see
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On the porch is a set of shelving that has held my remodeling tools during this most recent remodeling adventure. A few weeks ago, a wren made a nest among them and provided an excellent excuse for not putting those tools up in their proper place. She has since fledged a handfull of chicks, so I suppose I'll have to put away my tools.
Yesterday, a student showed up at my classroom door with a wren cupped in her hands. This is not unusual...the student at the door with some critter. When you're the long time science guy in a small community, the first thing people say when they find some injured snake, bat, lizard, bird, frog, salamander, etc is ..."Hey, let's take it to Mr. FC"
So there she was with this wren who would not fly. It looked like an adult to me which made the no-fly puzzling, but then a little more info revealed that someone at gym had swatted it with a badminton racket. Sigh....
I thanked the student and put the wren in a dark box to rest. It didn't look injured and probably just needed to get it's bearings again after being the birdie in a badminton game. MY students were very interested, but I explained this bird really just needed some quiet time. We continued class.
Just as the bell rang, the bird emerged on it's own and flew across the room to land on the flag, then the TV, and finally to the rear of the room and into a large walk in storage area.
Great. It's hard enough to keep the attention of students at the end of the day, but pretty much impossible with a bird zinging back and forth across the room. Lucky for me, I was able to shut the storage door trapping the wren inside BEFORE the first of the next class showed up.
During that final class of the day, my daughter Emma is my teacher aide. (Nepotism Rocks!) Anyway, she walked in and asked if I wanted her to continue the typing and copying from the day before...the usual teacher aide tasks.
I handed her a big butterfly net and sent her into the closet.
15 comments:
Best. Teacher. Ever.
Pablo,
Oh.Stop.It.
Great teacher and a great dad. So many lessons from one little wren.
Wish I'd had a teacher like you - in ANY of my classes - then maybe I wouldn't be so gosh-darn dumb about everything!!
Also wish my teachers would have let us have real birds (wild or otherwise) in the classroom... that would have made science class a lot better.
Those birds nest in the darndest places! There is a phoebe nest in my future bedroom right now.
Good. job. teacher. As. usual.
Just playing catch-up again. Last week away from the office, and preparing for the next 2 weeks away (Look for some pics from Brussels next week!)
So here goes:
Pretty good use of Emma's talent - Just kidding Emma!
You forgot fried bananas!
Nice looking squash!
Despite what you and Lightnin think, there's nothing wrong with sharing an apple. Of course it all depends upon who you're sharing it with!
A wren will build a nest on YOU, if you stand still long enough.
Since I don't know where your classroom is, I'll have to ask Mr. FC my question here...
Since you're in FL, I'd like your advice. My chicks are now about 7 weeks old and they're on chick starter. When do you switch their feed? Do you feed them grit/oyster shell? I'm reading so many different viewpoints that I'm getting a headache. What's one more??
FC-
Did Emma come out of the closet yet? No pun intended here, but you never let us know if the wren is out on it's own or what happend? Great science teacher yes, but any good English teacher would tell you that you have to have an ending to your story!
dpr and Lightnin,
She successfully released the wren, come on...it's Emma, you mean you had to ask?
robinandrea,
I think the wren learned a lesson too...stay away from gym class!
Mrs. S,
I used to bring in chickens and an occasional duck from home, but kids these days have so many allergies that I've backed off on that practice.
Deb,
They really will, I find wren nests in everything from tennis shoes to flower pots.
Dave,
Emma can now add birdcatcher to her resume. Enjoy Brussels!
Debbie,
Well said and very true.
Girl,
I think that's about when I've always switched. I just feed layer crumbles after I finish with starter and they seem to do just fine. I haven't had any problems that I know of related to feeding or their growth.
Thanks FC... what about grit/oyster shell?
Did she catch it? I bet the poor little bird was ready for a nervous breakdown after all that excitement in one day.
Girl,
I never bothered. I throw in garden weeds with roots and dirt attached and I figure they are getting grit there. I never did the oyster shell stuff, but I was probably supposed to. My free rangers get their own grit in the bottomless chicken tractor.
Empress,
I am honored by the royal visit to my humble blog (bowing now).
I shall endeavour to percevere.
Abandoned,
She managed to shoo it out the back door after chasing it around the walk in closet with the butterfly net.
My cats have brought numerous birds, bats, lizards and mice in the house for me. How thoughtful. It is really, really hard to get a bird out of the house. I probably should invest in a butterfly net.
Hick,
At home we turn out the lights and open a couple of doors. They usually just fly out on their own.
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