The Bird is the Word

[nekosensei]

My next-door neighbor's kids found an injured sparrow late this afternoon. They can't keep it because of their dog, so now I have it. (doomsey volunteered me because I'm the animal person). Oy! Anyhow, I explained to them that wild birds taken into captivity often die of shock, so don't be sad if he doesn't make it. Harsh, but better to be upfront. If somebody had told me that before I took in a certain fledgling back when I was a kid, I think it would have saved me a little heart-ache.

So...now Mr. Bird is resting comfortably in a box out in my garage. (I'm not bringing it inside in case it's sick. I don't want to expose myself, my husband, or the cats to anything). Mr. Bird also has some food and water. The little guy looks hungry because he started chowing down as soon as I gave him the food. I watched him for about five minutes while he was eating and then picked him up and took a closer look at his legs and wings. It doesn't look like anything is broken, so honestly, I think either he ran into something and stunned himself or he's sick.

I tried calling Willowbrook Wildlife Center, but they closed at five. I think, what I'm going to do his hold him over night and, if he makes it until morning, hand him over to the specialists at Willowbrook when they open at nine.

Comments

[nekosensei.livejournal.com]

I don't think that's always a good indication. When I was a kid, I found a baby robin. At least I think it was a baby robin, the details are hazy. My sister and I fed it, and it ate fine the first day. When we checked on it in the morning, it was dead. We were devastated because, other than being young, it was doing fine.

The same thing happened when I picked up a starling with two broken legs. It ate when it thought I wasn't looking, but it still died anyway. And the most frustrating thing about that last bit was that I couldn't get any wildlife places to take him. They told me that it was just a starling and that I could take care of it myself. Yeah...um...no. (Not to mention that I didn't have the faintest idea of what I should be doing to fix its legs).

[barsukthom.livejournal.com]

Aw, man.
I understand the shelter, at least a little: Starlings are an Invasive. And they're bullies. But still...