it was a little after 10 p.m. when i got home from commencement last night. i grabbed the pizza i had brought home out of my passenger side and went to walk in the house, when i noticed right there in front of the door was a little bird hopping around. i think he was a yellow-rumped warbler.
i didn’t know how long he’d been in there, but he didn’t fly away when i got near him, so i stuck a cup over him to make sure he didn’t hop under my car while i put the pizza inside. nate came out too and poked the little bird to see if he would take off – nothin’.
so i scooped him up and placed him outside on the grass, hoping he would find his way back to wherever he came from. he didn’t fly away or anything, just hopped, and i wonder now if he had a wing issue that i should have helped him out with before throwing him to the elements.
this afternoon i suddenly thought of him and wanted to make sure he got away last night, so i scanned the part of the yard where i’d let him loose. sure enough – there he was on the grass, dead. 🙁 poor little bird. i don’t know if he was on his deathbed when i let him outside, or if he just didn’t have the wingpower to get through a close-to-freezing night. maybe i should have let him spend the night in the garage.
i know he’s just a bird, but it makes me kind of sad.