My day started with a mission of mercy, and a happy ending to the story.
When I let the Irish Setters out, they expressed a great deal of interest in a patch of poison oak just on the other side of the fence. There'd been a crew of workers there, pointing, just moments before. Suspecting a baby Bullocks Oriole, because there was a nest overhead in a big oak, I went looking. Sure enough! Had I left it there and it didn't come through the fence for the dogs to get, the Scrub Jays would have ended things for this little babe.
The nest is about 15 feet above the roadway, on an outer branch. Too high for a step ladder, and there's nothing on which to brace an extension. The only thing around that was high enough to get babe back in the nest safely was the work crews truck. I spoke with them, and they agreed to stop under the tree on the way out.
While waiting, babe had a huge meal of sowbugs, with no competition.
The fellow that replaced babe in the nest even asked for a towel to handle babe, since he had gasoline on his hands. Right after babe was returned, mom was looking on the ground where she'd last seen babe. Imagine her surprise when she found it safely tucked it w/ the two siblings!
