Now, we just need to secure this in place.

But as I attempt to wrap it around, the bird thrashes about, causing the brace to fall off.

“Darn it.”

It’s not uncommon for animals to be squirmy, especially when being given treatment. Time’s passing, however, and I need to get this wing stabilized.

Where is Robert?

A few minutes later, Robert comes out. He frowns, approaching me while on his cell phone.

“Yes. I need this ASAP. Well, get someone out here right away! Okay, morning? Well, it better be here first thing, because we have this poor bird in need.”

He hangs up the phone and turns to me. “I’m sorry, Sara. They won’t be able to come till morning.”

“It’s fine,” I assure him. “I’m trying to keep the bird still, but he’s scared. It probably hurts him, too.”

“Here, let me help.”

Robert grasps the bird. It attempts to bite at him, but he holds the bird securely in place.

I grab the brace, placing it in the same area I did before. The bird continues fighting, refusing to abate. Robert turns away so that the bird doesn’t nick his face.

“Come on, we’re almost there. You’re doing great,” I assure the bird. My words don’t do much, of course, but at least they ease my own heart. I hate fighting with animals on this, but I know that the sooner we get this on, the better.

I wrap the first bit of tape around the wing and then proceed to do it two more times. After the bird’s wing is attached to the brace tight enough, I let it go.

The bird raises its wing halfway, moving around and hopping along the beach. I stare at it, relieved to see that it’s not as bad off as we thought.

“Is it good?”

“Yeah, for now. So they won’t be here till tomorrow, right?”

“Correct.”

“Do we have a place to keep him? I’m worried that he might try to run off or get into trouble,” I ask.

“Yeah, I do. Check this out.”

We walk back over toward the house, and I see a good-sized birdcage there.

“That’s perfect.”

“It is. I used to have a parrot on the island here to entertain visitors, but the upkeep was a little hard with me being remote, so I brought him back home to a friend who loves birds and was really excited to have him.”

“I see. Well, let’s get the little guy in here.”

We walk back to the bird, who is trying to move about. I extend my hands in an attempt to catch it. The bird swerves out of my grasp.

“Hold on! I’ve got it.”

Robert moves in front of the bird, reaching his arms around it. He grasps the body gently and brings him over to the cage,closing the door. After a second, he takes a deep breath and wipes the sweat from his brow.

“There! We’ve got him.”

I walk over, checking on the bird. He hops around a little bit but doesn’t attempt to fly. The cage is a little too small for his species, but he’s not going to be living in it. This is just for tonight, and it’s something that will work for right now.

“All right, are we good?” Robert asks, approaching the cage.