Sammy the Blue Jay ( my friend ) Tribute to a Blue Jay The date was October 06, 1979. My family and I were in a very trying time of our lives. I had undergone several surgeries in a short period of time. I had also been forced to retire on disability. The retirement had destroyed my pride and self-esteem. Into this chaotic scene came one small Blue Jay. He proved to be a good friend, companion and a major factor in helping to stabilize our lives. Our sons, Steve and Tim loved to trap birds, especially Tim. This particular day they came into the house ecstatically happy over a trapped Blue Jay. I tried to persuade them to release the frightened bird. The compromise was that the bird would be released after two days, if he did not respond to captivity. I grudgingly accepted the offer. He was placed in garage in a small cage with water and Sunflower seeds. Knowing, most trapped animals will not eat, I thought we would soon release him. To my disappointment. he ate readily. We moved him into the house. He would eat only when he was alone. If he was taken out of the cage, he would scream loudly, raise his beautiful crown and take wing. The scream sounded just like he was saying Quit. When caught, he peck ferociously at your fingers. Wanda, my wife, decided to train him. She had dealt with Parakeets when she was a child. By this time we had named him Sampson, for his willpower. The first training sessions were comical to watch. Wanda would finally get him to sit on her finger, but, not until he had pecked and bitten her till he was worn out. He would then assume a position of closing his eyes and fall straight back, until he was hanging upside down and motionless, until you were sure he would fall, but he held on. When placed in the cage after these sessions he would scream defiantly, with crown held high. Slowly, Sampson started to respond. He would eat out of our hands, ride our shoulder and drink drops of water and milk from our finger tips. He loved milk. He controlled the length of the training sessions. When he was finished, he would fly to your shoulder. This meant he wanted you to walk by his cage, where he would scream and fly inside. If you didnt close the door, he would scream until you closed it. The old cage was replaced with a bright yellow one with Sams Place stenciled on it. During this time, I was very ill and depressed. I couldnt sleep at all. While the family slept, I would sit and brood and Sampson would eat and cluck constantly. This calm clucking would, somehow, dull my depression. He would sleep all day, because he was totally exhausted. We would repeat this routine every night. Christmas came, and Sampson regressed. We could not keep him out of the tree. It was not easy to retrieve a bird from a decorated Christmas tree. The memory of the wild was to fresh in his mind. Alas, this would change. During this time we decided to move to Ohio. Sampson adapted without any trouble. Sampson started to sing when my stereo was playing. He would wiggle his tail, as if searching for the beat. Then he would inter-mingle about fifteen different sounds to make beautiful music. His favorite was Don Williams. One of the strangest things Sampson did to let me blow dry him after his bath. He would sit perfectly still while I groomed him. Sampsons favorite trick demonstrated all of the natural traits of the Blue Jay family. We would put Sampson outside to get fresh air and sunshine. He would cluck and chirp until the other birds would gather around his cage. When a good sized crowd had gathered he would emit an extremely loud cat meow, this put all of the birds in flight. Then he repeated the procedure over and over Sampson was very protective of his area. We had a service man come to work on our stereo. Sampson attacked so viciously that we thought he would wreck the cage. Sampsons cage had to be covered to calm him. The service man continued his job with caution. Sampsons favorite past time was to sit for hours on the back of my Lazy Boy chair. Ordinarily, I placed three sheets of paper towel on the chair to catch any droppings. One day I only had two pieces of paper towel on the chair. I was busy doing chores and Sampson started screaming and screaming. I ignored him. When I started to take him to his cage, I saw why he was screaming. He had made a total mess where the third piece of paper towel should have been. He had tried to warn me! Events began in September, 1980 that would result in the loss of Sampson. Naturally, we had no way of knowing this at the time. It began with the purchase of a Parakeet by Tim. Jeffrey, our youngest son became gravely ill. he began to have regular episodes of high fever, lung congestion and vomiting. These attacks would occur within minutes and last for days. Medication did not seem to help. We started lab tests, X-rays and blood tests. All to no avail. The physician then suggested a test for Parrot Fever, he did not have knowledge of our birds at home. The results: a borderline diagnosis. Still, nothing positive. Sampsons second Christmas came during this period. He didnt even know what the Christmas tree was this time. Apparently, he had forgotten about his natural habitat. However, he kept a certain amount of wildness and independence that could not be tamed. By this time Sampson had developed into a wonderful pet. He would eat anything. Meat and Sunflower Seeds were his favorite. Milk dripping off of our fingers was his drink of choice. I had to make him a hole in his cage and attached a table to hold his food. When we ate, he had to have his too. He would take a shower by throwing his drinking water up in the air with his beak. Boy!, did this make a mess. As I mentioned Sampson kept his crown down most of the time. The crown is held high in the wild. The feathers underneath the crown came out. He was rather comical when he raised his crown and the whole back of his head was bald. Jeffrey loved to play with Sampson when he was home from school ill, which was a frequent occurrence. Before we started the Parrot Fever test, I began to notice a change in Sampsons droppings. while researching the disease, we discovered that it affects birds in the bowels. At last, a positive sign. The Parakeet seemed fine. However, the research said a bird could be a carrier and not be affected. We tried to get Sampson tested by the Veterinarian. We were informed of the complications and expense of the test. Also, Sampson would have to be destroyed. We couldnt bring ourselves to destroy a friend. More proof was required. We decided to let Sampson make the decision. We placed him outside with the cage door open. If he wanted freedom, he would fly away. If he stayed we still had a tough decision to make. He stayed! I went out to retrieve Sampson. When I picked the cage up, I noticed something strange. Sampson had always been a very clean bird and now he showed signs of a problem. The decision was made! We had our proof! On January 26, 1981 we took the Parakeet and Sampson and both cages to my mother-in-laws house. They were permitted to burn items there. Wanda and I left the kids in the house and destroyed both birds. It was not a pleasant task. I had destroyed a friend! We burned the carcasses and cages to eliminate the infection and keep it from spreading. We then decontaminated the whole house. Jeffreys health began to improve. Everyone feels the sacrifice was necessary. It took years for the nodules in Jeffreys lungs to clear up. Sampson made quite an impression on us in the fifteen months he was with us. We have our recordings and snapshots. More important are the memories! I cannot express the feelings of comfort and friendship I received from this small creature. There are several examples of birds assisting mankind in the Bible. Elijah was fed by the ravens and the dove finding land for Noah are examples that come to mind. Could this be what life is all about? Co-existence and mutual benefit between the species. One so large and frail. The other, so small and proud!!
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 00:30:07 +0000