Freds' Story

aw stevie, thats such a lovely little home you have made him ~ i hope his mum and dad can find him, i can nearly hear him cheaping from here!!

the RSPCA will be asking you to come and join them soon!!

where is the door for his little box???

he cant complain about the view can he

long live Fred!!!

The opening is at the back Sticki, i stood and watched from a distance and one of the parents came into the roof just behind him so they cant miss Fred

Update folks, last night I went out and could hear him chirping so he was ok in there.
This morning got the ladder out and he was ok but hadn't woken up yet

that is just fabulous!!!

clever you, never seen anything like that before.

little fred could become quite a celebrity ~ being on that amazing trellis too!!!

better get the tea on ~ the visitors will be queuing to see the amazing fred who survived the fall and ended up having the most bijou residence in the UK!!!!

could you feed him some caterpillars??

I wish there was a category on here for extraordinarily good blogs, perhaps we should ask for one??

i would be nominating this one for it, along with its sister blog[?] Daffy's Story!!

Fingers crossed for fred

wonderful Stevie - I feel so sorry for those helpless baby birds!
I keep unused hanging plastic plant pots around for that reason - that way I can put the baby in there and safely hang it from a branch, where hopefully the parents will find it!

Well done Stevie,. that's a great story lets hope he survives... great job.

Hello Little Angel:-o

How is he doing Stevie?

Awwwwww bless you Stevie! Thats jsut brilliant!
Hope wee Fred survives..and I was thinking same as ST maybe feed him some wee beasties or maybe some of your chutney? Please keep us updated..great story! I would nominate it too :))

Update 5pm, Fred has been chirping a small chirp so hes still hanging in there, however am not sure he is getting anything from mum n dad so will attempt to feed him some bits of worm later

come on little fred we are rooting for you [while stevie goes rooting for worms!!]

i forgot to ask what sort of baby he is [and i know he isnt an emu baby!!!]

What a worry for you, they are so vulnerable........

Have you got a baby cuckoo edging them out ?
Baby birds are hard work , far more difficult than tne human kind !

Awe I hope hes ok :))))))))

Ok will update you later folks, just waiting for it to cool down first then will try and give him a feed later. I'll let you know if he takes it up, but if not then dont be too disappointed, we tried.

I think just up under the rafter edge its a bit of wood then the insulations so a bit flat, not too difficult to get up and over but sadly a big drop

Have to go teach now but I'll be thinking about wee Fred :)

lovely story - and well done there - very nicely done

you might have to do a rain dance to get those worms to appear stevie??!!

Poor little Fred, he looks quite meaty though so hopefully he has a chance.

please keep us posted!

oh, poor little fella. Hope he's doing OK.
Just wonder about feeding - are you first chewing on worms and THEN giving them to Fred?
But seriously - hope he'll survive. Waiting to hear from you:)

kasy!!! that is toooooo much to ask!!!!!!!!!!

oh, Sticki - just be patient:)
We will hear from Stevie - probably the mouthwash takes just bit longer than I thought;-)

Ok heres the evening update folks (so you can sleep easy for all those IMPATIENT ones ; )

Well the bad news is... hmm doesn't seem that Fred has had much if any food today, i think mum n dad are just nipping in the gap to the roof and thats it so maybe there are one or two others there they are feeding, poor Fred doesn't seem to have gotten a look in, so hes looking a bit frail I am afraid. It was worth a shot though to get him fed properly I guess.

Maybe he has had a bit of a hot day so also got him inside for a meal on the kitchen table. Uncle Stevie dug a small number of worms and happy to report he's has a meal. Cut the worms up into pieces and used a couple of plant labels. He does seem very tired but he can muster a bite/gulp reflex. A bit of a tap on the beak and hes opened up a few times to take a chunk of small worms so hes got something in him. and he seems to have had enough and off to sleep. So will let him kip in his box safe on the kitchen table.
I'll give him a good breakfast and then if its cooler put him out but along a tad right under where mum n dad go it, other wise i'll just feed him myself.

Ok so steady as she goes. i reckon if he wakes up tomorrow we're in with a shot.

well done stevie!!! that is amazing! i really hope he pulls through, if he does i think you will have worked a miracle!!

will you be walking on water tomorrow???

Aw im so lad he ate something..you're a star Stevie! Fingers crossed he makes it. x () x for Fred xx for you!

I think Freds luck must have been in when Uncle Stevie was standing by to rescue him. Lets hope he makes it through the night, although it looks very likely your parenting skills are going to be called for abit longer if he does pull through. Fingers crossed for Fred, let us know good or bad news.

Oh Stevie, amazing that you were in the right place at the right time, you seem to giving Fred the right tweetment! Hope he will be Ok.

Well done Stevie:)
I think with weather like this it will be safe for him to stay on your kitchen table permanently.
And your place in heaven is booked for you already, lol.

how is he today stevie? you couldnt have done any more for him than you did!

Yeah how is the wee chap this morning? xx

Be patient girls - Stevie is on his way home with a plate full of worms, lol

Fingers crossed for fred xxx

Well Fred has made it through the night, he's looking a bit frail but will have been digesting his evening meal.

