# Bluebird Hit by Car



## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Lewis found a young Bluebird in the road just below our home this afternoon. He had apparently been hit by a car and was floundering in the road. Luckily, Lewis was able to pick him up before a car ran over it.

Lovely little one though it is obviously molting quite badly. For now, he is resting on a heating pad. I decided to use the pad even though we don't know if it has a head trauma. It was cold and I felt getting it warm was important. I am not giving it anything to eat or drink right now until it poops. It has been about 4 hours and he still hasn't pooped but it has stood upright a couple of times which was good. I'm going to let it rest for tonight and hopefully it will be better tomorrow and we'll see how things go. 

Say a little prayer for this little one. He is very sweet.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Sending one up right now.


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## birdlady26 (Jul 29, 2008)

It's great that you were able to save him before something worse happened. I'm praying that he'll pull through.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

ADD ME TOO, Maggie!

AND, give that Lewis an extra special hug from me and my gang for being "in the right place at the right time!" SURE WAS MEANT TO BE!!

Wishing the little one LOVING HEALING THOUGHTS WITH GENTLE HUGS and SCRITCHES!!

Will be looking forward to positive updates! I know that if anyone can pull that little one through, you and Lewis can! 

Love and Hugs

Shi and the gang


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

I'll be pulling for your little bluebird, Maggie. I'm glad Lewis found it and was able to get it home where it will be safe.

Good luck with the little one!

Terry


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

can you get her a wildlife rehablitator in your area?? here's a link to one, not sure if they are near you or not
http://www.ncwildlife.org/pg06_CoexistingWildlife/pg6c.htm


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

altgirl35 said:


> can you get her a wildlife rehablitator in your area?? here's a link to one, not sure if they are near you or not
> http://www.ncwildlife.org/pg06_CoexistingWildlife/pg6c.htm


I think Maggie has signed off, but I know she and Lewis are able to get in touch with an experienced rehabber in their area and also have a bird savvy vet. They used to rehab songbirds so do have experience even though they currently only do pigeons. The bluebird is in good hands.

Terry


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

oh good, i worry about our bluebirds, they are seen less and less every year


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Some progress this morning. Drank a little water and gobbled down one mealworm - not much, but a start at least. Still sleepy acting but when it wakes up is more active than yesterday.

Altgirl, thank you for the link. It is a good resource link for licensed rehabbers in North Carolina. The sad part about any link like this is it points out how many more rehabbers specialize in mammals and reptiles than in birds. Like Terry mentioned, we have many years experience with both songbirds and pigeons but my husband and I are getting too old to do both so now just work with pigeons. I'm hoping this little guy will improve so much over the next few days that we can release it here without having to transfer it to one of my rehabber friends. I expect that it is one of our babies from our bluebird box so it is "family" . We had a bumper crop of them this year, thank goodness.

My husband just stuck his head in the door way and said it had eaten 4 more meal worms from him. Whoo hoo. I so love these little guys with their big eyes! I'll try to get a picture today.


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## Guest (Sep 7, 2008)

yes please do post a picture if you can I too have a love for those babyblues hehe not to steal your thunder but heres a pic of one that I came across that was just learning how to fly


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Lokota, that looks just like our baby. I believe the one we have is a female but with it molting so much it is a bit hard to tell but it isn't as blue as a male.

She is still eating meal worms. I give her one or two about every half hour and she will stand up and pounce on them. She does tire easily though so I let her rest between feedings. I'm so grateful that I have a supply of meal worms on hand for occasions like this. We often give them to the parents to help raise their babies. 

The trust many birds give us humans always astonishes me. This little one has no fear of us and seems to know we're trying to help her. She lets me hold her so she can drink water and pet her just a little.  Bluebirds have always been more people oriented than many birds and this one is no exception. They have always been one of my favorite birds - lol, how many times have you guys heard me say that about any bird we get in?


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

oh i know all to well how few federally permitted rehabbers there are, i'm the only one on the north shore of mass, there's only a hanfdul in the whole state and i can only handle between 15 and 25 birds at a time. it was a very difficult process to get my permit.
as you know it's alot of work to rehab songbirds,very expensive and it's a very long season.
have you considered begining her on a steroid??


