Time and a rescue

One day, down by the river with the dogs, I noticed they seemed interested/concerned with something on the ground, two ravens above on low branches were making a racket. A baby raven lay spreadeagled and tangled in bindweed. I cleaned it up and, although it was fully fledged, it was clearly unable to fly quite yet, probably taken a tumble from the nest while trying. Problem. The parents were right above my head and creating a din, so I placed it in a crook of the tree they were in just within reach and moved on. The parents followed me from tree to tree, shouting; either they thought I still had their baby, or they wanted me to go back and put him somewhere less precarious. I went back. Baby was where I'd left him so I retrieved him and found a secure, nest like space in some bushes. Dangerous on the ground, lots of terriers go past and they're not so friendly to wildlfe as my two dogs, but the only alternative would have been to take him home and then he'd have been lost to the wild life.

Later when I checked, he was gone and no evidence of a demise such as feathers lying about, so hopefully he managed to get the flying together and get back home with a little help and encouragement from his parents. Such a little scrap of life, he deserved another chance in a harsh, uncaring world. As ravens live for as long as forty years, he'll hopefully be around for some time and raise young of his own.