For Toby

This little fellow and me spent just few hours together, enough to touch my heart and leave me with a tear. This video is for him and the people of "The Raptor Trust". God bless you all.



My youtube channel is not all about metal detecting anymore.

a reply to: Trueman

Guess Toby didn't make it ?
Kudos to you for trying to help and to those who offer help.

originally posted by: gortex
a reply to: Trueman

Guess Toby didn't make it ?
Kudos to you for trying to help and to those who offer help.

Thanks Gort. Toby accomplished his mission on Earth, but I miss him.

Teasure Hunter, Animal Lover, Filmmaker---we keep learning evermore about you Trueman!

Loss, I'm convinced, is the hardest part of life. Toby was fortunate to have you with him.

Thanks for the effort and time to try and rescue one of our fellow creatures. If I may ask did you know what species it was? How do you know it was rejected by it's mother? We had raptor rehab at the nature I worked at unless that was a screech owl, falcon or kestrel chick it was too small to be a raptor, or too small to survive perhaps if it was a larger species. To my eye it looks more like a baby robin or blue jay possibly.

Eta: Seems an appropriate thread to add my story; over our front door we put some artificial greenery for Christmas decoration. Failing to take it down that spring a pair of house finches decided it was a great place to raise a family. We left them alone and for 3 years they nested there and raised a brood of chicks. It was so cool to watch the young birds as they fledged and jumped from the nest to fly for the first time. They usually made it no further than a nearby redbud tree or the porch railing. After a few short flights they could fly almost as well as the adults.

As they raised their 3rd brood we came home to find a visitor in the nest; a black ratsnake. It was in the process of eating a 2nd chick leaving only 1 in the nest. Tempted to stop the snake my ethos to let nature take it's course got the better of me. The snake went away with a full belly and likely laid it's own clutch of eggs that year. The finches never returned to nest there again. Sad story but I still feel I was right to not interfere.

a reply to: The GUT

Thanks Gut. I guess we all have soft spots.

I still have material to edit for my next treasure hunting video. I think it's going to be a nice one.

a reply to: Asktheanimals

Thanks. He was a sparrow. I heard the mother sometimes rejects the weak ones when she has too many babies in the nest.

originally posted by: Trueman
a reply to: Asktheanimals

Thanks. He was a sparrow. I heard the mother sometimes rejects the weak ones when she has too many babies in the nest.

Sometimes they are pushed from the nest by the other chicks though I doubt they were large enough to do that yet. It seems cruel but nature has it's own wisdom. In letting the one chick go it helped ensure the other babies got enough to eat to grow strong and healthy. Not a far cry from eugenics but we humans are capable of caring for those born weaker or with birth defects. That is one major difference between us and animals.

Awww, poor sweet baby bird! I have saved baby birds before, but none that tiny. Wonderful vid of the rapture sanctuary! Thank you for sharing your story with us!

Note to people pruning trees in their yards...there may be tiny hummingbird nests in there. Just saw a vid of that recently on facebook and shared it. They are so small they are easy to overlook.

a reply to: Night Star

It's a good idea to search the entire bush before cutting anything.
Removing branches around a nest often disturbs the birds enough to abandon it, often leaving the young behind.

a reply to: Asktheanimals

Yes, good idea!



ETA: Love your avatar!

a reply to: Trueman

Thanks for the tribute. Some birds are destined to not make it, but his life had a purpose nonetheless.


a reply to: Asktheanimals

Great finch story.
And, I know what you mean about nature doing what nature should do.
We have a couple of feeders, mostly suet, and some seeds to attract various birds.
The feeder also attracts hawks [Coopers] who feed on the birds, mostly the mourning doves.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

Thank you very much. This is Toby's lesson. Enjoy every second of your life.