So, the end of that birdie story is that after work, Jeff went on the trail and again found the baby bird. This time he scooped it up and put it in his van. He called me and said he was on his way home but had to stop by the store first. Having looked up what to do with a baby bird who's fallen out of it's nest online, I asked him to pick up some baby food chicken and fruit to feed it. So, he ran that quick errand while Percy (we named him already) bounced around the van. He came home and we put Percy in a big box. In the meantime, I had done some more research and discovered that Percy was actually a fledgeling, and it's normal for them to hop or be pushed out of the nest, where they will stay on the ground a few days while their mama still feeds them, until they can fly. So, Percy was actually doing exactly what he should have been doing and now Jeff was a kidnapper! Or birdnapper to be precise. So, after admiring Percy and taking some pictures, we decided he really needed to go back to his mama. Jeff took him back and placed him right where he found him - and lo and behold, there was his angry mama waiting for him. She did not appreciate his little field trip, but took to him just fine (did you know it's a myth that if you handle a baby bird their mama will reject them? Apparently birds have no sense of smell and cannot differentiate between human scent and bird scent). What a funny adventure! The next day Jeff went on the trail again and there was Percy and his mama and Percy took one look at Jeff and made a beeline for his mama. Guess that's the last time we'll try to kidnap a bird. Now, what to do with this baby food? :)
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