One Monday morning, I was at my workplace. I had just finished a wonderful walk around our green campus. Just as I was entering my room, my colleague and friend for many years walked in. She looked worried. She said, “There’s a bird trapped in my room. She can’t find her way out. She seems too weak to fly. Can you help?”

Even before she had finished her sentence, I had already gotten up to go see what could be done. While I am no expert at rescuing birds, I am always willing to help. After all, we had a bird in distress and I being an avid birder had to act. We could not just sit there and do nothing! So off I went to try to rescue the bird!

When we entered my friend’s room, I could not spot the bird, try as I might. My friend signaled towards the window. Her room had a large window. On the ledge of the window, sat a little Spice Finch. Her eyes were closed. Her feathers were ruffled and she was motionless. At first, my heart skipped a beat. Was she dead? Were we too late?

Thankfully, she was alive! Her breathing was labored. She had spent an entire day trapped in that room. One could tell that she was exhausted from all her attempts to escape from the room.

I observed that my friend had opened the window. Yet, the bird had not flown out. Maybe all her earlier attempts at flying out, when the window was closed, had convinced her that it was no use trying again. She seemed to have resigned herself to her fate.

I walked towards her. As I tried to get closer, the bird opened her eyes. On seeing me, she sensed danger and was startled. She hopped from one place to another. Each time I tried to get closer, she panicked and tried to fly only to perch again on the window ledge.

Finally, she jumped off the window ledge and settled on the floor. At this point, I recalled my Dad’s birding lesson on how to approach a bird without frightening it. I remembered him telling me to approach a bird from the rear so as to not startle it. It was time to use that lesson.

I slowly made my way towards the Finch ensuring that her back was towards me. I caught her with both hands and gently held her. She did not struggle. I could feel her heart pounding in my palm as I carried her outside the room. In that one moment, I experienced a strange feeling. I was holding a tiny creature in my hand. She seemed so vulnerable! I reassured her that she was safe.

My heart was filled with joy and fear. While I was happy that we had brought the little bird outside the room, what if she could not fly? My friend and I walked to where the window of my room opened into a garden. I put the bird on the window ledge and my friend placed a small bowl of water next to her. I patted the little bird and told her that she was now free. We then slowly moved away and watched her from a distance.

For several moments, she did not move. Then we saw her take a few sips of water, much to our relief. Yet, she did not attempt to fly. I told the bird that now she could fly and that the sky awaited her. Half an hour passed and the little bird still sat on the ledge as if she had forgotten that she could fly! We started to get worried.

As I considered my next step, from the corner of my eye, to our great delight, I saw the bird flapping her wings. All was well! In the next instant, she summoned all her strength and took off into the azure blue. My friend and I rejoiced that we had saved the little bird. As we watched, she flew beyond our sight to where she actually belonged. Freedom at last!