The latest addition to the family retreat is a male Nightjar. I found him in the grasp of Miver (aka Sammie, aka Henry) the cat, in the corner of our front yard. He was frantically trying to look puffy so Miver wouldn't get a swipe...
At first I thought it was a baby hawk or falcon, because it looks kind of baby-birdish, with a wide mouth. So I took it to the Falcon Center / bird vet in Nad Al Sheba - way the heck out in the desert! They told me it's a Nightjar and that many people are bringing in the same species at this time of year. Apparently it's their migration to Africa and this one sure strayed from the flock.
The advice was to take him back, give a little water and then set him out on the balcony at night for him to spread his wings and fly away in to the sunset. Yah, that worked! I guess you can't just set a bowl of water in front of a weak bird....he could have drowned in it. So the best way I could give him liquids was with a QTip dipped in H2O and then force open his beak (wide as a bullfrog mind you) and then squeeze out the drops. He then swallows perfect...no longer afraid of me I think he has surrendered to the fact I keep him alive.
Here we are 24 hours later and he is fit as a feather, though missing several, but he can't hop or fly! Setting him on top of my garden table, he just sat there and scooted around a little, making soft cooing sounds....I tried to hold him up high and he flopped of my hand and landed on his chest! Something ain't working in the mechanics of his wings or tail....and I suspect one leg may be broken. I will need to take him back to the vet at some point. Googling care of a rescued Nightjar, some eat 50 moths a day! I don't think I can go around in the night like some ornithologist catching insects fro my injured bird.
