I have tried several times today to help Napoleon. With a winter storm and sleet coming down all night I looked for him this morning when I noticed he was no longer in the tree he normally sleeps in. I finally found him on our deck with ice weighing down his crown so that it flopped against his head……the rest of him had ice cycles hanging from his feathers. I first tried to feed him and he ate a little sunflower seeds but when I tried to get a large piece of ice hanging on his neck he got excited and flew down on the air conditioner.

He allowed me to get close to him because I feed him all the time and he almost eats out of my hand. I then thought about throwing a sheet over him and taking him into the garage where he could thaw out. However, I decided it would probably scare him more than it would help and I didn’t feel confident in being able to get a frantic bird from the yard into the garage. His defensive feet and claws would be hard to manage with me slipping on ice.

He left the back of the house and flew up on the fence between the yards and I hoped he would get on the covered porch of the neighbors home. It has been empty almost two years so he could find comfort there from the ice. However, any further attempts from me seemed to worsen his plight.

It is still sleeting and has been for the past 24 hours. I can only hope and pray he makes it through this storm which has been the worst for him. If you have any spare prayer-time I ask prayers for Napoleon. He has so gallantly lived a solitary life in a strange world……..never being with his own kind. He has adapted to my attempts to care for him and being concerned for his welfare.

I hope tomorrow I can write that all is well.

Essentially Esther