Friday night, while I was out for a walk with my partner, we found something surprising and disturbing: two half-dead newborn birds, shivering and alone on the side of a rarely-used road. No nest and no mother were to be found.
This situation did not present many favorable options, but we took them home and warmed them as best we could. Research revealed them to be California quail, likely only a few hours old, and a hardware store trip produced a heat lamp and straw. A day later, they were doing better - eating, drinking, walking around. We called multiple wildlife rehab ceters, and one invited us to bring the birds in as patients until they're old enough to re-wild.
An hour ago, my partner left to take the birds to the wildlife center, and the house already feels oddly empty. The heat lamp is off, its ominous red glow extinguished.
I only knew them for three days, but I miss them. I hope everything goes well for them.
