New Yorkers Climb Fire Escape to Rescue Baby Blue Jay

The first blue jay fledgling fell out of the nest built precariously on a New York fire escape this afternoon. It attracted a crowd of neighbors, who put it back in its nest and installed a plastic tarp under the whole set up.

Just yesterday I put up flyers explaining the blue jay babies were up there and it would be normal if they would fall out. If it were a forest instead of Fifth Street, they'd be fine. The parents would feed them for a couple days on the ground. The parents, however, made a really unfortunate real estate choice. Below their nest is sidewalk,  street and a tiny tree pit--no grass or bushes or any other baby bird amenity. And thousands of helpful New Yorkers walk by every day. Somebody would pick it up and bring it to their vet. That's what happened to a blue jay nest in the next block two years ago. The mom spent weeks looking for them.

So this afternoon I got a call about the flyer from a neighbor. The one bird on the sidewalk wasn't not fully feathered and was weak and skinny. It looked way too young to be out of the nest to me. People label New Yorkers as harsh, but soon there were six of us trying to figure out how to get the bird back on the fire escape, ringing doorbells, taping on windows.

My friend Pierre found a long board and tripped the fire escape ladder so it would fall. Generally this kind of thing is frowned upon in the city, but Pierre bravely climbed up and replaced the baby. While I was getting some clear plastic, the mother jay returned and swooped at Jonah, a 10-year-old good samaritan. Pierre and I basically lined the fire escape and left some raw peanuts for the blue jays' trouble.

So far, so good. The mom returned, ate peanuts and sat on the nest. I got a call from the people who live in the blue jay apartment. They'd been worried about the birds and didn't mind our clamoring over their fire escape.

Looks Like We'll Be Blessed With a Few More Baby Squirrels

Got three more baby squirrels yesterday. More victims of a squirrel mother's inappropriate urban housing choices. A very sweet family in Mill Basin, Brooklyn, discovered them in squatting in their air conditioner vent. The mother squirrel bit the man, grabbed one of her four babies and ran off. Renee, the human mother of the house sat up all night with worry, leaving the squirrels wrapped for warmth but available for the mother to take. Squirrel mom returned, but didn't take the babies.

I'm full up with squirrels, so my fellow rehabber friend Vicki is coming to the rescue and taking them tonight. They're all boys, all healthy, still with their eyes closed. One is a screamer.

The adolescent squirrels were highly interested in the new arrivals. Or at least the formula-filled syringe I was feeding them with.

Flying Squirrel! Grover jumps around the cage while Baby Ruth plays with a paper towel.

Mickey, meanwhile, showed absolutely no interest. She did harumph around the cage--her signal that she has noticed that I have come into the room yet not delivered her food yet. I had been thinking Mickey was nearing ready to get released back to the Queens community garden where she lived before, with the possibility of recatching her if we needed to trim her teeth. She's definitely got two top teeth back, but they're crooked. But the Horvaths--way more experienced and licensed rehabbers than I--think she won't make it and offered her a permanent home with the other animals they've rescued.

More than her malocclusion issue, they don't think she's "wild up enough." There's something just off about her. She's never tried to bite me. I've clipped her teeth, bathed her, pulled her out of her house, tried to get her to take care of orphans. I deserved to be bitten. She doesn't take an interest in her grooming or housekeeping like a proper squirrel. Even the adolescents are already stuffing their box with papertowels. I hope for Mickey's sake there's something I've missed that they can do. Meanwhile, she's really lucky to get the offer.
Where to Go to See Unusual Squirrels

Where to Find Wild Animals in NYC

Read how the squirrels got here

Read where Mickey came from

How Many Baby Squirrels in This Adorable Pile?

The baby squirrels have learned to nap in a hammock. Can you guess how many of the babies are huddled together? (answer at bottom)

At first Baby Ruth was shy and would have been sulking in the corner. Here she's at the bottom of the pile. I do hear some grumbling from the pile. It's not always Ruth crying; it's usually just that Alvin is roughhousing with his sisters. They have all gotten the hang of the hammock, which I just put up today.

