Fate or luck?
Having a dog means that you need to exercise them regularly, so I try take Mr. Woofy out for walkies every night. Tonight, the park that we usually do laps at was overrun by the local baseball club, so we just started to amble around the neighborhood, aimlessly looking for another park where my canine companion could run freely and roll around in the grass. After about an hour of traipsing around, we finally found a small park he could run around in, so I took his leash off so we could both explore at our own individual paces.All of a sudden, I heard a maddened barking, and thinking that he’d cornered another cat, rushed over to where he was. By the time I got there, he’d jumped back and was looking quizzically at a small little lump in the grass - closer inspection revealed that it was a tiny little baby bird, no more than about 10cm long (4 inches). It was clearly in shock, but still breathing strongly and I was nervous and unsure as to whether I should leave it alone or bring it back home. I know that they say you should leave baby birds where you’ve found them for about an hour to see whether the parents come back, but by this stage it was 7:30pm and pretty dark, so I made the decision to bring it home lest it be eaten by some neighborhood cat.
Baby peeper asleep on an old tee-shirt
I carefully carried it home in the pocket of my hoodie, making sure to support his tiny body in my hand the whole way. When we got back, I rushed to my room, pulled out a shoebox and stuffed an old tee-shirt inside and put him in there so that at least he could kind of settle/calm down. The addition of a hot water bottle and he was about as comfy as I could make him.
Small little ball of feathers, he appeared to have most of his adult plumage, but still had scraggly bits of baby down sticking out here and there.
A discussion with the after-hours RSPCA staff discovered that this little fellow was a Noisy Miner (not to be confused with the Common/Indian Mynah which is not a native species), and I managed to get a hold of a carer in the area who had raised two of his kind before and was happy to take him on board. She came, we exchanged pleasantries and then she disappeared as quickly as she had arrived, whisking little Oscar (yes, I’d named him by this stage) out of my life. She said she was unsure whether she’d rehabilitate him to be released into the wild as apparantly this species is something of a pest, and the other two she had were domesticated pets. Either way, I know that Oscar is in safe and capable hands, and will go on to grow into adulthood rather than starving to death or being devoured by a hungry kitty.
Oscar sleeping, my mobile phone is sitting next to him for size comparison
What struck me was the sequence of events which led to the saving of Oscar’s life. If the baseball club hadn’t taken over our park, we wouldn’t have gone on a directionless amble that led to the discovery of a new park, which then led to the discovery of Oscar. Was it just Oscar’s (relatively, he was stuck in the grass and not warm and safe under momma’s wing) lucky day, or was it fate in action?
Swamped with study at the moment, will return triumphantly bearing a new recipe once I get the chance 
Technorati Tags: baby bird, noisy miner, australian native species, birds
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Comments
awww that’s the nicest thing I’ve read in a long time. Way to go! And a huge hug to Mr. Woofy, as well, for searching out and finding Oscar!
Kat - I think I was also lucky to have met Oscar, he was a pretty cute little guy!
Lis - I know, I’m so proud of Mr. Woofy for being so good and not trying to eat him or anything like that! When I had boxed Oscar at home and was waiting for the wildlife lady to arrive, he lay by the box with his head next to it and slept, like he was protecting the birdy! Awwww 
Emily - Mysterious ways indeed I’m glad this one ended happily too!
Barbara - Aww thanks, but the real star is Mr. Woofy for finding Oscar and alerting me to his presence Bloodwork results came back OK, but a second opinion from a doctor with more knowledge regarding my condition said I needed more tests as my family doctor had missed a few. Siiiiigh, damn needles!
Neil - Happy endings are marvellous
hey ellie,
i say it’s fate. fate that forced you out of your local park to a new park so that mr woofy and you would find and save the lil birdy.
i know it’s exams season now so good luck with your exams! looking forward to your new culinary findings.
what a great story. I love that it has happy ending. Good on you for going the extra mile and saving the poor little birdie.
Ellie - That is so sweet! Oscar sure is a cute little fella. But I think top prize goes to Mr. Woofy in his angel wings!
Ivonne - the world works in mysterious ways, and in this case I think all parties involved won
Iling - I think I’ll agree with you on that one! It just seems like too many things happened in succession for this to be a case of coincidences!
Jenjen - Aww, it was no trouble on my part, I was just glad it got to live!
Belinda - Thankyou
Ed - Oscar is a total cutie, but I agree - Mr Woofy looks cuter with his wings 
Oscar was so lucky to have you save him.