tit and the tick.
Imagine my surprise to find a little blue tit
sat on a ledge in the shallow of the pond.
Gently I lifted it out, noticing
a ruddy great tick on its head.
Shooting indoors for a girls' best friend...
her tweezers.
With great care, and all the while
endeavouring not to unscrew the little birds head.
I carefully removed the tick.
Both Ted and I were covered with
blood.
On the 22 January I wrote about another incidence
where ticks and tits featured, that time
after a night being lost
on the Black Cuillin on Skye.
The tit on this occasion was homegrown.
Being a country girl I am well versed in the art of
putting an arm up a cows bottom, birth canal etc.
So the removal of a fat blood filled tick was
a mere bagatelle.
The secret is to get the tick out whole,
so a firm pinch and clockwise twist will see the
ghastly creature out.
This is the poor little bird after my ministrations.
Later I tucked it up in a protected fork of the tree.
I woke this morning, thinking why didn't I
give it some water on a cotton bud...
so easy to be wise after the event.
This was the sight that greeted us this morning.
A sad tale, but we did try.
On the 22 January I wrote about another incidence
where ticks and tits featured, that time
after a night being lost
on the Black Cuillin on Skye.
The tit on this occasion was homegrown.
Being a country girl I am well versed in the art of
putting an arm up a cows bottom, birth canal etc.
So the removal of a fat blood filled tick was
a mere bagatelle.
The secret is to get the tick out whole,
so a firm pinch and clockwise twist will see the
ghastly creature out.
This is the poor little bird after my ministrations.
Later I tucked it up in a protected fork of the tree.
I woke this morning, thinking why didn't I
give it some water on a cotton bud...
so easy to be wise after the event.
This was the sight that greeted us this morning.
A sad tale, but we did try.
Aaaw ~ you did your best LL. Think we need more tales of your animal husbandry days.
ReplyDeleteWhere to start that's the trouble Carol.
DeleteLLx
Damned sad, damned sad - tits are so difficult to stuff, and are often over-cooked.
ReplyDeleteI remember my sister, Pear Tree, desperately trying to keep cigarettes lit someone (as a non-smoker) so that she could persuade ticks off our pet hound. The hound also used to be chucked through the sheep-dip every time the sheep were done! I think I used to be thrown in too...
Spirit dabbed on ie meths or a single malt has been known to make them lose their grip; pretty much the same in humans really. Added to which, if this is the preferred method, best not light one of Havana's finest around the hound. You wouldn't want to fall even further out of Elaine's favour now would you old chap?
DeleteSheep dip not a good idea... okay it kills the ticks, along with brain cells. In fact come to think of it, that might explain a lot! Had many doses over your fifty odd years have you?
LLX
LLX
Oh dear. So sad. But a good try on your part - I am afraid I wouldn't have known what to do! Thank you for instructing me; if I ever have a tick/tit problem, I shall know how to handle the situation.
ReplyDeleteThat chappie on Springwatch (knowledgeable cove), says to let nature take its course. Trouble is... I just can't. A young bluetit, a tick the size of a finger nail full of the poor little bird's blood... the outcome I suppose was inevitable.
DeleteLLX
Are you sure it was a tick and not actually it's head?? Poor tit but well done for giving it a go x Jane
ReplyDeleteI've seen enough ticks in me time to know the difference, added to which the wriggling legs on its departure from its cushy billet gave the game away.
DeleteLLX
What a sad tale. I didn't know that blue tits could get ticks.
ReplyDeleteJacqui
What a sad tale. I didn't know that blue tits could get ticks.
ReplyDeleteJacqui
'Fraid so! Horrible thought of the little body being drained of all its life force. What use are ticks in the world one wonders?
DeleteLLX