(no subject)
Geh! What's with me and the animal kingdom today?
OotnAboot with tiafallen today - hit the bank and food shopping, then decided to go restock our Girly Bath Stuff and headed to the Burlington mall.
A fine time was had by all, and about 3/4 of the way through the afternoon, she decided she wanted a smokey-treat. We happened to be standing by the food courts, so we went out the "back" entrance, which I have never personally been out of. She then discovered that she didn't have her treats with her, and the Nice Man already smoking confessed that he had just smoked his last one, when I glanced off to the side...and saw a small bird.
It was a tiny lil' thing, about 4" from beak to tail, light olive green in color with darker wings, black eyes, and an "insect eater" beak (straight and narrow) - I couldn't tell you if it was just a small breed, or just a fledgeling, or what, but the poor thing was small, and just sitting there, on the pavement, next to the mall wall, looking around. I carefully walked closer to it, and it just sat there.
My assumption is that the poor thing probably thwacked off the mall windows and was stunned, because it didn't look hurt, but it was definately just kind of sitting there, quietly. Waaay too quietly. So, I dropped my bags and walked over to it - no reaction. Not cool, yo. Not so close to a mall entrance, with people coming and going and not watching where they walk, and savage little yuppie brats who would like nothing better than to hurt something small and defenseless. So, yeah, what else was I gonna do?
I gently put my fingers under it's feet, and it gripped them, so I lifted it up, cradling my other hand under it (in case it lost its' footing or whatever). [Insert Nice Smoking Man, "You've got to be fuckin' kidding me!" - more in shock than anything else] I walked out a ways into the parking lot, to one of the young birches that they have planted in the traffic islands, and let it climb off onto the highest branch I could reach (a little more than 6' up). It just sat there quietly, looking at me, the whole time I was carrying it. It didn't even move its' wings, stab at me, poop on me, anything. But it gripped the branch okay, and I didn't know what else to do for it now that it was out of harms way (and pointing away from the mall), so I just turned and walked back to tiafallen, took my bags back from her, and we went back into the mall.
[sigh] I love birds. I love them so much that I won't have one for a pet, because the idea of keeping a bird in a cage just breaks my heart. I'm trying not to obsess over it, since I'll never know, but I hope it turns out to be okay.
Gah.
I can still feel its' tiny claws wrapped around my fingers.
OotnAboot with tiafallen today - hit the bank and food shopping, then decided to go restock our Girly Bath Stuff and headed to the Burlington mall.
A fine time was had by all, and about 3/4 of the way through the afternoon, she decided she wanted a smokey-treat. We happened to be standing by the food courts, so we went out the "back" entrance, which I have never personally been out of. She then discovered that she didn't have her treats with her, and the Nice Man already smoking confessed that he had just smoked his last one, when I glanced off to the side...and saw a small bird.
It was a tiny lil' thing, about 4" from beak to tail, light olive green in color with darker wings, black eyes, and an "insect eater" beak (straight and narrow) - I couldn't tell you if it was just a small breed, or just a fledgeling, or what, but the poor thing was small, and just sitting there, on the pavement, next to the mall wall, looking around. I carefully walked closer to it, and it just sat there.
My assumption is that the poor thing probably thwacked off the mall windows and was stunned, because it didn't look hurt, but it was definately just kind of sitting there, quietly. Waaay too quietly. So, I dropped my bags and walked over to it - no reaction. Not cool, yo. Not so close to a mall entrance, with people coming and going and not watching where they walk, and savage little yuppie brats who would like nothing better than to hurt something small and defenseless. So, yeah, what else was I gonna do?
I gently put my fingers under it's feet, and it gripped them, so I lifted it up, cradling my other hand under it (in case it lost its' footing or whatever). [Insert Nice Smoking Man, "You've got to be fuckin' kidding me!" - more in shock than anything else] I walked out a ways into the parking lot, to one of the young birches that they have planted in the traffic islands, and let it climb off onto the highest branch I could reach (a little more than 6' up). It just sat there quietly, looking at me, the whole time I was carrying it. It didn't even move its' wings, stab at me, poop on me, anything. But it gripped the branch okay, and I didn't know what else to do for it now that it was out of harms way (and pointing away from the mall), so I just turned and walked back to tiafallen, took my bags back from her, and we went back into the mall.
[sigh] I love birds. I love them so much that I won't have one for a pet, because the idea of keeping a bird in a cage just breaks my heart. I'm trying not to obsess over it, since I'll never know, but I hope it turns out to be okay.
Gah.
I can still feel its' tiny claws wrapped around my fingers.