Written by 8th Grade Anthony

Some random day during the summer break of 2024, me and my dad discovered that a small paper bag we used as a makeshift trash bag had a nest of eggs laid in it. This was on the porch. You might think that it was crazy that birds nested in some random bag basically overnight, but it’s really not, especially if you are familiar with a species of bird known as the Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) which will pretty much nest in anything, like bicycle helmets, pockets of hanging clothes, random bags etc. But anyways we thought it was cool.

So a few days later those eggs hatched into these absolutely adorable little baby birds! There were five of them and they were all so tiny, like the size of my thumb. I didn’t even know how the organs of something that small would even work! Every time we walked even close to the baby birds, the mama bird would fly to a nearby branch and scream at us at the top of her tiny little lungs until we went away, but for now the babies were okay.

However, within the next few days tragedy struck. The little bag that the birds were nested in had fallen over, the mother was nowhere to be found, and two of the baby birds fell out of the nest and sadly went splat. The three that remained were tangled up in this weird gray hair-looking thing that I like to think was probably some old dude’s luscious locks that the bird had pecked out.

Since there was no sign of either the mother or father bird anymore, I knew I had to take action. I immediately took the bag gently inside to the kitchen counter and explained the situation to my dad while checking to see if the birds were okay. So I one by one carefully untangled each bird and carefully placed them on a small plate with a cloth napkin on it so they would be comfortable. I also did some research to see what I could do to help them.

I learned that you can feed them pet kibble that you soak in water to make it mushy, and then squish all the water out so that the birds don’t drown, as they can drown in just a single drop of water. So I did it. I got a handful of cat food and soaked it in a cup and then squeezed out all the excess water, put it in a bowl and fed the birds with some tweezers.

The next week and a half, I tended to them, constantly feeding them, cleaning out their area, and putting them in a small handmade basket a friend made that looked almost like a nest so they could share body heat and not get cold at night. The smallest one died the fourth or fifth night, but even though I was sad I had already prepared myself for this, knowing what I was doing had a very low success rate. But the other two survived!

Now finally what you’ve been waiting for, the day they grew up enough for me to set them free and let them fly away. They had grown so much and all their feathers were in and I just felt it. I knew that today was the day. Previously I had let them fly around outside and get used to it. They didn’t fly very far, only to close trees, probably for food reasons. So I felt comfortable knowing that since they had a little practice flying around they would be ok. I took them to the forest on our property, sat down and just waited for them to fly away or go somewhere else. I must have been there with them on my lap for at least half an hour, and eventually they started exploring, and then they landed on a nice tree. So, as much as I hated the thought of it, I had to leave them there.

And that was undeniably my favorite day I had last summer, knowing that I raised baby birds that otherwise would have died. I saved two lives, and that day was confirmation that I did it. I managed to do something that every single website I looked at, link I clicked on, and youtube video I watched, told me not to attempt because of the time it takes and the difficulty of it. I grew that day, and learned that with time and dedication you can do anything you set your mind to.