Sad story with slight redemption...

So every summer we have a big bonfire or 2, usually later in the summer, after most of the wild birds aren't nesting as much.

Went out last night to the burn pile, (appprox 12'x12'x6' high) check it and poked/prodded it looking for wild life and/or nests. Saw 1 bird fly out, and saw/heard nothing, so good to go. Or so I thought.

About 25 minutes after it lit off, I was going around the outside with a 10' stick, pushing un-burnt sticks and brush into the center of the fire to burn. I look down at the very edge of the pit and see something that resembled a toad hopping around, just a couple feet from the intensely hot fire. It was a baby bird.

I felt TERRIBLE, I really did. I picked him up, completely dumbfounded he was a live, I could barely stand that close to the fire. I quickly took off my hat and put it into it, and brought him away from the fire, pulled out my flash light to look him over. Not a singed feather on him.

I set him down in the hat on my seat, and took the light and checked all around to see if any more survived. Finding none, and feeling like crap, I started searching for a wild bird rescue. Eventually I found 1 in Maine, but it was 3 hours away, and it was ~10pm.

So I sent them an email, and to my surprise, they emailed me back in minutes, giving me a number to call, letting me know they would call me early in the morning. I pulled out a shoe box, made the little guy a nice little paper towel nest, and placed him in the pantry, as it was warm and un-air-conditioned.

Got woken up at 8 this morning, by a nice older lady who does wild water bird rescue, IN THE NEXT TOWN OVER! Literally a 10 minute drive. I immediately went to check on the fluff ball, and he was still alive, chirping up a storm, and clearly HUNGRY. I had him to her place in 15 minutes, where she said she had all she needed to feed him and would get him up to the rescue in a couple days.

I feel horrible still, but clearly somewhat vindicated by at least saving this one baby. I'm pretty sure it was a swallow as well, one of my favorite breeds.

Here's hoping the little guys makes it back to the wild soon!

Good thinking, and fast acting on sparing the baby! What a sad experience overall though I'm sure you were heart sick.

CherylCali

I am so glad you found him and were able to get him help so quickly. Definitely a sad story, but this little guy did get a happy ending.
It truly sounds as if you did all you could to clear the area, this could have happened to anyone.

I am so sorry. I'm sure we all do things that have unforeseen and awful results. I hit a dove once, on an isolated highway. Saw it coming... it swerved away and so did I, right into it. I screeched to a stop and looked for it, but found nothing. I still have flashbacks.

Good luck to that little bird. Thank you for taking care of it.

You made the best possible outcome from a difficult and unfortunate situation, Tom. Thanks for caring for the little one; many folks would have let nature "run its course" and just walked away.

Oh Tom, how awful for you! Thank you for taking every precaution to insure the area was as safe as possible before lighting the fire and thank you so much for going the extra mile when you discovered the little one. As Scott mentioned, many people would have turned their backs, I'm so glad you didn't do that. Best of luck to the little guy or girl, so glad the wild rescue org was so willing to step in.

Thanks everyone. I really did feel terrible. 2 of my brothers checked it out with me while I was checking it and they didn't see anything, either. Still... sucks knowing it happened, intentional or not.

ToMang07 said:

Thanks everyone. I really did feel terrible. 2 of my brothers checked it out with me while I was checking it and they didn't see anything, either. Still... sucks knowing it happened, intentional or not.

Click to expand...

That is because you have a conscience! You will be more cautions in the future, and are sharing the experience with others who may not consider the hazard.