Abandoned Baby Sparrow Adopts Her Rescuers And Now They’re 1 Happy Family.

closeup of a man holding a featherless baby bird in the palm of his hand and that same bird fully grown and resting on someone's knee

Just when Julie and John thought they were empty nesters, the cutest little bird found her way into their lives.

The couple crossed paths with the baby girl just after a storm passed through. They found her in an Iris bush, all alone. She was so young that she didn’t even have feathers yet.

Julie and John looked in and around the bush in hopes of finding her mom or the nest she came from. Once they knew for sure that this poor baby was all on her own, they had a choice to make… and it couldn’t have been easier.

Not having any firsthand experience with taking care of birds, they contacted a bird rehabber, who was more than happy to answer any questions they had.

“We were like parents for the first time,” Julie said.

Now that they were committed to nursing the bird back to health, they decided to officially name the new addition to their family. They went with Iris, after the place they found her!

“Day by day, you could just see her getting stronger and happier,” John said. “She would talk back to us.”

Watching Iris develop from what Julie called a “pink blob” into a fully grown and healthy bird was miraculous. They got to be there for her during so many milestones, including the first time she ever flew. These special moments are what made releasing her back into the wild all the more difficult.

@savingiris

Itty bitty birdie bath

♬ _Cute – Gabe Lost

Much to the surprise of Julie and John, those moments made leaving just as difficult for Iris herself. No matter how many times they tried taking her outside and leaving her there, she just kept coming back!

“One night she didn’t come back and the next day, it looked like she had been through a hurricane,” John said.

Julie added, “So we just figured we’d take care of her forever and give her the best possible life.”

This lovely couple may have never expected to “adopt” a bird, but now that they have, they’re absolutely loving it! You can even find some of their adventures on their TikTok, which they’ve perfectly named “Saving Iris.”

@savingiris

When you can’t keep your eyes open at church 👀

♬ original sound – Saving Iris

“Iris does what she wants. She’s spunky, she’s feisty – she also really likes cake,” Julie said. “She likes to forage for nesting material, so she’ll steal whatever she can steal to collect and take back to her nest. She will go into the bathroom and unroll a whole roll of toilet paper and she shreds it up and takes it back to her nest.”

Despite all the chaos Iris can cause, the positive impact she’s had on their lives far outweighs any of the struggles.

“Iris has absolutely changed out life. We love Iris like she’s one of the kids. All of a sudden our nest was full again,” Julie said. “She brings us too much joy.”

What a beautiful rescue! Don’t forget to share this article with a friend to make them smile.

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