baby kingfisher

today, while walking sapphie at the canal, i noticed a baby kingfisher in the canal. it had apparently dropped off its nest somewhere and could not get out of the canal. it tried to fly but it's wings had not fully developed and it certainly looked pretty pitiful. and i wondered if i should save the kingfisher or to just let it be. my options were

• save it. but this would mean i risk killing more lives. i happened to have my phone with me and did a quick search in the net. and i read that i need to feed it with live worms or fresh-water fishes. then again, where the hell do i get fresh water fishes? as for live worms, well, i could buy them from the bird shop. but still, i had to kill so many more lives in order to save one.

• let it be. and hope it survives. hmmm, tricky, thus far, all birds i have come across that had dropped off their nest die eventually. it is perhaps nature's way of selecting the fittest and death is but one of the way to get rid of those who could not make it.

i weighed the options. the first one would be the most tricky for i had to co-ord a whole lot of logistics work to be able to get into the canal (that was over 2m deep!) and the second one would be rather sad. it was such a little bird. and so i decided that i would try to save the bird after dinner and went home. after dinner, bee and i managed to get a ladder and drove down to the canal. sapphie came along to join in the adventure. i had prepared a pail lined with newspaper and cloth to let the bird rest. when we arrived, i realized i had underestimated the depth of the canal and the ladder was too short. hmmmph! and so, we used sapphie's leash and suspended the ladder from the railing while i climbed down. and i must say, sapphie looked pretty nervous to see me in the canal. she was running up and down along the side and kept looking at me. anyway, i managed to leap off the suspended ladder and landed in the canal. i looked around and walked up and down the little stretch where i had last seen little kingfisher. alas, the bird was no longer there. sighs... after all the trouble. such an anti-climax. well, at least i have tried. and i must say the little adventure was rather interesting. i hope little kingfisher is alive and well... ps: i think i sprained my back when i jumped off the ladder...