I had saved a few bits of worm from last night so hes had his breakfast. hes seems a bit sluggish but he slept ok. No tweeting at all but maybe later he'll wake up more.

Will now go over and put some spare potatoes in and see if I cant get him today's meals

Thank you Stevie for an update:) Glad he's doing fine.
Did you rub his tummy as well? lol

Brilliant Stevie, so glad he made it through the night. Are you going to give him another go with Mum and Dad today?

nice one Stevie, good luck.

well done stevie!! and well done fred! keep going little one!

he isnt very old is he? so i should think it shows he is quite gutsy to get this far!!

Well i have been looking on the web and its quite a task and worms are not necessarily the best. I'm going to try and give him a good feed, then I have had the brainwave of taking the tiles off just above where the nest is and try and put him back and make it a bit safer for them.

i looked on the web too and it recommends wildlife experts take care of them at this stage ~ not sure there are any in your area??? but everything else they said you have already done!!!

tiles off??? if you can get fred back in the nest im sure that would be best but not that easy????

that's what I keep thinking - that would be the best for him...
and of course for you, lol

Aw glad hes ok..you are doing everything..an more for him. good onya Stevie the wonderful! :)

well I wasnt able to access the nest from the top, 3 layers of tiles all nailed down and would have to break them to get them off. Don't think the landlord would be too happy.
Anyway plan B is to get up there shift along my 'very' shallow roof space, like something out of the great escape and see If i can reach and place him. However is a billion degrees up there so they might find a dead bird 'and' human up there so will wait till this evening and have a go at that.

However folks, sorry to say but although Fred had a bit of breakfast he doesn't seem to be doing so well, his reflex is weak and doesn't seem to want to eat. They need food every half hour apparently, so he might not make it till then.

poor little fred, could you give him some water somehow?

you did your utter best stevie, you couldnt have done more.

Sticki is right - you did your best Stevie.

Dont worry Stevie, you tried and these little fellows probably would become 'lunch' to magpies once they fly the nest. At least you tried.

Poor Fred has had a traumatic beginning: luckily you were there to pick him up as soon as he fell, but even so, everthing that's happened to him since has been new and frightening, and he doesn't have anything familair about him; parents, sibs, nest ... could your scent be on him? that might make the parents a bit wary of getting close. But I endorse what everyone has said; nothing more you could have done, and you did more than a lot of people would, even before dismantling your roof!

Aww..I've been so worried about him..poor wee thing..I hope you manage to get the parents to take him back into thenst and feed him..hope he makes it..you're doing a superb job Stevie :)

fran i looked it up on the internet, its a myth that the parents will reject because of human scent, they dont have a very strong sense of smell and the nurturing aspect is so strong it will overcome anything like that according to one of the wildlife experts.

oh, right, Sticki, that's good to know, on all counts! fingers crossed for Fred and family.

it is good isnt it.

that had always been the received wisdom: stay clear or you'll cause the parents to reject the child. Maybe in some scent-orientated species - but even so, it was a good way of keeping kids' hands to themselves!

i know i had heard that too, but it makes much more sense that the instinct to protect them is stronger and surely birds rely on sight more than smell??

Ahhh... good luck Fred. Thinking bout you little man. Hope your alright Stevie, must be heart wrenching.

Well no easy way to say it folks, but sorry Fred didn't make it.

He wouldn't eat anything further after his breakfast snack and I could see he was getting weaker and weaker.

Came back in today fearing the worst and he had slipped away, gone to that big birds nest in the sky, waiting to be reborn next year.

On behalf of Fred, we say thank you for all your thoughts.
Please dont be sad, we tried : )

you certainly tried stevie, no one could have done more

I will be sad:(((( You tried Stevie - but life is cruel:(((

~Awww how sad for poor little Fred. I do hope he has some siblings that go on to venture into the big wide world! You did go to alot of trouble for him Stevie. Really like you for that. Cant do a double like for this blog unfortunately.

Well I heard a couple of tweets still up there so hopefully those will survive : )

I have had some thoughts and I think i might put a couple of bird boxes up for next year.

thats a really good idea ~ nice positive thought, so it isnt quite so sad. well done Stevie!!!

They would be much safer in there, I dont think they can fall out of those!

Well!! What a story Stevie. I think you should have the GoY medal for Good Deed of the Year. :o))))))))) I think I need a cup of tea now.

Awww poor Fred. Hope the others survive. You did great Stevie and boxes fir next year sound good. I have tits in mine in and out all day long feeding the wee ones. I agree with Linda! :) x

me too!

I third that!

You did your best Stevie but he was just too young and weak bless him

Nature is rarely kind, or gentle; it can't afford to be. It's only when it's so close that it sort of rubs your nose in it that you realise what "survival of the fittest" really means for those who aren't "fit"

Just wanted to say thank you for trying Stevie! Little Fred didnt make it but I dont think any of us will forget how hard you tried!

No we wont! Three cheers for Stevie!

Aw three cheers indeed

Sorry to hear the news about Fred....I didnt comment but i had my fingers crossed all the time you were caring for him Stevie..and i was reading the other GOYers posts and following your blog....Fair play ta ya for the effort you made, really great blog...:>)

He is feeling good now, Stevie. Nice story.:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJA69C6SlRk