This morning I went to let the chickens out of their roost. As I entered their shelter I noticed one of the leaves caught in the netting moving quite rapidly and spinning in the wind. I thought it odd that the leaf was moving so strangely and then realized that it was making noise as well. Turning to look at it more closely I realized it was a very small brown bird!
Somehow he had become stuck by one foot in the bird netting I use to keep the chickens in and the hawks out. Slowly and carefully I stepped up onto the outside roost, hoping the whole time that it would not come down under my weight, and tried to free the little fellow. It wasn’t going to work! He had managed to spin himself so tightly that I wondered how he had not cut himself in the closely wound filament. Climbing down I then went to the house to get a pair of scissors. On the way I thought about the poor little bird and how it had to have been there all night in this freezing weather!
Arriving back with the scissors I cut the netting and then brought him into the house to do the fine cutting with my embroidery scissors. The poor fellows heart was beating so fast that I hoped I could get the job done before he expired of fright. Carefully I slipped the little scissors under each strand of the filament, cutting and again cutting, so gently to release his leg and foot. Once loose, I checked him over and made sure he had no broken bones. Thankfully no damage!
Now I looked him in the eye and realized what a tiny treasure I had in my hand. Small as a sparrow, but more finely made, his little legs no bigger around than a toothpick. As I watched he began to relax and I realized I had to let him go. I took him out the front door, YIKES! Claus is out, no deal! Heading back in and to the back door I stepped out, opened my hand, and he flew off landing on the side of the old incinerator’s bricks. Resting a moment he then flew over the fence and into the field. Gone, but unharmed.
Now, each time I see a little wren, I will wonder… are you the one?
Picture Credit: http://birdsbybaranoff.com/images/1935%20carolina%20wren%20a85x11.jpg
For a fun video of the little fellow, and to hear his lovely song click HERE.
Life on the Farmlet 
What a great story Lynda! I’m glad it had a happy ending. I went through the same thing with a robin tangled in a piece of string from a tarp last spring, and unfortunately by the time I got to him, his leg was badly mangled and he was bleeding. I was able to disentangle him (he was pecking my hand all the while) and he flew away. Hopefully he survived!
Thank you for sharing my video that includes the Carolina Wren song. I’ll keep checking back here for new posts 🙂
Thank you BirdingGirl! BTW, did you know that there is a tool called “WHATBIRD” that can help you ID your birds?
You can find it here: http://www.whatbird.com
It is so easy to use, because it narrows your bird down by location and physical attributes, etc. I used it today to find out about the little Carolina Wren I rescued! ~ L
Poor li’l thing, glad he wasn’t hurt or eaten. You should’ve banded your wren before you let him go, so you could always recognize him! Ha ha, maybe that’s not legal.
I use eNature.com for identifying birds and rodents and what not, but I’ll try Whatbird.
Never heard about eNature, I’ll have to check it out too! We have LOTS of RODENTIA here. (and yes I did make that word up) 🙂
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mammal/rodentia/rodentia.html
(LOL, It may just be that you’re smarter than you think; )
😀
What a beautiful story, Lynda! Wow – feeling that little heart pounding would have been scary and I’m so glad you saved that little wren. We need more people in the world like you xxxx
And you too, Dianne! ❤