"La Pioutte" 

I found her on the side of the road — a tiny fledgling, barely covered in feathers. She had fallen from the nest, and with the neighbor’s cat lurking nearby, I knew she wouldn’t survive the night. So I took her in and raised her for two and a half months, until she became a beautiful, lively, and self-sufficient young blackbird.

To feed her, I relied on the rich supply of compost worms in my garden. In the beginning, she demanded food every thirty minutes from sunrise to sunset — consuming astonishing amounts. As she grew, her feedings became less frequent but more substantial. Watching her take flight for the first time was an unforgettable joy. I then had to teach her how to find food on her own — something she instinctively learned very quickly.

We named her La Pioutte. She lived peacefully under the same roof as Tchuck, my dog, and Bounty, my cat. It was a deeply moving experience, filled with tenderness and unforgettable memories.

During my research, I learned that young blackbirds often leave the nest quite early, once it becomes too cramped. Still unsteady on their legs, they hide in the underbrush while their parents continue feeding them from the ground. That’s why, unless they’re in immediate danger, fledglings usually shouldn’t be picked up — nature knows what it’s doing.

It wasn’t my first time raising a baby bird. Maya, a young magpie, had lived with me for nearly three months. And years later, I also cared for Pilou, another little blackbird who had narrowly escaped the neighbor’s cat.