This morning I rescued a fledgling cardinal that had fallen into the window well outside our basement laundry room. Scruffy, olive-colored with reddish tints, and no larger than a fat sparrow, he was peeping incessantly, calling to his parents as if they could extricate him from the deep, narrow space he’d fallen into. When I went outside to survey the situation, the fledgling was patiently sitting on the basement window-sill, looking in, as if he were both confident his parents would rescue him and curious about the kind of washer and dryer we have.
I lifted the fledgling from the window well with a small shovel that easily fit into its narrow confines. Scooping the bird onto the shovel blade, I tried to lift him onto a nearby shrub, but instead of hopping onto a readily available branch, the fledgling immediately fluttered back toward the known safety of the window well, catching himself then clinging to the brick wall above it. I scooped the fledgling back onto the shovel blade, this time walking him further away from the house before gently dumping him into a low, sheltering shrub where his mother zoomed in and shrieked, reclaiming him.
When you think of how clumsy and hapless fledgling birds are, it’s a wonder any of them survive to adulthood. Even in the lush and leafy suburbs, dangers abound: there are window wells to fall into, prowling cats and other predators, and omnipresent cars. A young bird that can barely fly can easily fall into harm’s way, there being no shortage of creatures who would enjoy a tasty bite of fresh fledgling.
As I gently dumped this morning’s young cardinal into the low, sheltering shrub where his frantic mother reclaimed him, I couldn’t help but think of the first-year students that harried parents are gently delivering to college campuses around the country this week. Like fresh fledglings, first-year students wear their plumage proudly, venturing into grown-up situations that they confidently believe they can manage for themselves. There are a lot of dangers, threats, and pitfalls a first-year student can tumble into, and part of my job as a first-year composition instructor is to stand near, eyes and ears open, alert for the first warning peeps of a new flyer tumbled into trouble.
I didn’t have time to photograph this morning’s cardinal fledgling, so today’s post is illustrated with images adult male cardinals from my photo archives.
Sep 1, 2012 at 1:57 am
I so love your excellent metaphor and I am quite envious of your regional bird. We have no Cardinal’s out West though we have many first-year college fledglings.
Sep 1, 2012 at 2:36 am
It IS amazing that any birds survive the fledgling stage, when they’re so vulnerable. And yet cardinals are so common — they must be pretty hardy! Kudos to you for taking the time to save the little bird.
Sep 1, 2012 at 6:14 am
We are sheltering a fledgling now: a freshman from Haiti (survivor of the earthquake that destroyed her Haiti college and killed many of her classmates and professors). She is attending our local university and living with us. She is smart and hardworking, and she speaks English well, with a lovely French accent. But the timed quizzes all her instructors use are giving her fits. Any advice? So far our advice has been, give it a couple of weeks and see if it gets better; if not, talk to the instructors and your advisor and explain the problem.
Sep 2, 2012 at 2:04 pm
Lunette, you might not have cardinals out west, but you have exotic jays and hummingbirds we can only dream of here in the East…or at least that’s my reaction whenever I’ve traveled West. It’s funny how the birds that are common in one place are alluring and unusual to folks from other areas.
Steve, this has been the second or third year I’ve noticed fledgling cardinals in our yard, so obviously the parents are doing something right. Still, it never hurts to have a helping hand.
Lin B, I’d recommend that your “fledgling” talk to her instructors sooner rather than later to see what kind of accommodations they can make. Even if things DO get better in the coming weeks, she’ll have made good connections with her instructors, who will be able to help her with any future difficulties she might encounter. Most instructors are more than happy to help students facing unique challenges, and it’s much easier to help a student you “know” versus one who is only a name on a roster.