Lessons from a baby Blue jay

Children of the heavenly Father,

Safely in His bosom gather,

Nestling bird nor star in heaven,

Such a refuge e’er was given.

(Hymn by Ernst W. Olsen)

            I never knew baby Blue jays took so much work! When this fledgling fell out of its nest and landed in our front yard, I never thought twice about taking it into our home and caring for it until it could feed itself and fly away from predators. Seeing as we have thirteen cats and three dogs roaming our yard, leaving it outside was never an option.

            We brought out the old birdcage, cleaned it up a bit, installed a branch for the bird to perch and placed a basket lined with dried grass for its nest. With some mashed potatoes, Gerber green peas and a few shreds of sausage, it was all set, right? Wrong.

            Certainly, the bird has a warm, comfortable place to sleep, food for the asking and protection from the clawed predator within the house. But the bird wants more than that. It will literally shriek until I show up and take it out of its cage. From there it wants to explore the house by hopping about or attempting to fly even though it does more plummeting than flying. After a bit of exercise, it will run over to me, its wings flapping with glee, climb up my body and settle itself on my chest. It chirps at me for a bit, then turns its little head and buries it in its wings for a bit of a nap.

            My job in all of this?

1.      To provide nourishment.

Baby Blue jays eat a lot. Every half-hour or so, I have to drop a few pieces of meat the size of a rice grain into its beak (if you hold it in your hand and come down from above, it thinks it’s mama bird coming with a morsel and will open its beak wide.) Sometimes it’s a few grains of cooked rice, couscous, mashed potatoes or Gerber peas (he didn’t like the Gerber chicken and gravy J). Thankfully, if we cover it up at night, we get a few hours of sleep till it starts squawking in the morning.

2.      To provide warmth

Baby Blue jays don’t like central air, which means the bird is often cold. So I have to wrap it in a towel or a blanket and we take turns holding it so it can warm up. At night, we cover the nest with a washcloth so he’s under the ‘wing’ and kept warm. We also cover the cage and turn off the AC.

3.      To provide protection

The entire time the Blue jay is out of its cage, I am watching for cats or dogs. At first, the dogs were very interested, but now they’ve figured out they’d better leave the newcomer alone or else. The cats, on the other hand, still haven’t figured it out. Just last night, one of our cats was sitting on the piano, staring at the bird with an unblinking, predatory gaze while one of her paws worked the claws in and out and her tongue licked her lips. You could just see the ‘delicious’ sign running through her brain.

I often take the bird to our family room, which is shut off from the rest of the house, so he can run about and stretch his little legs and wings. We want him to grow his flight feathers, become independent and one day fly away. That’s what he was created for. In fact, there’s nothing he likes better than to sit on the window sill and look out. That’s where he’s truly meant to be. Unfortunately, baby bird doesn’t understand why we have to put him in a cage or keep him inside. But we do it for its own protection.

4.      To provide comfort and care

Even though I am human and can’t provide what a mother bird can, this little bird craves my attention and affection. At the end of a long day, he nestles on my bosom, tucks his head into his feathers and falls asleep to the rising and falling of my chest as I breathe. He likes to talk to me, to wipe the mashed peas off his beak by swiping it both ways on my shirt or pants, or come running towards me, his wings flapping with joy and to snuggle in the crook of my neck. Yet, one day, he will leave. He will fly away and live the life of a grown, independent bird. But for now, he needs someone to care for him. That person is me.

            Caring for a baby bird is a lot of work, takes a lot of time and energy. Yet I do it because I care. Would I give my life to protect it? Certainly not. But I will do my very best to watch out for him until he’s old enough to be on his own.

            In the same way, God cares for us. He knows each one of us. He knows when and how we’ve fallen and He lifts us up (Psalm 37: 23-24, Psalm 118: 13-14). He provides for each one of our needs (Philippians 4:19, Matthew 6:26), and keeps us safe from the evil one (2 Thess. 3:3, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 20:1, Psalm 46:1, Isaiah 41:13, Psalm 139:10). He provides commandments, limitations and rules of behavior for our own protection and benefit (Deut. 30:16, Ephesians 6:3). But more than that, God gave His own son, that we might not perish (John 3:16).

            Everything I do for the baby Blue jay, God does for me and so much more. What depths of love that He should care so much for me!