Mama bird's day out

This incident took place a couple of days back, to be precise, on the day of Eid (Bakrid). I was rushing out of my house to meet some of my relatives which I do every year, trying to finish my daily chores and come back home before evening. I was about to leave when something struck my eye. Something fell, not from the sky but from a tree which is next to our door. It fell on a car that was passing by, the driver was least bothered to figure out what it was and moreover I don’t think that he even realized that something fell. From where I was standing, I couldn’t figure out what it was and I had to move closer. It was a nestling (little bird/baby bird), not one but three who must have tumbled over their nest from the tree. 

When I realized that it was a li’I bird that had come down crashing a chill went down my spine. Is it alive ? If yes, then is it hurt or is it ok. Thankfully, they were fine, but could not fly. Me and my dad took them up into our lawn and placed them safely in a box, offered them some lunch and water. The birds were about 2 inches in size, very very small. The lawn and the tree are adjacent to each other, so the lawn is easily accessible to birds who wish to take a shower every morning, for a drinks break or some snacks. So we made sure that these nestlings were safe and secure from any external threat. Two recovered very quickly, but the third could not fly, not yet. But we could not leave it there for the night as it would get cold (winter is almost here) so we put the li’I one in a cage which was used to pet pigeons, put a little towel inside so that it stays warm and covered the cage with a cloth with enough room for air.

Early morning (around 6 am) on the next day, I checked the li’I one and it seemed to be fine now, better than what it was the other day. So the cloth covering the cage was removed. At around 8 am I heard lots and lots of chirping. It was a family reunion, four li’I birds with their mom, out on a quest to find the missing one. What happened for the next one hour made my day. Mama bird comes to the cage, has a little chat with her li’I one and flies away only to come back with some food. She feeds the li’I one and waits there for a while; the other four nestlings are still in the lawn, maybe to check for any danger. I was in my room looking at them from a window.

The first part of their mission was complete. Now comes the great escape. As it was a cage meant for a pigeon, the space between the grill was spacious enough to “pull out” the li’I one. Mama bird again had a chat- “Ok listen kiddo, I am going to break you out, stay close and follow me. Your brothers and sisters are out there in the lawn. We are going to check for any hostiles in and around the area and move very carefully”. I hope that was what she chirped. So, she pulled the little one out took it to safety in the lawn. Some more chirping, I guess everyone shared their experience with each other and told the li’I one how happy they were to see him/her once again. This mama bird comes to the lawn regularly, a regular visitor for water every morning and I was happy that we’ll get to see 5 more of their kind in the lawn every day.