Tumpline Birds of Play STOWAWAY ROBINS GO ON FIRST WEEKEND CANOE TRIP
THREE OTTAWA-AREA CANOEISTS have one more reason to fish with live bait after a May canoe trip on which they could have used a few extra worms. Chris Dowdell, Ian Stimson and Roly Saul
started their weekend jaunt on the Mada- waska River by loading a borrowed canoe onto their car. Te canoe was stored upside down at shoulder height so the men simply shifted it onto their roof racks and tied it on. After a bumpy drive, the paddlers arrived
at their put-in. As they flipped the bor- rowed boat off the car, a bird’s nest dropped out from under the seat, and out tumbled two tiny robin chicks. “I’ve always said we should be bringing chicks on our trips, but this isn’t what I meant,” said Dowdell. Te trio decided they couldn’t bear to
leave the displaced robins at the mercy of the local wildlife. So, they took them along for the paddle. “We felt we could at least try feeding them and see what happened,” said Dowdell. At their campsite, they kept their guests
comfortable with a gourmet menu of steak bits and tablespoons of water—filtered, no less. Each evening, they placed the nest in a tree, sheltered by a makeshift tent of paper towel and twigs. To ward off carnivorous climbers, they booby-trapped the tree’s base with utensils. Te robins warmed easily to their new
surroundings. Tey lazed in their nest, gazing out at the water and squawking loudly when one of their guardians ap- proached with food. “Tey adjusted well to their new moms, and seemed to enjoy the view,” said Dowdell. But no good adventure tale is complete
without a happy ending. At trip’s end, the men returned the canoe to its owner. Wait- ing for the chicks, worm in mouth, was the mother robin, who put the lie to the myth that mother birds reject chicks that have been handled by humans. Two weeks later, the chicks left their
nest again, this time flying instead of floating.—Amy Flynn
“REMEMBER TO CHEW.” PHOTO: CHRIS DOWDELL
C ANOE ROOT S n 1 1
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