The Bird Whisperer

I just had to share an experience in Greenville, Mississippi on Saturday February 25. Two robins had flown into Emily and Geoff's screen porch, and even though the door was open, they could not find their way out. We tried shooing them out, but to no avail - they would just fly from one side of the room to the other and hang onto the screens. The kids went out and left bread crumbs on the floor, leading to the door, but the birds were not interested in bread crumbs. Finally, Jackson picked up a short stick and walked over to where the birds were. He held the stick in front of one robin. The bird stepped onto the stick, and Jackson carried stick and bird out the door! Natalie wanted to get the other bird to safety, so she went out and stood perhaps two feet from the bird and proceeded to whistle a bird imitation, dancing and pointing at the door. She carried on that way for about five minutes, with the bird just sitting there watching her. The robin never moved. I went out again and tried to shoo the bird toward the door, with the same result. I tried doing Jackson's stick trick, but the bird would have nothing to do with me. Exasperated, I came back in the house announcing that we were just going to have to wait and hope the robin would find its way out. Whereupon, Jackson picked up his stick, walked out to the remaining robin, and held out the stick. As we watched in wonder, the robin stepped onto the stick, and Jackson carried stick and bird out the door again! When he came back in, Jackson said, "I guess you can call me 'The Bird Whisperer.'" I agree. I think he has a future working with wild animals in a zoo. What a gift!