I experienced something exceptionally peculiar this morning. It was about eight or so and I was out in the yard getting my tools ready for the day when I heard a fluttering sound behind me. I turned toward my neighbor's house, the back of which ends on my lot line, and saw a small sparrow furiously flapping its wings just below the eave.
Now, there is nothing strange about seeing a sparrow beneath my neighbor's eave. I've noticed sparrows nesting in that place ever since I moved into my own house. What was strange, however, was that sparrow was suspended in the air just below the last row of roofing tiles. It kept flapping its wings, but it didn't really go anywhere. It just stayed in one spot in the air. Even stranger, it remained suspended in the air even when it stopped moving.
I drew closer to the bird and noticed it was hanging by its neck. It had somehow got itself tangled up in a long strand of grass from the nest and when the bird tried leaving the grass must have tightened around its neck like a noose, tethering the unfortunate creature and leaving it dangling under the eave like some kind of living Christmas ornament.
The sparrow reacted to its predicament the way any animal would - with panic. It oscillated between hysterical escape attempts and short pauses during which it resembled a creature condemned to death by hanging. I grabbed my step ladder and quickly made my way up to the eave where I managed to get the bird into my hand with surprising ease. As I gently unwrapped the grass from the bird's neck, I noticed it was a young bird and I attempted to place it back in its nest under the eave. After three failed attempts, the sparrow took advantage of my loosened grip and flew away out of sight.
Now, there is nothing strange about seeing a sparrow beneath my neighbor's eave. I've noticed sparrows nesting in that place ever since I moved into my own house. What was strange, however, was that sparrow was suspended in the air just below the last row of roofing tiles. It kept flapping its wings, but it didn't really go anywhere. It just stayed in one spot in the air. Even stranger, it remained suspended in the air even when it stopped moving.
I drew closer to the bird and noticed it was hanging by its neck. It had somehow got itself tangled up in a long strand of grass from the nest and when the bird tried leaving the grass must have tightened around its neck like a noose, tethering the unfortunate creature and leaving it dangling under the eave like some kind of living Christmas ornament.
The sparrow reacted to its predicament the way any animal would - with panic. It oscillated between hysterical escape attempts and short pauses during which it resembled a creature condemned to death by hanging. I grabbed my step ladder and quickly made my way up to the eave where I managed to get the bird into my hand with surprising ease. As I gently unwrapped the grass from the bird's neck, I noticed it was a young bird and I attempted to place it back in its nest under the eave. After three failed attempts, the sparrow took advantage of my loosened grip and flew away out of sight.
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