Soft Car Top Carrier

Wild Thing > Eye on the sparrow

Chance encounters with seemingly distressed young animals can really test one’s resolve to “Let nature take its course,” especially now, when the world is filled with new life. Recently I was jogging near my house when I saw a baby sparrow, perched on a patch of grass by a sidewalk, its small mouth agape as if begging for food.

The bird was fully fledged and almost full-size, but obviously it could not yet fly. Mom was nowhere to be seen, and she did not appear though I spent at least 10 minutes there, watching over the bird and urging it to spread its small wings and fly.

In years past, a misguided sense of heroism might have led me to immediately “rescue” the sparrow. So many times as a kid I took in abandoned or injured baby birds, squirrels and bunnies and tried to provide the care, nutrition and warmth they would have gotten from their real mothers. If you’ve done the same, you know such efforts seldom end well. And it’s so sad to see the small creatures you long to help quickly sicken and die.

I forced myself to walk away, leaving that defenseless sparrow all alone (though I did move it from the sidewalk to a fenced yard, where I thought it would be safer). I reminded myself as I left that the bird was not necessarily in a dire situation; in fact, this was a very necessary and natural transition. Baby birds don’t just soar willingly from the nest; they’re prodded, pushed and propelled by their parents, then forced by sheer necessity to fly or die. In the best-case scenario, the mother bird hovers nearby, and will come back periodically and feed her baby while it struggles to become aerodynamic.

Yes, birds are very vulnerable at this point—to cats and other predators, and to well-meaning rescuers like me—but without this rite of passage, they would never take flight at all.

When I got home, I consulted one of my favorite books, “Care of the Wild, Feathered and Furred,” which has been my wildlife bible for years. It affirmed for me that I had taken the right action, but also said that if the mother bird did not return by nightfall, it would be the responsibility of any onlooker to intervene on the bird’s behalf.

If you face a dilemma like this, here are some tips from askthebirder.com:

* Remember that the fatality rate of baby birds taken in by kindhearted people is very high. Resist the impulse to “save” a bird unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Soft-Shell Carriers -Waterproof Car Top Carrier- Fits Cars with or ...

Soft-Shell Carriers : Waterproof Car Top Carrier- Fits Cars with or Without Rack – Includes Storage Pouch and Non-scratch Protective Mat Features Fits cars with or without roof rack Fully waterproof – guarateed to keep your items dry in the worst storm Aerodynamic shape saves fuel Includes straps and protective mat – all you need for cars with or without roof rack No stitching to break loose! – all electrically sealed for durability and waterproofness Soft-Shell Carriers : Waterproof Car Top Carrier- Fits Cars with or Without Rack – Includes Storage Pouch and Non-scratch Protective Mat Description

Soft car top carrier by RoofBag allows you to take what you want on a trip, even if your car has no rack. Large 15 cu. ft. capacity is the equivalent of 4 medium-size suitcases, and fits medium- to large-size cars, SUV or vans. (Roofbag also makes an 11 cu. ft. version for smaller cars). And your belongings will travel safely and stay dry in this fully-waterproof, durable, US-made carrier, which is covered by a 2-year guarantee. Read More …

We purchased the Roofbag from Roofbag.com to go onto our 2007 Jeep Compass (without roof rails). We were excited about the bag, thinking it would meet our needs, and drove from Chattanooga, TN to Dallas, TX without any problems. However, when we emptied the bag, zipped it up, and left it on the roof overnight – the storms came. The next morning, with a light rain continuing, I left the hotel to load the bag and found at least 2 inches of standing rain filling the bottom!! My “waterproof carrier – with special waterproof zipper flap cover” even thought it was zipped and closed!!! We poured the water out, dried the bag, and put non-clothing items inside for the rest of the trip (from Dallas, Tx to OKC, Oklahoma). Within minutes, it got worse. The straps that came with the carrier worked like sponges, soaking up the water and pouring it through the doors, leaving watermarks on the ceiling and showering drops onto everyone in the car. The straps were too large to fit through the slim holes on my factory roof rails, but an emergency stop to Wal-mart and a purchase of some nylon rope at least got the soaking straps out of our car. When we got to OKC, we took the stupid thing off the roof, folded it up, and put it in the trunk. After selling a few other items, we did without the Roofbag for the remainder of our 9-day road trip. My opinion? If you get the Roofbag, make sure it will strap to existing roof rails, and don’t put anything inside you want to keep dry!

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