Sapodilla Dawn

Sapodilla Dawn
*

This morning while walking with a friend, Mitra, on campus, we came upon a baby keskidee on the grass, near a tree. It had fallen from its nest. Nearby, a man was cutting grass with a noisy weed-wacker. No doubt terrifying for a bewildered baby animal. Had it not been for that, I may have left it for the parents to find her and feed her ... but instead, I scooped her up and we turned to walk back home. We named her Dawn, since she had been found at daybreak.

When I got to my street, I saw a bird eating one of my neighbour's sapodillas ... which was interesting because on arrival at Mitra's house, the first thing she had pointed out to me was her laden sapodilla tree. I decided to add Sapodilla to the bird's name.

Sapodilla Dawn was covered in mites and kept opening her beak for me to feed her. I called Detta (whom I normally call for advice when I find baby animals), but did not get through. I had had good intentions of rearing Sapo-D until she could fly (as with Rainbow the pigeon), but I didn't think Rainbow's heavy diet of soggy oats and bird feed would have worked with Sappie. Not wanting to give her the wrong food and kill her, I wrapped her in toilet paper (a temporary nest) and returned to the tree under which I'd found her.

Upon my return, another man was there, clearing away dead leaves with the blower. I stopped him, showed him Sapo-D and said I was leaving her near the nest for the parents. He said that he would keep an eye on her and when he was finished blowing he would get a ladder and put her back in the nest.

I decided to trust him.

I removed Sapo-D from the toilet paper, placed her in a safe spot near the tree and walked away.