[tcvarlh]

Isn't this situation a conundrum wrapped in a riddle tied with puzzlement and served with a side order of enigma, what to do for the best? I feel that the fate Nature has reserved for fledglings that fall or hop out of their nest is a logical one, to be food for something else, but that's my head speaking. My heart goes out to the poor wee critter and I am moved to aid it. Then I have the distressing problem of what to do with the beastie. Do I wait to find the parents, will they accept the youngster after being handled by the enemy, will they attack it, how to feed it, and raise it correctly and so on?
It is hard to do but I have come to the conclusion, my head is right, I can handle a mammal, I am one myself, there is not that great a difference between a baby badger and baby human, but a bird is another world. I can't teach it to fly or seek the correct food. I may be causing it intense suffering and trauma merely by rescuing the fledgling; I imagine seeing a great pair of hands coming towards you would scare most creatures half to death. Therefore, apart from lifting them off the ground and placing the birds I find in trees or out of the way of cats I leave them alone. But each time I do this I sadden my world a little more.
h