I was in the kitchen and I heard screaming. At first I thought it was just the regular stuff, but it continued for too long and I knew something was wrong. I thought to myself "What poor animal do the cats have now?" When I went outside I didn't see anything right away. I walked further out towards my pumpkin patch and I saw two of my more benign cats trying to stare something to death. I crept up behind them and shooed them off.
At my feet was a baby mocking bird, crouched against the wood stairs that led up the hillside. Its little beak was tangled in a dense spider web, and its mouth was opened wide in an attempt to scare me off. Poor little bugger.
Its mama was on the fence next to the stairs, shrieking and scolding me. Her flashy white and grey feathers were a blur as she hopped back and forth, trying to redirect my attention away from her chick. Here was the screaming I had heard.
I gently disentangled the baby, with extra care for her tiny bitsy little feet and legs. She chirped in terror but I was working as quickly as I could. I carried her up the hillside hoping I wouldn't fall on my head; its pretty steep. I picked a tree and reached up as high as I could and placed the chick. To my surprise the chick jumped up higher into the pine tree and mama came swooping down. I was so pleased that the scent of my hands on the baby didn't make the mama bird reject her.
The outcome was good, and the only downfall is that that they have taken up permanent residence and mama now shrieks bloody hell at my cats all day.
