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My Chinups Save Lives

Today I went down to the basement and started doing chinups off of a makeshift chinup bar that I installed into the rafters. Up I go, down I go, up I go… after several reps I begin to take note of a distraction off to the side, a flickering movement from the window. Curious, I lift myself up, holding the position, straining to see the source of this flickering.

A tiny head pops up above the sill for a moment and drops back down. What is going on here I wonder? I slide open the window and listen… silence. hmmm.

Determined to discover the source of this distraction I close the window and head up the stairs and then into the backyard. This strange occurrence should be investigated. The basement window is actually below ground and in a small recession created by a rounded piece of corrugated metal designed to hold back the earth and water.

I peer into the well to find a tiny, ragged chickadee looking at me with a crooked gaze. Soft down covered most of its chest and protruded amongst its not yet fully developed feathers. Its tail looked to be in a sorry state. The small pale feathers had a bedragged quality about them and it was easy to see this creature’s state of peril. A pathetic sight indeed. If one of the local cats happened by this window this defenseless captive would be made quick work of.

I stepped one foot into the well and gently touched it to reassure that I meant no harm. Slowly I lifted the bird out of the well and held it in my hand. The young bird, sensing its freedom from its woeful predicament attempted to take to the sky. This bold venture did not fair well. It vainly fluttered hoping against all hope, only to slowly descended to the ground. Amazingly, it made it to the fence and somehow scrambled between the alternating wooden slats to another world on the other side.

Concerned by the loud thud made on contact I made my way to the around the fence and found the bird hopping along the ground. It made its way to a bush-like tree and slowly began to work its way up the branches, hopping from one level to another until it was at a height that it felt afforded it some safely from danger.

I found myself suddenly facing a moral dilemma. I know these neighborhood cats… they are sneaky predators. Why just last night after my run I was sitting outside enjoying a cool glass of water when I realized that I was not alone. There was a medium sized feline with black and white patches lurked under a bush peering at me intently with its molten golden eyes. This place was not 8 feet from this little birds perch of safety.

Should I take this young underdeveloped bird into the safety of my home for a week until it grows to the point it can fly safely or should I leave its fate to the forces of nature and chance? I actually felt torn with indecision.

In response to the baby birds calls a group of other local birds had gathered in the surrounding trees to watch the events unfold. I could tell by the tone of their chirps that some were alarmed at the situation and under this scrutiny and judgement I decided to let the situation be and hope for the best. If this bird left my hand at the earliest possible moment then it is not my place to take away its freedom.

Godspeed little bird. Godspeed.

This open post was written 1 year, 3 months ago | V/U/S: 187, 3, 2 | Edit Post | Leave a reply | Report Post

Bird, Water, cat, state, tree, Window, hand, Head, Basement, Feather, birds, freedom, Animals (How Tags Affect Reciprocity)

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