The lost chick

As much as I enjoy getting a chance to see a bird up close, I am anxious when I encounter a bird that isn't able to fly away from me.  Such was the case with this Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) chick that my mother found sitting on the lawn.

An Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) chick with a Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) stuck in its beak.

The chick only turned its head slightly and blinked at me when I came near to take a picture.  Upon close inspection, I saw that it was holding a Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) in its beak.  Meanwhile, the parent birds scolded us from nearby trees.  It seemed best to give the birds some space, so that the parents could approach and care for the chick.  After we moved away, the chick fluttered about the lawn and eventually disappeared from sight.

At first, we were pleased to see a native species reducing the number of destructive Japanese beetles in the garden.  However, when I found the chick again in the evening, I was unsettled to discover that the beetle was still in its beak.  Young birds need to eat frequently -- I was afraid this one might already be starving.  After getting tweezers from the house, I approached slowly, but the chick seemed too exhausted to move away.  Pulling gently on the beetle, I found that it was indeed stuck.  Its claws had become hooked into the chick's throat.  Working as carefully as I could, I managed to unhook the beetle.  I scooped the chick into an empty nest that we had in the house; then, with darkness falling rapidly, we secured the nest onto one of the branches we had seen the parents use as a perch.

We hoped to give the chick another chance, but, sadly, it did not survive the night.