the fledgling

as i was pulling into my driveway this evening, i noticed that there was a little sparrow standing right smack in the middle of everything; about halfway between me and the garage, near our back door. i pulled in very slowly, and realized that it didn't seem like he was planning on moving anytime soon. he didn't seem hurt; just content. i had a hunch that he might be a baby, so i stopped my car and got out.

as i approached him, he just kind of looked at me in that cute little bird way. before i got too close, my husband noticed that i was in the driveway (which probably seemed weird since i normally would be way over by the garage), and he was looking out the window at me with a puzzled look on his face. i gestured toward the little bird, and then he understood. just then, i must have gotten a little too close for the bird's comfort, and he stretched out his little juvenile wings--in a display of effort, or just for show, i'm not sure. regardless, it was pretty hilarious. he still had naked armpits.

i stopped and took a step backwards, talking to him the whole time. my husband started to come outside, but i sent him back in for the camera. this was definitely a baby, probably on one of his early flights, and i think he was just resting and/or trying to get his wits about him before trying again. i went back to my car so i could turn it off, since i wasn't sure how long we'd be waiting, and then i came back and sat cross-legged on the concrete nearby. he let me sit pretty close to him; by then i think he realized we didn't pose any real threat.

one reason i wanted to "babysit" him was just because i LIVE for stuff like this--hanging out with unexpected wildlife that lets me get close is just one of my favorite things. but on a more practical note, we live right next door to a cat who roams freely, and he kills absolutely everything he can. but that's for another post. anyway, we really wanted to make sure that this little baby would be safe from oscar, so we decided to hang out with him and wait. the fledgling, for his part, decided to go ahead and lie down--it was like he thought the driveway was a nest. he just kind of snuggled down on the concrete. so cute!

my husband took a bunch of really sweet pictures of him, and we just chatted with him while we waited. about 5-10 minutes passed, and suddenly i became aware of a nearby chirping. i looked around, and sure enough, his mama was on the edge of our neighbor's roof, cheep-cheeping down at the baby. he looked up at her and started chirping back. they went back and forth like this, several times, and the mother flew back and forth between our roof and our neighbor's, getting more and more excited.

once she realized we were "safe," she flew down closer to us, almost hovering in mid-air, as if to say, "come on, kiddo, flap just like this! you can do it!" and the baby started getting really riled up. she demonstrated like this a couple of times, and then flew into a tree right next to our garage. that was all it took--the baby spread his little tiny wings and flew right into the tree after her. i swear, it was one of the neatest things i'd ever seen. i teared up a little bit. i'm such a sap. yay baby birds!

Comments

[Becci]

That's so great! Can you post more pictures?

[girl least likely to]

becci, if you scroll down and watch for the flickr dealie in my right sidebar, you can go to my flickr page and see more pictures of the little cutie. :) i posted the ones that i thought were the best. hope you like them!

[Deb]

What a great story!

[Flower]

The pictures are so cute! I love opportunities like that, too. I had one quite a few years ago when I was hiking in the woods with Bruno. I saw a doe get up & run away when we were on the trail, then I saw something moving in the bushes that she jumped up from. I went over to them & saw a fawn, which I think was just born! She/he was still wet & just laying there, unable to get up. I kept my distance, trying not to burst from excitement & regret at not having my camera. I only stuck around for about a minute, though, because I could imagine that the mother was very anxious. Such a cool experience!

[Stegan]

Awwwww!

[Jasperkat]

That is such a cool story. I'm always grateful for little gifts like that, unexpected pleasures.

[girl least likely to]

thanks guys! and Flower, your fawn story is just amazing!!