Rescues in Kitzania

Last Ramadhan, we had an unusual type of rescues in Kitzania: birds.

The first rescue happened on the third day of Ramadhan. It was 2.30 am and I was up having my early breakfast when I heard a squawk outside the window. It was a weird time for birds to be flying let alone squawking, so I dismissed it thinking that it must’ve been one of those migrant birds being dazed as usual. But when Sinan climbed the sofa and started staring down the window, it confirmed my doubts that there was a bird somewhere on Kitzania grounds.

I ran outside to where the window overlooked and found a scene out of a Hollywood horror movie. My cats were forming a semicircle, squatting and staring at the corner. It was dark – I didn’t get the chance to switch on the outside lights- and all I could hear were wings fluttering and a loud screech this time. I was definitely dealing with a bird but all I could see was his shadow. Luckily, Sham was up having his early breakfast too, so I called him loudly and asked him to bring his mobile for light.

Sham came out immediately and once he shone the blinding light of his mobile to the corner, I could see a terrified young parrot who wasn’t able to fly.

I asked Sham to guard him while I went indoors to bring a cat carrier to put him inside. Once the bird was in, Sham insisted on keeping him for the night and feeding him bananas. Obviously, the Kitzanians weren’t happy with my interference and shot me dirty looks that I ignored.

The next morning, I bought the parrot a proper cage as I wasn’t sure how long he’d be staying with us due to his injury. Luckily, the vet declared that there were no wounds. The poor bird was in shock and pain from being yanked down while sleeping on the tree. It would be just a matter of days for him to recover and be able to fly again.

On the second day, two of his mates came looking for him. They were screeching deafeningly and managed to find him in the balcony where we’d put him. I was worried that he wasn’t fully recovered and his flight would be compromised, so I devised a plan for his release. I asked Sham to stand in the garden while I opened the cage. I didn’t want him to fall and get caught by the cats again. Amazingly enough, the minute I opened the cage he spread his wings and flew away, joining his two mates. Within weeks of this incident, we had another baby sparrow falling from the top of a tree.

Fortunately, I was passing by and saved him from being attacked by one of the new kittens. I took him indoors with me, not really sure what to do with him. Mom suggested to leave him in the balcony so that his parents would come and pick him up. I closed the balcony door to stop my cats from entering and watched for a while.

The first thing that the baby bird did was clean himself from my scent before starting to chirp loudly. Within minutes, two adult birds landed on the tree opposite of the balcony and were chirping back. They were obviously planning how to move him to the nest again. Unfortunately, I had to leave and when I came back the baby sparrow was gone. Next week, I’ll talk about the cat rescues that came right after these episodes. Stay tuned!

Rasha al Raisi is a certified skills trainer and the author of The World According to Bahja. rashabooks@yahoo.com