The fledgling rook we took in last year soon became very tame. He’d been found on a car park and was frail and hungry. Rooks are survivors though and soon picked up. They are especially intelligent and adaptive, Ricky was a mimic and an an entertaining guest. He couldn’t fly when he first came in or feed himself and it took a long while for him to learn. Ricky was a real baby and ‘talked’ to us constantly, jumping on to our hands and squawking when he wanted more food.
We never want birds to become imprinted on us because it makes it difficult to release them. With Ricky it was impossible to keep him ‘wild’. He wanted to be with us all the time. Ricky has a sense of humour and soon learnt to fasten and unfasten the bolt on his door. He’d give a big laugh – caw! caw! caw! when he’d stopped us getting in or out.
Another party trick was to unfasten Kate’s watch strap, remove the watch and take it and drop it in a water bowl. He liked toys and shiny objects and had no desire to escape. It didn’t matter if his door was undone, he didn’t want to go.
Until recently that is, when a trio of wild rooks took to flying round. We could see him watching them and listening intently when they called out. Was this the right moment? We gave him the chance to join them. He hesitated and then he was off, flying to the top of a nearby tree. It must have been a great feeling to be so high and feel the wind under his wings.
Would he stay free though? We left his aviary door open and food out for him and for a few days he stayed around. Then he was off flying high with his new friends. It was what we’d hoped for but it’s always sad too, having a close rapport with a wild bird for such a long time has been a wonderful experience. It proved that imprints can adjust to a natural life again. We keep seeing Ricky, he looks well and comes back to sit in a tree close by. He doesn’t bother with the food we put out so he’s doing alright. Stay safe Ricky, all the best things in life are wild and free.