leads off, and let them run. And run they did, noses to the ground, catching up on the latest messages, and then they would rush off after rabbits (whom they couldn’t catch…the rabbits could outrun them). They literally ran rings round me. I just walked along, enjoying myself, as they ran to and fro, and covering a much greater distance than I was.
It was when we had almost finished our walk that the dogs came across the magpie at the base of a tree, sitting in the grass. I had done very little animal caring at this stage of my life, but I realised that very few birds sat on the grass with dogs looking and sniffing at them, without making some attempt to escape. And this magpie was just sitting there, making warning sounds, but obviously unable to get away. I had a long sleeved shirt which I had taken off previously, once I warmed up with the walking, and wrapped her up in that, picking her up carefully, and placed her on a branch. I thought she would be safe there. But despite my good intentions, she fell off, she was unable to grasp the branch with her feet. Well I thought, I can’t just leave her on the ground, anything could get her, and have her for dinner. So I picked her up again, wrapping her up securely for a short trip home. It was a bit tricky getting the leads back on the dogs, with a magpie “parcel” in my hands, but I managed and off we set.
When we reached home, the kids immediately noticed I had something in my hands and of course wanted to know what it was. They were entranced when they were shown, and I suddenly had many hands wishing to help, so I sent them off to find me a suitable box, and some rags to make into bedding for her. We were able to examine her, and soon found there seemed to be no broken bones or anything terrible. I really didn’t know what had happened, but I assumed she had been hit on the head by the hail. I found out later that when a bird has been concussed (as she must have been) that they can exhibit signs similar to a person who has had a stroke, e.g., one side seems to be paralysed, or they can lose the use of wings and feet. So I thought the best thing to do would be to make her as comfortable as I could for the night, and see how she was in the morning. Into the box she went. She didn’t seem to be too upset by the proceedings, and just settled down into the warm bedding made from the rags. The kids of course all wanted to take her to bed with them…I didn’t think that was a great idea…but I did allow one of the bigger ones to have the box in their room where they could “keep an eye on her”.
Next morning, bright and early, the kids and I removed the lid of the box. She was still staring at us, but brighter in the eye. I got a towel and wrapped her in it, and we all took her outside. I took her to one of our trees and put her on the branch. Her feet grabbed hold. Wow I thought, she’s coming good! Then before we had a chance to think, she flew off….it was a bit wobbly, but it was still flying and she landed in a higher tree further away. Success! She was back where she wanted to be, and safe from predators while she continued to recover….and probably wondering what on earth would have happened had she stayed with us….
Mamaroo's Diary 