I remember when the huge flocks of geese and cranes would fly high over the Valley on their way to nesting grounds in the  northern regions.

There weren’t huge flocks of blue birds but they came just the same. One day they were not there, the next day they were.

One year Wally discovered a blue bird nest where the young had been abandoned. He had seen the adults one day and the next time he observed the nest,  ma and pa were nowhere to be seen. Knowing that the young needed food, he took the four chicks to Auntie Kay so she could feed them.

What do you feed blue bird babies? Auntie Kay didn’t know either.  I don’t know how many things she tried, but she wound up feeding them boiled egg yoke. They thrived on it and grew.

Auntie Kay was a nurse, so she would volunteer to do the first aid for the Girl Guide camps. Since I was just a little guy, she would take me along. The summer we had the blue bird orphans was the summer we attended a Girl Guide camp at Baumfords, just north of Okanagan Falls on the east bench.  Auntie Kay packed her nursing kit, me, and the birds. We must have been quite a sight!

The birds were a delight to all the campers! Everyone wanted to have them sit on their fingers while they stroked their little backs. One Guide had a bird sitting on her finger when it defecated. The matter landed on a different  finger and she shook it off but it landed on me! I was not impressed either!

We all survived the camp and returned home to the sanctity and safety of the orchard. One by one our adoptees learned to fly. They hung around until the urge to fly south drew them, then they were gone.

The following spring, one blue bird returned to the farm and hung around for a few days. It too left and we didn’t see any of  them again.