Hmm, now what should I do about this, for I seem to have 'adopted' a Moorhen. According to my Girls Book of Knowledge it is an immature bird (no leg or beak colourings yet). It's been with me now for three days and seems quite happy with its little self, so for now I am leaving it alone, but of course I do feel concerned with whether it is eating.
My Book also tells me it lives on insects, worms, seeds and berries. Hopefully it's finding most of those in the garden and has been pecking at the bird food I put out anyway, which has seeds (hopefully the right kind) in it.
This morning I now have proof that it can fly as it's been hopping about up into the branches of a large Cotoneaster we have in the garden. It's laden with berries at the moment and it's obviously after those. Sod's Law of course has placed most of those berries on the slender branches and this poor Moorhen hasn't realised he's got the wrong sort of feet for gripping branches!! so this could cause him some problems.
I think I'll just monitor the situation until I go to the RSPCA on Tuesday, I can then pop over to the Wildlife Hospital and chinwag with someone there to see if there's anything I can do to guide him back to the canals.
Oh, well, I'll be jiggered - just turned my head to the left and looked out of the window - and behold - the Moorhen is sitting right at the top of the Cotoneaster at my eye level, chomping on the berries. Well, that's offered me some relief as (a) he's eating and (b) he's on a perfect perch there to just fly away if he wants, with nothing in his way.
It's no good, I'm just going to have to have a word with God and tell 'im he's not looking after his little creatures properly.......and I haven't got time anyway to do it for him with Christmas smack in front of us.........