 Alvin eats breakfast in bed.

Baby Ruth and Benji thinking: why is there not a nipple attached to that camera?

Baby Ruth experiments with almonds.

 Meanwhile, in the fortress of solitude on the other side of the room, Mickey is making some serious progress. For the last couple days she's eaten nuts. That means she's feeling more comfortable with her teeth. She still can't crack nuts--let's not get carried away. But once I open them for her, she eats them. I hope this means she'll be able to go back home soon, though I will miss her.

Where to Find Wild Animals in NYC

Read how the squirrels got here

Read where Mickey came from




Answer: All four.

Baby Squirrels Lose Potential Foster Mother, Gain a Sister

Mickey has been evicted. I could tolerate when the one-time mother squirrel would tussle with these three orphaned babies when they dared to enter her squirrel palace. I thought she'd get used to them. Instead she actually followed one out of the house, went to where the babies were sleeping, picked out the one who had trespassed on her property and started slapping at him with her paws. Luckily, like most squirrels, she is an incompetent and half-hearted fighter.

So, I evicted her. Don't worry; she still gets to have the house she has come to love so much. But she's moved to another cage. And she totally knows what's going on. After the incident of her pushing around the baby squirrel, I took all the babies out of the cage and put them in a carrier. She came out 10 minutes later and searched the area for them.

Meanwhile, the babies got another companion, a female baby squirrel of what seems to be their age. She's from Stuyvesant Town and was climbing on people's feet. She's healthy but too young to be out on her own. She ate and immediately joined the pile of baby squirrels in the basket. She's a little bit shy, which is understandable, but the group accepts her as one of their own. They invited her to their favorite basket for a nap.

In keeping with my tradition of naming the squirrels after successive U.S. presidents, I looked to the list and found we were back to Grover Cleveland, for his second, later term. I can't have two Grover Clevelands running around. So, at my husband David's suggestion, she's named Baby Ruth, after Cleveland's daughter, who also inspired the name of the candy bar. 

 Benji, the smallest one, seems to have had the worst injuries from the fire. One of her hind feet was singed. She lost one claw and two are precarious. She also has two fresh wounds, which I think are scabs that her overly helpful siblings licked too much. Grover and Alvin are competing to see who can be the most obnoxious and strong eater. After their formula they often go to a stuffed animal duck in their cage and, still having the urge to drink, try to suckle on him.

My Squirrel Patient is Impatient with Me and My Redecorating

Benji's first grape

Today I tortured Mickey, the sweet black squirrel who's recovering from malocclusion, again. Or at least that's how she sees it. I caught her, clipped her teeth, cleaned the gunk off her paws and then took her house. The outrage!


I had noticed she had a hard time getting in and out, so I widened the door, installed a step on the inside and a hinge so I could open the roof easily. I replaced the filthy fleece with a yoga block and several walnuts--to get her thinking about using her teeth. She is still mad at me but she seems to like the improvements and I could hear her trying to open the walnuts.

Meanwhile, the babies the FDNY rescued started eating some solid food yesterday. Avocado and grapes are their favorite. But they'll be drinking formula for a long time yet. And the two bolder ones, Grover and Alvin, both know where it comes from: they come to the front of the cage if they're hungry and try to climb out to the milk when I'm feeding another squirrel.

Alvin seems to be picking up Mickey's sloppy eating style

I had hoped she would serve as a foster mother for the babies. Now that everyone's safe and comfortable, I can just stand back and hope they get together. If not, the babies will get their own cage and house soon.

 How to See Wildlife in NYC

Where to Go to See Special Squirrels 

Mickey's tricked out house

Elephant Baby Drama

Ever wonder how elephants give birth? Me neither. But this Bali Adventure Tours video--which does have a lot of birthy gore--shows you. There's a dramatic twist at the end. Hint: They probably wouldn't publicize a graphic video of a stillbirth.