I'm so sorry you went through that. I have tears just reading it. It's really difficult when it comes to Wildlife. There have been so many times here that I'll find something, mainly a bird and I can't do anything about it. Breaks my heart too. I have to just walk away. When we were getting nests in my horse barn from a starling, we closed up where we thought they were coming in. Of course they found another spot and it was right over the overhead door. One day I opened the door and found they were coming out of the nest and falling onto the open overhead door. Then when I closed it for the night, they fell to the ground outside. Most of the time they were already dead when I opened the door the next day. But one day I came along and they were still dying. It was awful! Just awful. There were about 4 of them. Dead and dying. They had hit the concrete floor and there was nothing I can do. I did take a couple of the ones that were still alive and put them under an evergreen tree in the woods hoping for the best. But I knew they didn't have much of a chance.
Then I've got the barn swallows who make their nests in my horses run-in out in the Corral. So where do they drop? In my Corral! Kali got one of them.

When I realized what was happening I made sure I watched her. But to see these birds, that can barely fly, walking in my Corral, dear God. I just had to close my eyes and hope for the best.
My neighbor told me the same thing. She had barn swallows in her small barn right by my property. You probably see it in my pictures. It used to be a chicken coop with the old neighbors. Well, the new neighbors use it as a shed for their horses to go inside. And she has the same problem. Birds drop out of the nest. Horses trample them.

She said it's horrible, but what are you going to do? I always feel like it's best to leave them to their own defenses but still.... heartbreaking.
I can still remember in our last house getting fooled by a killdeer. If you don't know anything about them, they lay their eggs in Stones. Like a gravel driveway or Gravel Road. It's to camouflage them. The eggs look just like the stones! When the babies are born and they're walking around with their mother and you approach, the mother will take off in the opposite direction dragging a wing, looking like she's hurt. Luring you away from her babies. After being fooled by her, we ended up finding a little tiny baby. We scooped it up and took it to a Ranger's place like you called. They told us the whole story! LOL that we should have just left it alone! But because the chick was dehydrated they took it in to give it some hydration. But they told us to just leave them be. So I always did after that. They probably make it much more often than we think. And the ones that don't, I guess that's nature.

Sad as it is. You did your best. Hopefully it flew away or found a nice hiding place.
