An Unexpected Visitor

So this past weekend, my friends Krista and Meg came down from Buffalo, NY for a visit and a mini-tour around Philadelphia. I took them to the standard spots. The Art Museum for the Rocky statue and stairs, Love Park, South St, City Hall, the Liberty Bell, and so on and so forth. However, in the midst of their visit, I had an unexpected visitor drop in for a brief stay in my apartment.

While walking around Center City, I saw this little bird in the middle of Broad Street, upside down, flapping its wings wildly. Now, those of you who are from Philly know how busy Broad Street is, but I couldn’t just let the little guy get run over. So, ignoring the traffic, I ran into the middle of the road with my hands out, and scooped her up. I almost died and she thanked me by peeing in my hands.

I brought the little bird back to my apartment and placed her in the chinchilla’s old carrying cage, wrapped up in a towel. After some Googling and some phone calls, me and the girls were off to the Schuylkill Center in Roxborough, a wild animal rehabilitation clinic deep into Fairmount Park. Like… dirt roads and lots of trees deep.

The center had several baby chicks, a peacock, an alligator, a rabbit, and even a vulture. Definitely worth a visit, if you can make the trip up there. Our little bird had broken legs and a wounded wing, presumably from being hit by a car, and was still a fledgling. The man running the center promised to take good care of her.

We named her Nugget. Good luck, little one! Get well soon.