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

[quietdarkness.livejournal.com]

I think you are doing the best you can for the bird. Keep it warm too, if you can. If it makes it through the night, it does need to go to the rehabbers. Thanks for doing what you can for it.

[nekosensei.livejournal.com]

Yes, I did that. I did some reading last night, and the wisdom of the internet said that I should build him a little nest out of tissue. So, I went out there at about nine o'clock, checked on him, and set the tissues down.

He also ate a bit more so. I'm crossing my fingers that he'll still be with us when I go out there in a few minutes. I won't be too disappointed if he's not though. Wild birds have always struck me as being very delicate animals. Usually, I leave them alone, but this time, I took her in because the neighbor's kids found her and seemed intent on saving her.