Ciaran, the Sop. pip arrived on our Wedding Anniversary, November 1st.   He’d been seen the day before at the base of a tree but was left there.  As he was still there the following day the finder put him in a box and contacted me. Ciaran was extremely underweight for this time of year, and considering he’d been outside in the rain for 48 hours, he was quite feisty. Thankfully I couldn’t find any injuries.

Whilst recuperating, and when they are a good weight, my rescues are initially given exercise in a soft puppy playpen. They will normally flap their wings, and after a few nights of failed attempts, will fly.

Ciaran, the Sop. pip has spent more time cursing me rather than focusing on the job at hand. He’s refused to move. I felt sure there were no underlying issues but as there was no improvement I took him to the vet for an x-ray. Thankfully, no hidden injuries — so home we came. The good news is that tonight he finally opened his wings and tried to fly to the mesh playpen wall. We still have a way to go, but it’s a step in the right direction. He also sat quietly in my hand and looked at me as if to say:’ I don’t know what you’re worrying about.’ So I decided to take a photo of the pesky little critter.