The rescue call this morning was for a bat in a bedroom. The caller said the it was a bat. I asked if she had a window open and she said no, that the only place it could have gotten in was through the fireplace.
Naturally I thought the bat would be a microbat and took a small pouch and a tiny syringe of fluids.
The chest of drawers was in front of the fireplace so it had to be moved so I could get access.
Sorry there isn't enough light and I forgot my headlight torch.
But when I put my phone torch on, there was a tentative carolling coming out of the chimney - and a flash of a MAGPIE.
So I went to get more stuff from the car and a cage, and still I forgot to bring my headlight torch back. Oops.
Once I managed to remove the cast iron flap at the back of the fireplace it was a simple matter of groping into the black hole and grabbing any bit of the bird I could find.
You'll be pleased to know that Tibi, the magpie (gymnorhina tibicens) is doing just fine. His carer will assess him over the next few days and release him back near where he was rescued. Magpies form family groups and are quite territorial.
I'm not actually sure of the sex - I think he was female but I didn't look at the colouring enough to say for sure.
UPDATE: I just heard that he checked out just fine, and the carer drove him back to his territory where he was released, flew well, and was joyfully welcomed back by his family, to everyone's excitement.
YAY
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