Finch Saved From 2-Story Drain Pipe

One of our rescuers, Sammarye, responded to a call about a bird that was stuck at the base of a 2-story drain pipe. The RP just happened to hear a noise and then see the bird's little legs at the base of this pipe in her townhouse complex. We contacted the property managers and received permission to open the pipe. Here's Sammarye's account of what happened:

It is really weird how the bird got stuck. The drainpipe went up almost two stories and had some kind of box-like thing on top that looked like it should have prevented anything from getting inside. The pipe had a L-shape bend in it between the first and second story - the bird could never have flown back up.

It was blazing hot in the afternoon sun. It must have been like an oven inside there. 

I was worried about the hacksaw making such a loud noise, so I just sawed thru a corner and a few inches in the front, then used a screwdriver to pry the metal out enough to get a grip with the tin snips and start cutting. Not a sound from the bird - no movement heard. 

When the hole got big enough for fresh air to get in, I heard a fluttering noise, so I gingerly reached through the jagged metal edges and got my hand around the little guy. I lifted it out through the opening, and it came to life, fluttering its wings. It flew a few yards and sat on the cool, green grass under some bushes where it rested a few minutes. Then it flew a few yards more and ended under some other bushes, then across the lawn area.

That sure was one lucky bird that the woman heard it scratching as she walked by, and that she cared enough to be persistent when people told her she was imagining it, and she cared enough to just keep calling until she got help for that little guy. She said one person said to her, "It is only a bird". Good for her that she did what her heart told her was right.