Found a Fledgling Chickadee in the garden today

Ohhhhh poor baby...I went out in my yard with my hot tea in the evening and was sitting, taking in the garden and the peacefulness.....when I suddenly heard splashing in my small wildlife watering hole

I went over to investigate and here was a tiny chickadee in fledgling feather flapping for his life in the water. My guess is he must have just fallen in or he would have been more exhausted.

I scooped his little shivering body up out of the water and cradled him in my hands and called to Steve to grab the camera and he got these pix.

It's a very hard call to know what to do with these "almost ready for flight" babies when I find them. He was fine but cold so I warmed him up and dried him, then back into the garden we went to see if he would fly.

He stood for about 5 minutes on my open hand while I talked softly to him and finally hopped off onto a dogwood shrub about a foot off the ground.

His mother was watching when I walked away she came down to see him so I hope he made it through the night. As long as mommy is feeding him things should be ok. (crossing fingers)

I love this series of 3 photos. Such a fragile little life in the safety of human hands