Drama on the Patio

Spotted a disturbance on the patio early this morning.

Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a bird emergency, with one seemingly in distress, two others trying to render aid.

When I moved the blinds away to get a clearer view, the helpers fled, leaving the injured bird behind.

Now what you need to know about me is I’m the kind of person that enjoys cats, dogs, birds, people but, ever since mom gave my dog Skippy away, only at a distance. I’m not the one who’s going to be performing CPR or, in the case of cats, dogs, birds, the one who will pick them up, transport to the nearest vet. Instead, I’ll make the calls to get help.

In short, I’m the helping kind ─ I'll stop, get involved, but I'm not the physically touching rendering aid kind.

Even when my twins were little and would get a splinter. I couldn’t handle it. I’d knock on a neighbor’s door and ask them to pull the splinter out. And God forbid, blood was involved. There would be screaming, vomiting, and not from the kids, but from me.

So with this bird on my patio, unable to fly, looking to be dying, it was high drama, with me begging “Pease don’t die on my patio”.

Hours went by.

Bird wasn't moving and looked to be fading.

From a safe distance, I began trickling cold water onto the patio, thinking a drink might do bird some good but still, bird wasn't moving.

I began thinking how sad to die alone on the patio and wondered if I could get maintenance to take the little corpse away, because no way would I ever go out onto the patio with a dead bird on it.

I regularly checked on the bird, sent water its way and whatdyaknow, along about 10:45 I saw this:

Bird 911 had come to the rescue.

Whatever food or medicine bird rescue had fed her (and somehow I know it’s a she), she seemed to perk up, was up and walking around, but still unable to fly.

That is until checking on her, shortly after 11:00, I found her to be gone.

Praise the Universe!

I don't know if it was the water, the TLC from the other bird, the prayers, or being able to rest undisturbed until whatever was wrong passed, but nothing dead for me to deal with on the patio!

Drama over, I got dressed and headed out for grocery shopping.

Would you believe, shortly after I returned, around 1:30, she came back.

I know it was she because I recognized the white spot on her tail.

Thinking maybe she’d left some sort of bird pheromones that led her back, I went out to sweep the patio.

She didn’t fly away.

She wasn’t afraid of me.

I swept the entire patio around her, she never moved. Even allowed me to get up close and take a photo of her fully recovered self.

I think I made a friend.

In fact, I think I made several friends because, for the remainder of the afternoon, I had bird visitors ... on the railing, close flybys.

Either several new friends for me or bird was telling her people, “You won’t believe what happened to me this morning” and her folks stopped by to see for themselves.