The bird lady of Arles

Text and photos by Morgan Dunn

In the front room of Hélène Biesse’s home in Arles, next to the dining room table, two shoe boxes sit side by side. 

If you listen closely, you may hear one of the boxes start to make a chirping noise.

Inside are the birds that Hélène, who is hosting me this summer, collects to care for in her home. Friends often stop by to bring her swifts, pigeons or swallows. 

I learned about her care for birds the other evening while I was walking to meet some friends for dinner, and ran into her and her daughter. At first, I saw just the two of them smiling and waving at me, but as I approached them, I noticed a small grey thing in Hélèn’s hands. It was a pigeon.

I was quite shocked and confused. “Why on earth was she carrying a pigeon?” I thought. She nudged the bird toward me so I could pet it, and I did. I had never pet a pigeon before, so I felt out of my element, but the bird was soft and was sitting very still. It didn’t even seem scared but rather was very still and calm. As I pet the bird, she told me to make a wish. 

Hélène first started caring for birds one day when she came home to find a swift lying by her door. She noticed it was injured and decided to pick it up and take it inside to feed it. 

She then reached out to the Bird Sanctuary in Arles and asked how she could help the bird.. She learned that all she needs to do is feed them and wait for their wings to grow long enough to be able to set them free. 

Now, when Hélène sees an injured bird on the street, she picks it up and takes it home to feed and heal it. 

Hélène feeds the birds and keeps them at home in a shoebox or cage. She waits until their wings are long enough to cross behind their back. That’s the sign they are ready to fly on their own.

She says she gets nervous that the birds will not make it, and she has had some that have died, but the majority of her cases are successful. 

During my stay with Hélène, I have met many birds. Before dinner each night, she takes them out of the box, wraps them up with a towel, and feeds them ham.

The other night, I came home to find a box of live worms she had gotten as bird food. She showed me that she even feeds the worms to ensure they stay alive.

When we go on walks with her dog in the evenings, we look up at the sky and watch the crowds of birds fly over us. One evening, she was explaining facts about the birds we were seeing that I never would have known or thought would be interesting.

She pointed out the two kinds of birds we were seeing, swifts and swallows. The birds were flying high above us and in close pods. She explained that they were catching bugs, which we could not see.

She then explained that swifts can’t take flight once they are on the ground, so many get stuck and die. When she sees one, she lifts it and helps it get back into the air. Cats, she noted, often find swifts on the ground and eat them.

While this may seem like just a little quirk my host family has, it has made me more appreciative of the things around me. I know when I return home, if I see a swift, swallow, or pigeon flying over me, I will think of Hélène. 

And if I stumble upon one who may be in need, I, too, will take them into my home.