This morning when I was getting ready to leave to teach my class, I walked down the driveway to roll the trash can down to the street when I heard this little peeping coming from the grass. I looked down and saw this little guy. It looked like he had dropped from a tree a few feet away, but I couldn’t see a nest and didn’t want to interfere, so I filled a straw with water to see if he was thirsty, and he happily drank the water from the straw a few times then I went on my way.
By this evening, the little birdie was still sitting in the same place. Once the girls saw him, it was all over with. He was still too young to fly, and sitting where he was all day on the grass, he had to be thirsty and hungry, and he was also in a very vulnerable situation. So, we decided to try to help without interfering too much.
Clearly, he/she was hungry. He would look right at us and open his mouth so wide and squawk. I don’t think it mattered if we were his mom or not – he just wanted food. So, Lyla set off in search of worms.
Meanwhile, Mark tried to find the original nest. We were thinking we could just set him back in his nest and let his mother take care of him.
When Mark found the nest, he realized why this little guy was on the ground. The nest was packed, and all the other birds in the nest were much bigger than he was. He probably just got pushed out. So, we decided to try to help him.
Lyla found quite a few worms, and Mark fed the baby bird with tweezers. He was so hungry, he probably ate five or six worms. Then he drank more water out of the straw and started to fall asleep.
So, Nina kept a watchful eye on him while we figured out where to put him.
Mark looked in the tree and found a good area on the branches right below the nest that his siblings were in, so Lyla and a friend gathered cut grass to make the nest and we put a little water in there with him and set him in his “new nest.”
Evidently, he decided he was still hungry for a few more worms, so we fed him some more and then Mark placed him inside the tree just below his original nest.
We think he’ll sleep well tonight – safely off the ground. Plus, he’s got a full belly, and compared to his siblings, he’s got a nest fit for a king. Since he’s directly below his original nest, we’re hoping the mother bird will obviously hear and see him there and will attend to him. I guess we’ll check in the morning, but we’re hoping he’ll be good to go on his own now. I know at least two little girls (and one big one) that will sleep easier tonight!
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