Rookery Rooks Homepages : merlintherook.webs.com

Well, Merlins feathers have grown properly this year and he is flying all over the place!

Poet is settling in very well and they are getting on better all the time, sometimes they fly around together, I will try to get some video of them together up here.

Merlin still gives Poet a hard time if he gets too close but Poet is getting better at putting up with it.

No real talking has developed as yet, Poet just says ciao! and Merlin seems to prefer "Ararat", which he says all the time especially when he's angry, don't know if thats because he's got a thing about olive branches and ark's etc. etc.!?!

Parrots often do not talk for a long time and then they begin to say all sorts of stuff, Merlin might be like that, he still makes "Thorn" (my little black dog) noises sometimes.

Josh.

Esme has flown off, so I doubt that the Hag will be blogging about her here now!

We hope she's ok, The Hag said that she has met up with some other rooks, about four or five and they are somewhere in the area! It seems like they are all new friends and they are getting on!

Oh well, we can only hope we see her again and that she is happy in whatever she is getting up to!

Josh.

Last week the Poet flew off and was outside for a whole night, it's lucky he didnt fly off miles away! He came back in the morning, he can fly really well now. Merlins feathers sre getting better now but he still hasnt grown his main flight feathers for this year yet.

We found the Poet had some gouges on the side of his head and by his wing so we think he was pushed out of the nest rather than leaving it himself! He's better now though.

Josh

p.s. The Hag now thinks that Esme may be a boy so it might be an Esmer or Esmo, she said if it is it's going to have to be a gay pre-op TS as it is a girls household, quite reasonable  I suppose!

Well, it's happened again, we've found another damn corvid to rescue!

It's a jackdaw and it's called Poet because we found on Cowper road in Dereham.

It was just wandering around, it's parents may have had nests in the church roof but that was a long way away and there wasnt any hope if it getting back there.

It was very tired, as I held it in the car it went to sleep very quickly. It's had a long day!

Have to spray it for mites as we dont want Merlin getting any, it's drinking water and pecking a bit at food quite well for itself, not like ambrosius/esma who couldnt be bothered unless it was put in her gob;

it's very quiet, Merlin is quite interested in it although he puffed himself up at first, nut I don't think it will try to threaten Merlin the way Esma did becaues it's not so sure of itself and it's much much smaller than Esma was!

Oh well, off to feed it again I suppose....

Esma's owner (The Hag) is going to put a blog on here for her,

Esma is a rescued rook who we hoped would be a friend for merlin (see previous blog entry "Good Riddance"), unfortunately they hate

each other so Esma has had to go and live with The Hag.

This is a picture of them together....

well, I've got rid of that stupid branchie "Ambrosius" once and for all, it actually puffed it's feathers up at me and tried to warn me off of "it's" territory! I mean can you imagine!? I was going to tear it to pieces there and then but my people took it away and it's been sent to live with The Hag at South Mimms service station. Good Riddance!

Merlin

As Merlin said, we have had to re-home Ambrosius as they just didn't get on, when they start getting aggressive to each other they can be very difficult to control.

Ambrosius has gone to live with The Hag, I'm sure she'll look after him, she has an aviary in the garden and she also rescues ferret's. She lives near Downham Market, I don't know why Merlin seems to think she lives at South Mimms service station! We'll check up that she's getting on OK with him.

Oh well, I suppose some friendships never really work out!

Josh

well, after all that talk of "branchies", now it seems I've got one!

erm, don't really know what to do with it!

It's one of this years obviously, it's been sitting in my old cage looking sorry for itself, eating MY catfood and raisins if you please!

It doesn't squawk, hardly even makes any noise when it's eating!

If I see it with MY PEOPLE too much I'm going to peck it (I'm already more nasty than usual with the dogs and cats, everyone really needs to be put in their place around here, it's a madhouse!!).

It's called Ambrosius, well, I won't know if it's a boy or girl anytime soon so it's Ambrosius for now,

I might be friend's with it, we'll have to wait and see...

Merlin.

as Merlin said, we've got stuck with a "Branchie" who is called Ambrosius, he (or it) is very quiet, a bit nervous and needs alot of looking after. He (or it) perches very nicely on the arm except his (or it's) claws are very sharp at the moment, we did try re-patriating it to the garden but it fell in the pond and nearly drowned!

Merlin is a bit annoyed and put out and is being more nasty than usual but he seem's to be thinking about being friends with it which I think will be a good experience for him if it works out.

Josh.

Apparently today is "Rook Sunday",

Vanessa from Corvidaid wrote this about it in today's Telegraph...

"rooks were particularly unfortunate and put into pies on Rook Sunday (the nearest Sunday to May 13), which coincided with the time that the baby rooks left their nests. The pies, which were gruesomely decorated with rooks' feet, have disappeared, but the rook has few fans"

I found this in The Telegraph from Adrian Dangar, 3 March 2003

"At this time of year - some even pinpoint May 13 as being the optimum date - young rooks are clambering out on to swaying branches for the first time."

"The unlucky branchies, as young rooks are sometimes labelled, are often collected to form the main ingredient of rook pie, a country dish that has been around for centuries and even merited a mention in Dickens's Pickwick Papers."

Euch....! 

Euch.....!

Euch, euch, euch, euch euch..........!!!!!!!!!!!!!

People really are disgusting sometimes, there's no other word for it!

merlin

The affrontery of it!

There I was, hopping about the kitchen, pulling bits of plaster out the wall, pecking at cats' tails when they weren't looking, all the usual fun activities preceding dinner time when I saw it!

Another Rook!

I'm afraid I had to point out to it quite forcefully that there is a reason why this place is known as "The Rookery", which is because it is intended for habitiation by The Rook,The One, and I am he! �

The following morning, there was no sign of it, so obviously he had returned to that rabble in the trees and quite rightly so! Merlin.

PS by Jo.�Fledgling rook found exhausted at foot of one of the poplar trees, fortunately after admininstration of Vanessa's rescue remedy , some cat food and a good night's rest he was able to return to the great outdoors!

Saturday 6,3,09

We filed Merlin's beak down today with a nail file, He was very good about it (only nearly puncturing my hands with his claws.)

We also gave him a treatment for mites, with the weather looking up it is a good time to take preventative measures to insure he stays clear of them.

We gave him a treat afterwards and of course it was nowhere near as bad as he thought it was going to be!