fighting with birds

Yesterday out in the garden I heard a commotion in the grape vines. Two young robins were caught in the netting I had placed over the red grapes. They are sweet seedless grapes I got from my mother's yard in Springville. If I don't net them, the birds eat them before I do. Some years they have eaten the whole crop. I shook out one of the birds, but the other one had put his head and wings through the netting. I had to go in and get a scissors to cut him out. He quit squawking and sat on the ground recovering. I wondered if birds have heart attacks. After an hour or so he and he was still there, I tried to give him some grapes, but he flopped away from me.

I then realized that he must still have some netting around his wing. I tried to catch him, but knew that there would be no way for me to be able to hold him and find and cut netting at the same time. I decided to wait until Steven could help me. Every time I checked on him, he was still in the same place. When Steven was available I gave him some long rubber gloves to put on and we went out. I had the scissors.

But the bird wasn't sitting there. Then I saw him a few feet away. As we went toward him, he flew a few feet into the air and maybe ten yards away. It was impossible to catch him. The last we saw of him, he was in the front yard under the maples in the spirea. They were bright blue flowers were buzzing with bees, so I couldn't follow. He had proved he could get away from predators and showed that he was gradually getting more freedom in the wing.

I still have the netting on the grapes, and I check them frequently. I don't like fighting with birds.