Super Blue and his Robin Sidekicks

Every super-hero needs a friend.  Batman had Robin.  Super Blue had TWO Robins.

My heart sank when the placement caller said they had one lone baby bluebird at Lakeside.  Among the songbirds,  bluebirds are probably the most family oriented and family dependent of all birds.  Just as a lone Blue Jay will often "pine" himself to death without others of his own kind,  so do bluebirds.  We had successfully raised a clutch of five baby bluebirds the previous summer.  However,  having each other for support had made it easy.  I sighed and said I would take him.  Almost as an after thought, the placement caller said they had two nestling robins for me as well. 

I was pleased to find that Blue was a well developed nestling, just a few days short of being a fledgling.  The two robins who came home with him were younger, but almost as big.  When I put the two round plastic butter tubs in the incubator, I wondered if it would be possible to raise the three together.  After all, both robins and bluebirds are fruit loving insectivors.  Both are gentle birds that are tolerant of other birds.  Baby Blue would need all the companionship he could get, if he were to survive.  All three birds had been certified very healthy by the Center.  I found a larger butter bowl and put the three together.  Blue immediately assumed the position he would take for the rest of his life in rehab - right between the two robins.  No matter the time of day, no matter where they were, Blue would always be found with a robin on his left, and a robin on his right.  None of them seemed to mind this arrangement, and probably never gave it a second thought.

When they were all fledged and in the playpen, I witnessed one of those rare magic moments that make you love to be a bird rehabber.  Robins all face the same direction when they roost.  The young prefer to space themselves around a branch at roosting time, so that they are about one wing's breath apart.  Probably this is so if they were startled at night they could fly straight out without hitting wings.  Blue would have none of this silliness.  He waited until the robin twins were settled, then he would land right between them, facing the opposite direction.  The tips of his wings would touch the tips of theirs.  It was like a child who could not sleep at night until his hands were touching the hand of each of his siblings.  I wanted disparately to take a photo of this moment.  However,  it was too dark in the bird room to take the picture without a flash.  A flash would startle the birds awake, probably sending them into panicked flight in the dusk.  I couldn't take that chance.  It would have to be a Kodak moment forever in my brain only.

When Blue and sidekicks graduated to the outdoor flight pen, things became even more interesting.  The robins began to spread out, and Blue didn't know who to "hang with" as the kids say.  He seemed to spend a lot of time flying from one side of the flight cage to the other.  Bedtime became a real problem for him now.  His big brothers simply did not want to sleep together in the same spot anymore.  He would have to choose sides and cuddle against only one now at dusk.  The fact that Blue was thriving with his robin companions, was wonderful.  Except I was the one awake at night worrying about their future together.  At release time, should I take Blue elsewhere to release him?  Just opening the flight cage door is called a "soft release."  It is much less stressful on the birds than catching them, sacking them, and hauling them to a new place.  Youngsters would not remember their old neighborhood, anyway.  There were plenty of robins in our neighborhood, with bluebirds not far away.  However, what if Blue continued to think he was a robin?  What if he refused to leave his ground foraging pals?  Or would the stress of being separated from them and being in a totally new environment be even worse for him?  This is one of those gray areas in rehabbing.  I finally opted to let him leave with them.  Even in the end, Blue stayed true to form.  As they left, one robin flew out, then Blue, then the other robin.  During the next few days, I found excuses to drive up and down the neighboring streets.  Watching all the robins playing in yards to see if any had a bluebird super-hero with them.  I never saw them.  I truly believe as soon as Blue saw or heard one of his own, he had to forsake his foster siblings for the real world.  However, if you ever see a bluebird with a couple of robins, please call and let me know.

(Story and photos by Linda Byrd)