a very resilient, brave (and sometimes stupid) little bird.
We came home from running errands on Wednesday afternoon – following a big rainstorm – to find a little bird in the front yard. Big Girl found the bird sitting on the ground under one of the trees and called me outside to see it. (We think he must’ve gotten blown from the nest during the storm.)
At first, I wanted to just leave the bird alone, thinking nature would take care of its own. Then, I realized quickly that neither the girls nor my conscience would allow that to happen.
I called my mom, who used to raise birds, to find out what I should do. She suggested picking up the bird in a dishcloth and putting it in a shrub and hopefully its parents would find it and take care of it. So that is what we did.
“Peep” (or Cheep, or Tweet as he has been called) sat happily in his makeshift nest until SuperMan got home from work that evening. He fed him a few worms and made him a “nest” in some grass clippings in the flower bed under a tree.
The next day, Peep was hopping all over the yard and we spent a lot of time “rescuing” him as he hopped into the neighbor’s driveway, rolled down the hill and got caught in tree limbs, etc.
The girls got very attached to him and spent a lot of time watching him from the sunroom and front porch. He had quite the personality and would open his little beak asking for worms anytime anyone got close to him.
His parents continued to feed him and SuperMan offered worms every evening when he returned home from work. Peep hopped all over the yard and got bigger and bigger. We were pretty happy and hoped that we’d rescued him and that he’d soon fly off to be a big bird in our woods.
On Friday, we got a suggestion to put him in a makeshift “nest” – a basket hung from a tree – in hopes that his parents would be able to better care for him and that we wouldn’t have to keep rescuing him from driveways and streets.
So, SuperMan and I made him a “nest.”
And we figured we were good to go. Peep had a new home, safely away from predators and vehicles and tucked up under a tree so he would stay safe and dry.
And all was well.
Or so we thought.
Until it got “cold” last night. After the storms we had yesterday, temperatures dropped into the sixties last night. Which isn’t really cold unless you are a baby bird.
And unfortunately, I think it was too cold for Peep.
The girls are devastated. Big Girl is crying in her room. Little Bit is trying to make sense of it and reasoning it out in her own little way.
SuperMan and I feel bad, but, you know, we did the best we could. And we know that. I hate that he didn’t make it, but I am glad that the girls had three days to experience a little bit of nature – and even a little bit of the harsher realities of life.
So now Peep will live on in our memories and we’ll watch his siblings as they grow and fly from the nest (that was too high to reach to put Peep back in) and the Circle of Life will go on.
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