Saving a Tiny Bird from Death

A week long adventure involving an injured wild bird found on Grand Junction's Little Park Road has ended on a happy note. After a rough couple of weeks saturated with disagreeable events around the valley, perhaps it's time for a little good news.

Two Saturdays ago, on the evening of July 22, while making the drive to a popular hiking trail on Little Park Road, I encountered an injured bird thrashing around the middle of the road. The bird appeared to have been hit by a car. No signs of broken bones were evident at the time. More than anything, the bird seemed to be stunned and disoriented.

What does one do in a situation such as this? The phone number for the emergency veterinarian clinic on North Avenue in Grand Junction is listed in the contacts on my phone. Upon calling the clinic, it became obvious they could not help. The advised me to contact the Department of Wildlife on Monday.

Well, Monday was two days away. A temporary "bird shelter" was found with a giant plastic Country Jam festival mug which had been rolling around the backseat of my truck for years. It worked well as a cage while the bird was shuttled to my house.

With the aid of a large rectangular piece of Tupperware and an oversized dish towel, the bird had a temporary home. For the first 24 hours, the bird could not open its eyes and appeared to be struggling to breathe. To be blunt, no one thought the little guy would make it.

To complicate matters, I had to leave for a few days to run to Oregon. At this point, the bird was relocated to my parent's house. My dad picked up a nice cage, bird seed, and a few other odds and ends. He quickly took to researching the care and feeding of injured wild birds.

The situation rapidly turned around. By day two the bird's eyes were open. By day three, he was moving around the cage. Day four saw him jumping up on the cage's perch. Day six saw him flying around the cage.

By day seven it seemed as if he might be ready to return home. While hopes were high, there was still some concern he might not be ready. The only thing we could think to do was try. So, it was back up Little Park Road, this time with a bird cage in lieu of a Country Jam mug.

We returned to the site where he was found. From this point, things could have gone no better. The small door to the cage was opened, and after a few moments, he found his way out of the cage. I kept a little distance to not interfere with the bird's decision-making process. After hopping around for a few moments, he took flight and landed in a tree roughly 50 feet away.

Why am I posting about this? Well, to be blunt, after some of the events around this valley over the last few weeks, I could really use a little good news. As a matter of fact, I have an Anne Murray cassette in my truck featuring a tune which warrants a listen.