...helping out the little ones...
I came home today from an eye doctor's appointment, eyes dilated...when I went into my backyard, squinting, to find a toy one of my kids lost in the grass. As I'm walking along, peering into my neighbors lawn where she had been playing, I see a small dark spot in the grass, and then a tiny yellow mouth open up at me...it was a baby bird that had fallen from it's nest.
I didn't know what type of bird it was, but it was in the sunlight, in the open, and the next dog/cat that wandered by was about to have a nice meal, so I took it inside, put it in a small box, put a sock over it to keep it warm (I had the A/C on inside) and then tried to figure out what I was going to do.
I called my mother, who recommended I call my oldest sister, who apparently had experience in such things. After talking with her, we had a plan of action. While waiting to put the plan of action into motion, I had to wait for my wife to return home to help me. It was during that time that I realized it was a baby mockingbird, and the parents were looking for it. While I was waiting, I put it next to the tree it had apparently fallen from and made sure it was safe.
The plan was to get a small plastic container, poke holes in the bottom to let water drain out, put sticks, leaves, etc. in it, and then screw it in as high on the tree as possible. Then put the baby back up in it and hope for the best. The end result:
The parents never dive-bombed us throughout...thankfully...maybe they sensed what we were doing. I saw them afterwards getting insects from the grass and flying up to where I had placed the container...so I think all should be well.
