Earlier this year, a tiny pink baby bird only partially covered in pinfeathers fell from a nest in the rafters of our porch.  In an extremely delicate and careful operation with some rubber gloves and a mirror, I placed him back in the nest back to his brothers and sisters, and so far as I can tell, he grew up with them and flew away.  The nest had 3 chicks.

A week or two ago, a new nest full of chicks hatched a few feet away on the same rafter.  This time it was 5 chicks, way too many for such a small nest.  These look like Townsend Solitaires (http://www.ctbirding.org/images_rare/2006/06TownsendSolitaire800.jpg) which is a rare bird here in CT.

Tonight a baby fell from the nest.  He had about half pinfeathers and half partially formed adult feathers.  The dog found him before I did and was kind enough to bring him in the house.

When I got to him, he was still breathing, and didn't seem to have been punctured (though who the Hell can tell?), so I carefully put him up next to the nest.

Maybe he's just in shock, but he'll probably die overnight.  I didn't have the heart to break his skull.  I may just have to clean him up in the morning.

He was covered in some sort of mites.  I've doused myself from shoulders to waist in alcohol, and given the same treatment to the floor.  Hopefully the dog's anti-flea treatment will kill mites, too.

Jesus, Muppet, why are you going into human nursing?  You have a passion for taking care of animals.  Isn't there something in the vet field you could do?

Excellent observation.

Muppet, go to vet school.

Too many years.  Can't do it right now.

Wanted to do it years ago, didn't happen.

I dissected a cat in biology class.  After school with Mrs. Jones.  Mrs. Jones was this great athletic old lady. Loved her to death.

Anyway, the ewww factor for me made biology based careers NOT an option.

You could let the cats out.  That would solve the problem of baby birds falling out of nests.  That's the solution we use around my house.  Bird falls out of nest.  Grey and white blur shoots across the lawn.  No more baby bird.

Yeah, see, I saved the last one.  Cat wouldn't have done that.

This one didn't make it.  I didn't have time to get him down this morning so I'll have to do it first thing when I get home or else he may draw flies to the nest.

Nope, cat definitely wouldn't save the bird.  They go off too quickly, they should really be eaten right away.