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I know you're not supposed to do this, but...
... I *think* it had a happy ending. Remember that sandpiper I complained about in the last entry that has been peeping loudly in the creek? Well, this evening walking the dogs in the driveway (a few hundred yards away from the creek) I saw something skittering about in the gravel. Looking closer, I saw it was a baby sandpiper. Cute little ball of fluff on long legs! It was all legs and beak, though it could run pretty well. I didn't know what to do with it, but I was pretty sure that as soon as the dogs noticed it, they would kill it. So I picked it up -- which I realize is what you're absolutely NOT supposed to do with baby birds, because then the parents don't recognize their smell and abandon them. But the alternative was the poor thing getting mouthed to death by dogs.
Wondering if it might be the noisy one's baby, I put the dogs in the house and then took my fluffy little handful over to the creek (it was making pathetic peeping noises, redoubled in intensity whenever it heard the loud peeping of the adult). The adult bird immediately showed up, peeping loudly and fluttering around me. I set the baby down in the grass on the far bank and then retreated to watch. There followed a lot of peeping on both sides, and once they found each other in the grass (which took awhile) the baby scuttled up to the adult which commenced peeping very loudly and angrily at me. I went off to look around the driveway and make sure I hadn't broken up a group of babies (didn't find any more) and when I went back to check on them, the adult charged me with loud peeps and much anger; it wouldn't even let me onto the bridge, so I went off and left it in peace. Otherwise, it's been quiet ever since, for the first time in days. I guess the parent was OK with the baby smelling like a little bit like sweaty people hands.
Wondering if it might be the noisy one's baby, I put the dogs in the house and then took my fluffy little handful over to the creek (it was making pathetic peeping noises, redoubled in intensity whenever it heard the loud peeping of the adult). The adult bird immediately showed up, peeping loudly and fluttering around me. I set the baby down in the grass on the far bank and then retreated to watch. There followed a lot of peeping on both sides, and once they found each other in the grass (which took awhile) the baby scuttled up to the adult which commenced peeping very loudly and angrily at me. I went off to look around the driveway and make sure I hadn't broken up a group of babies (didn't find any more) and when I went back to check on them, the adult charged me with loud peeps and much anger; it wouldn't even let me onto the bridge, so I went off and left it in peace. Otherwise, it's been quiet ever since, for the first time in days. I guess the parent was OK with the baby smelling like a little bit like sweaty people hands.