Had an... interesting day today, involving a window, a bird, and a crazy old lady.

It all started this afternoon when we heard a bird hit the window. I went outside like I always do to make sure it wasn't injured, and... it was. Pretty bad, by the looks of it. It was a rose-breasted grosbeak, absolutely gorgeous, and it was lying on the ground, wriggling around and opening and closing its beak.

Now, I'd like to mention that I don't drive due to narcolepsy (which I haven't entirely sorted out yet), and neither of my parents were home. The bird was definitely more than stunned, though it could move its head and wings, meaning its neck wasn't broken. The best thing I thought of for the moment was to move it -gently- to a shady, hidden area so it would be out of the sun and hidden from predators. I figured a cardboard box would just stress it out more, so I placed it beneath a bush in some tall grass.

I then proceeded to call the vet, who said that they don't handle wild animals. They did, however, give me a number to call, so I did. That place apparently didn't handle wild animals either, so they connected me to a wildlife rehabilitator who lives in the area. I called the number and an old lady answered, and apparently she does wildlife rehabilitation. Okay.

She offered to come to my house and get the bird, and I figured, considering the circumstances, it was the best hope for saving the bird's life. She lives about fifteen minutes away from our house, but somehow managed to get lost and it took her over an hour to get here. She even pulled into the subdivision once, but then turned around and left as I waved and called to her.

Anyway, eventually she made it to our house. She was this tiny, senile-looking old lady, but was recommended to me by a vet so I assume she knows what she's doing. I went to go get the bird and put it in a Critter Keeper and the bird, which I had just checked on not five minutes earlier, was gone from the spot where I had left it. After a few minutes of searching, we found it a few feet away and I managed to scoop it up. It clamped down on my finger with its beak and WOULD NOT LET GO (good thing I was wearing thick gloves). Eventually I managed to pry its little beak off my finger and closed the Critter Keeper, and the lady loaded it into her car. A half hour later I got a call from her, letting me know it was doing okay and had even eaten some mealworms and seeds that she gave it. Hopefully this means it will be able to recover and be re-released into the wild.

I have to say, as sad and stressful as the situation was, it was also very strange for me. I have never in my life held a little injured bird in my hands. I have never felt its heartbeat, never looked into its intelligent brown eyes as it watched me back, never seen so closely its struggle between life and death. It was an almost spiritual experience.