Photo By Laurie Pearson | Birds in hand. read more read more
Photos courtesy Catherine, Caitlyn and Samantha Clemans
Baby starlings are nursed back to health and taught to fly by Catherine Clemans, daughter of Col. Craig C. Clemans, base commanding officer, aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif.
“The nestlings were found behind the chapel on MCLB Barstow, in the hollowed-out log of a fallen tree,” Catherine explained. “I was told that some of the ground workers were clearing out dead brush and removing some dead trees when the chicks were found. Four nestlings rolled out of a hole in one of the logs a worker had just cut.”
The workers, concerned for the baby chicks because they appeared so young, quickly pondered what to do. Momma bird was nowhere in sight, and never appeared to return to the area for the babies.
“My dad eventually picked them up and placed them back in the nest in the hollow of the log and brought them home to my mom, hoping she might know what to do,” Catherine said. “She didn’t. None of us did, but mom remembered that I had raised three abandoned baby mice a couple years back and thought that if anyone could keep them alive, it would be me.”
The young birds were lethargic and weak at first, but thankfully, none of them seemed injured by their fall and they quickly regained their strength.
“I was afraid the first two or three days of caring for them that, the little bird I named ‘June,’ would not live,” Catherine said. “She was slower than the rest and always seemed one step behind in development but I was determined to fight for her. If she had been left in the care of her mother, I don’t believe she would be alive today because the other three birds were so overpowering.”
Catherine took responsibility for the baby birds and if she needed a break, then her sister, Samantha, would feed them on occasion.
“I am a nurturer and I love nature,” she said, explaining why she was happy to care for the starling babies. “Some things were common sense for me, but most things I had to research online. I kept them in a shoebox filled with shredded paper for cushioning. My mom ran to the store to pick up a heat lamp, since they had to be kept between 95 and 98 degrees Fahrenheit until they were fully feathered. Mom also picked up puppy kibble, canned cat food, dry baby food, fruit, and syringes to feed them. Baby birds have very complex diets because they need a variety of different foods to develop correctly.”
The babies looked to be approximately five or six days old when found April 16. They had to be fed every 30 minutes until they were more fully feathered. At that point, Catherine started taking them outside so that they could watch other birds fly and hunt.
“At 15 days old, they were ready to begin learning to fly,” she said. “This was tricky, obviously, because I am not a bird. I obviously couldn’t demonstrate for them, but because they saw me as their ‘mother,’ it was fairly easy to encourage them to jump down from a wall or tree into my hands.”
After a couple of days in her care, and a bond had been formed, she named the four birds: April, June, August, and Tember.
“I was the only one who could tell them apart because I spent the most time with them,” she said. “They all have slightly different coloring around the eyes and they have different eating habits. Three of them have blue/grey eyes and one had brown eyes. Mainly, I can tell them apart because they each have different personalities and voices.”
What’s next for this avian adventure? Catherine will wean the babies completely, and submerge them in feathered society.
“But they will always know they are my babies,” she said.
"Catherine sings like Giselle in the movie Enchanted and the babies fly right to her!" said Catherine's mother, Ruth Clemans. "It's really quite a sight, and inspiring to see. Her videos really capture the whole experience, too."
To follow their adventures and see videos highlighting the whole process, check out her YouTube channel by searching for Catherine Clemans there.
| Date Taken: | 05.14.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 05.15.2020 13:10 |
| Story ID: | 370093 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 357 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, MCLB Barstow's own "Giselle" rescues abandoned starlings, by Laurie Pearson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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