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This is Squeaky, our adopted northern cardinal. The neighbourhood kids rescued the little fellow after his nest was raided by a cat. I raised him from a hatchling and had to quickly learn how to care for the tiny featherless orphan. He was the size of a toonie when I first took him in, and I had to feed him every twenty minutes from dawn to dusk using a small syringe filled with a mush of various cereal, fruit, meats and vitamins. When he got older I added whole foods and seeds to his diet, and took him out into the garden with me to hunt for bugs. During one such exercise, he had an unfortunate run-in with a chipmunk; the chipmunk ambushed him and jumped on the poor little guy, biting his head over and over again! I frantically slapped the jumble of fur and feathers to separate them and desperately dashed off in search of avian antibiotics, which I fed to Squeaky for the next 5 days. Miraculously Squeaky survived!
Squeaky's favourite meal was my homemade pancakes, still warm off the frying pan and topped with maple syrup. The aroma made him chirp and flutter his wings in anticipation. Cheerios were a favourite too, and I often still put them outside hoping to catch a glimpse of my red friend. We cherished waking each morning to the glorious melodic songs of our feathered charge for over a year. In the spring of 2005, as much as I was sad to see him go, we released him into the wild. I couldn't bear to see him caged any longer, so we said our good-byes on a beautiful sunny day. We were so lucky to have had the privilege to observe a gorgeous northern cardinal up close and we will always treasure the experience.
Above: Bug Hunting Lessons
Above: Day of Release this past spring
Below: Christmas 2004
Good-Bye Squeaky, we love you!
Visit our Squeaky Gallery
Purchase the book 'Cardinals Don't Eat Worms', our tribute to our little feathered friend
