Meet Walter — a young, rescued raven who’s been a survivor all his life. After falling from his nest as a baby, presumably rejected by his parents, Walter had a slim chance of survival. But, with a ton of TLC from a veterinarian named Linnett Lee, the once-scraggly bird eventually grew strong enough to return to the wild.

There was one problem, though: Walter couldn’t fly. So, instead of releasing the bird in an isolated area, Lee set him free in her backyard. And that’s where he’s been ever since.

“Lucky for us, he was local to the property and area, so we released him at home and have kept a watchful eye on him,” Lee told The Dodo. “He’s 100 [percent] free-roam now but prefers to stay on our property.”

Walter hangs around Lee’s house all day and has since developed a typical daily routine for a bird. When he’s not hopping around the yard munching on small bugs, the little guy can usually be found collecting leaves, mulch and rocks as gifts for his new family.

Walt’s adapted to his new life better than his rescuers expected. In fact, he’s even adopted some new habits into his routine.

“He wakes us up every morning at 6:45 a.m.,” Lee said. “He can sing, but it’s horrible.”

Since Lee released him a few months ago, Walter’s shown up at her window every morning to lure his best friend out of bed.

Sometimes, the little guy caws at his mom through the screen. Other times, he rams his beak into the window repeatedly, just to see if she’s awake yet.

Walter’s obsessed with his mom, and he loves to express his feelings first thing in the morning. Lee’s not typically a morning person, but thanks to Walter’s persistence, she’s since started getting up earlier.

And, of course, the well-loved bird is always excited to greet her as soon as she opens the door.

At just 7 months old, Walter still has a lot of growing to do. It’ll be a few years before he’s ready to build a family of his own, but he’s having a blast being a part of Lee’s for now. He’s even warmed up to his dog siblings.

The curious bird is known to cause a ruckus around the house from the moment he wakes up, but Lee and her family wouldn’t have it any other way. No matter how many out-of-tune songs he sings, they couldn’t imagine their life without him.

And, even though he’s free to roam as far from her home as he’d like, Walter always hunkers down close to Lee at the end of the day to prepare for another round of trusty wake-up calls.

“He sleeps on his perch every night,” Lee said, “and never strays too far.”