Sometime towards the end of March 2005, I found an Oriole fledgling in Joo Chiat area, near my family’s paints retail shop. I chanced upon it while walking to buy lunch. There was this small yellow bundle that hopped about on the road.

I was in two minds. Should I rescue the young bird or leave it to the mercy of nature? Finally its woeful chirps tore at my heartstrings and after observing that no adult orioles seem to be in the vicinity, I brought it back to the shop. My family ended up being its surrogate parents for the next 7 months!

We raised it up on a high protein diet of egg yolk, leafy vegetables, and flour for around 2 months. After that, it subsisted on a diet of grapes and birdfeed. Sometime in October 2005, it flew away while we cleaned its makeshift cage.

As it grew, it became less tame and more self-reliant. It was rather territorial and would hiss at other birds that were near its cage. And more importantly, it learned to feed itself and look for choice bits of food that we hid away. So we were prepared for its eventual flight. But when it did come, it still brought tears to my mother and 2 younger sisters. ;P

Amazingly, it flew back and perched near our house nearly a week later. My parents spotted it using the binoculars. Its tail feathers molted and it was just a short stump. That was how we recognised it. It was with 2 other orioles and that really put my family’s heart at ease. We had done our part and it was time for her to return to the wild.

During its stay with us, I ventured into the garden more often and it was then that I realised that even our small garden was full of nature’s splendours! So my dear readers, when was the last time you visited your garden? Or the park near your home? Talk a stroll. You’ll find songbirds, squirrels, and the occasional flowers in full bloom... (”,)

Allen Tan
Team Spreo