Injured Bird

Yesterday, when I returned from having lunch with my daughter, a Sandhill crane was resting in the front yard. Sandhills frequent our neighborhood, so that wasn’t exactly a new situation. But this bird only had one foot and appeared to be in distress, occasionally flapping and hopping. He even lay on the ground on his reverse-bend legs and tried pecking in the grass. It was pathetic.

As I entered my study in the house, the bird was a few feet in front of my big window. He settled down in the grass and stayed for about an hour. I worried about the bird. At that point, I decided to call a bird rescue organization and see if they could be of help. I was directed to go out and approach the bird from about five feet distance, raise my arms and see if he would attempt to move or fly. Having done that assignment, I reported that he didn’t move but responded with a small throaty chortle. Then I was directed to call the county Animal Control Division, who would come to possibly remove him for euthanization.

Hope for Survival

A young woman from Animal Control came to my house within the hour. She entered the front yard with a baton, poked the bird once, and walked around the bird. When I went out to greet her, she talked to me about her assessment of the bird situation. She was hesitant to remove the bird since a one-footed Sandhill is often the case in our area. Thankfully, she was not eager to have to “put down” such a creature if he could fend for himself. She encouraged me to watch the bird and call again in the morning if he was still on the ground.

I am glad to report that the bird is gone from my yard today, and he is not in the neighbor’s yard. I have hopes for his immediate survival. I’ve noticed that the one-footed variety of Sandhills don’t appear to have mates and are often alone. Perhaps it’s hard for them to fit in with the other birds. Certainly, they wouldn’t be able to feed or move unless they were flying. They may even be shunned by the other birds.

Love and Care for People

Last evening I watched a few minutes of a program about a special summer camp for disabled children and their families. They are offered rest, food, and activities with many other families. Each child is given a volunteer buddy for the week. Friendships are formed. Parents or family members also get some needed respite time of their own. Yet so many more people don’t receive such love and care.

I think it’s interesting that many people seem to have a greater capacity for concerns about injured or homeless animals than they do about the same issues in humans. Maybe if the wounded people were sitting in our front yards, we would all be more eager to help.

Questions for personal journaling or group discussion:

1. Have you ever volunteered or worked with disabled animals or people? What lessons came from your experience?

2. What is your response to Matthew 10:29, 30, and James 1:27?

If you liked this, you might also like A Lesson from the Birds | Caring for the Sick, Disabled, and Homebound 

Karen Spruill writes from Florida.

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