This morning I woke up at 4 am and felt wide awake! Despite trying hard to get back to sleep, it wasn’t happening, so at 5 am I decided to get up and go for a walk in the park. I took the camera, just in case, but despite what the BBC weather app said about some cloud cover, there was very little, and the light was quite harsh.
On the way home, I saw a bird lying in the gutter on a big busy road. I realised as I got closer that it was still very much alive, a young jackdaw lying on it’s back, but head looking around as the cars and lorries roared past and people hurried by on the pavement. I asked a man to keep an eye out for traffic for me, and stepped into the road to retrieve the injured bird and wrap it carefully in my jacket, where I though it would be as comfortable as an injured bird could be.
I hadn’t thought it through at all. As an owner of 2 cats I couldn’t bring it into the house. I lined the cardboard recycling box with a blanket and lay him in there, tucked away in the recycling shed in the front garden, out of harm’s way. I had absolutely no idea what to do so I called upon some Instagram friends who have experience in such matters, who directed me to the Wildlife Aid Foundation. So the jackdaw and I drove out to Leatherhead where he could be looked after properly by experts. They were absolutely lovely, and I’m really happy that the jackdaw is in the best possible hands. Fingers crossed that he will recover from his injuries. I can phone in a couple of days time to see if he is OK, but even if he doesn’t make it, I’m glad that I took him to a calm and peaceful place. It has to be better than dying at the side of a road.
