A Sparrow's Tale

"In the front yard we have a high post on which we have a bluebird house. Bluebird houses are rather compact and this one was made to specifications and it has been used in the past by happy couples. We also get a lot of sparrows checking it out, but it's too small for them. Unfortunately, one tried to move in yesterday. We saw this sparrow - wings drooping - hanging from the house, its head wedged in the hole. When we went to check on it, it started flapping - it was still alive. Bob got buckets for us to stand on and we pried the top off the house. While I supported the bird, Bob managed to get the house off the post and then worked at getting the bird free without injuring it. It took a bit of doing, but with pliers, screwdriver, etc. we did get it free. I remembered what your owl book said about dehydration and stuff and, while holding it in one hand, dribbled drops of water into its beak, which it gobbled down. A few minutes later, it was struggling frantically to get out of my hands so I placed it on the ground, near the water and placed a pile of birdseed next to it. I was afraid the trauma of me holding it would do more damage than good. It flopped around for a bit, found a safe haven in the bricks that surround our water dish, and we left it. Every little bit, I went out and checked on it, but it got so frantic when I got near, that we just kept a close eye on it. Later in the afternoon, it had crawled across a bit of the lawn towards some shrubbery. Traumatized or not, I donned my glove, picked it up (it didn't object much), dribbled more water into it's beak (it bit me - good thing I was wearing gloves), so I placed it under the shrub it had been heading for. Although he was a fighter, I was quite sure he wouldn't make it through the night. I was right. Unfortunately. And now I'm sitting here crying over a stupid sparrow."

I wanted to share Vicky's story publicly in the hope that perhaps others confronted with an injured bird might be able to help.

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