I was cycling today and as I was going down a paved path, a small bird that was sitting in the middle of the path suddenly flew off the road - in my direction. This has happened many times before, but this particular bird flew directly into the moving spokes of my rear wheel. I got off my bike and walked back when I felt the bird hit. He wasn’t moving. He probably broke at least one wing, but the only visible damage was a badly broken leg and severe abdominal trauma.
I assumed that he was done for, and, being completely unable to render first aid - avian or otherwise, I moved his body off the path and went on my way. Even though I wasn’t trying to hit the bird, nor did I want him to fly into me, I still feel bad about this. I don’t know any veterinarians in my area, and I don’t think I had the means to transport the bird anywhere. Even if I did, if he wasn’t already dead, he very likely wouldn’t have survived the trip. Still, I feel bad.
Is there anything I could have possibly done here, or am I just being too hard on myself?
It may be hard to do, but I usually kill them (the rest of the way). Unless, of course, they are rare, or raptors (even if it is dead, the Raptor center here wants them usually)
However, you should probably remember that the Migratory songbird act means you are flirting with illegality…
The Migratory songbird act would only come into play if he was disturbing it…but in this case, it flew into the spokes of his bike.
To the OP, I think you did the right thing. The only other thing you may have done is bring your bird to an avian center and that’s about it…then again, a small bird with broken legs and or wing probably won’t survive anyway. It would be rare if it did survive.