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

altgirl35 said:


> oh i know all to well how few federally permitted rehabbers there are, i'm the only one on the north shore of mass, there's only a hanfdul in the whole state and i can only handle between 15 and 25 birds at a time. it was a very difficult process to get my permit.
> as you know it's alot of work to rehab songbirds,very expensive and it's a very long season.
> have you considered begining her on a steroid??



For right now we don't plan to start her on steroids. I don't believe she suffered any severe head trauma based on her activity in her box. She is now moving around the box well, standing, pouncing on worms, has no open mouth breathing like she initially did (which I think was stress related more than anything else) and eyes are bright and now fully open. I'm beginning to think she was "grazed" by the car and hit the pavement pretty hard but so far we can find no broken wings or legs.

We don't keep steroids on hand and usually get those shots from the vet with our head trauma victims. I must say steroids can really help them. Do you keep steroids on hand?

It is a shame more people don't want to work with birds. I know they are more time consuming and harder to care for than mammals.


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

I'm glad she is doing well today.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

GREAT NEWS, MAGGIE!!

I am JUST DELIGHTED!!

Working as a rehabber can be sooo difficult, especially if one works alone. You are SO fortunate to have Lewis and the two of you make such a GREAT TEAM!

With Love, Hugs, Scritches and Admiration

Shi


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## Margarret (May 3, 2007)

Maggie,

I just found this thread. Add me to the group who are sending healing prayers for her. I'm so glad to hear s/he is eating. Hopefully some TLC and good nutrition will see her restored to health. She couldn't be in better hands.

Margaret


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

LOL, I don't mean to keep on and on about this little one but she is amazing. You would think we have had her since she hatched - so trusting that she will now take a worm from us. I think she also ate a piece or two of a grape today. When we open up her box, she just gazes at us with those big beautiful eyes and my heart just melts. I don't know how many of you have been fortunate enough to be around a bluebird but they have really large eyes. She was so stunned most of yesterday and this morning that she kept them closed a lot but now they are open wide and she very alertly looks for a worm to land in her box or to take it from our hand.

Thank you all for your prayers. Yesterday when Lewis brought her in, I held her close and immediately asked God to protect her and make her well. Course I do that with most we get in.


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## Reti (Jul 20, 2003)

Maggie, I am so glad s/he is doing so good. S/he is a lucky birdie to have been found by Lewis.

Reti


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

yep, i keep them on hand, one thing that is nice about being permitted is you cna usually find a vet willing to help you, i used to struggle so much for information, and even basic antibiotics for cat attacks when i wasn't doing it legal.
i know, i wish more people worked with birds, i hate to say it but we have alot of raccoons and squirrels but our native birds are dissapearing slowly but surely, they need our help. i do seagulls and invasive species also, alot of rehabbers won't and maybe i'll be able to say no to them at some point, i just don't have the heart to do it yet
i love rehabbing squirrels they are so cute, i did 23 this spring but i'm going to try not to do any this fall, frankly i'm pooped, been going steady since april


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## Lin Hansen (Jan 9, 2004)

Maggie, I'm so glad to hear that the bluebird is doing so well.....good luck with him/her. Of course, I'm sure no one would mind a picture or two.......LOL.

Linda


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

how did the blue bird make out???


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

altgirl35 said:


> how did the blue bird make out???


Sorry I haven't responded sooner - just saw your question.

This baby was released last Thursday.  I almost hated to see it go because it was a delightful little guest.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

*THAT'S JUST TERRIFIC, MAGGIE AND LEWIS!!!

WELL DONE!!

WISHING ALL THE BEST TO THE BLUEBIRD...TRULY A BIRD OF "HAPPINESS" NOW!!*

*Love and Hugs

Shi*


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## altgirl35 (Sep 5, 2008)

awsome! glad to hear it!


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## Margarret (May 3, 2007)

OH Maggie, I'm so glad to hear that little bird recovered well enough to be released. I bet it was hard for you to let her go. But she is flying free and will probably find a mate and have a nest full of her babies next spring. The circle of life gets to go on for her, thanks to you and Lewis.

Margaret


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Well done, Maggie! I'm glad to learn of the happy ending here!

Terry


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

Well done! So glad the little bluebird had such a successful outcome!


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