Bye Bye Birdie ==sniff==

On my way to class Wednesday I was startled by a pigeon flying around frantically in the hallway. It had flown into one of the small open windows in the stairway and couldn't find its way back out. I could tell it was extremely stressed out as it kept flying from window to window. I didn't think much of it at the time though, thinking eventually it would find its way back out.

Yesterday morning when I opened my door, I was surprised to see the same bird perched on the top stair right outside my door. "Hello little thing," I said. I didn't move an inch and seemed to not even notice me. It was breathing very heavily and obviously in a state of shock. I thought if I got it in my room and opened the door to the balcony it would find its escape.

So I got a piece of cardboard and a blanket and set forth to scoop it up and take it outside. This, however, seemed to awaken it from its shock and it took off flying, right into the wall at the bottom of the stairs. Ouch. From there I attempted the catch again, and again it took off back up the stairs. Stair by stair we climbed until I finally got the poor little thing into my bedroom and closed the door. By this stage I could tell it was pretty dehydrated, so I filled an ashtray up with water and pushed it near.

I kept on trying to herd it toward the water, but it seemed pretty oblivious at that point and even walked right through it a time or two. I had to get to class, so I managed to wrangle the bird out onto the balcony and left the ashtray of water out there with it.

I checked on the bird several times throughout the day and when I went to bed at night, it was still out on the balcony with the water. I was hoping I would wake up in the morning and it would be gone.

However, when I woke up this morning, the poor little thing hadn't made it. Now I have a dead bird on my balcony and I'm not really sure what to do with it. Rest in peace little thing.