Lloyd Nendick of Penticton rescued a small bird on Saturday after it collided with the window at Smart Shopper. He tucked the bird into his fist with a hand warmer to keep it cozy before letting it go a half-hour later.

(SHANNON QUESNEL / iNFOnews.ca)

MAN SAVES BIRD AFTER STORE WINDOW COLLISION

PENTICTON - Rescuing a small bird knocked senseless after a collision with a window put a smile on Lloyd Nendick's face.

The Penticton man was sitting on a bench near city hall on Main Street Saturday with a cigarette in one hand and a small bird and a cozy hand warmer in the other. Its little feathered head poked up over the top of Nendick's fist, its tiny black eyes blinking.

"I feel her feet going," he said but he was reluctant to put the bird down. It might not have recovered from its collision with Smart Shopper's window a half-hour earlier. Nendick saw the flyer bop against the glass.

"It was just laying by the curb there. I had to run out into traffic. When I grabbed it she bit me a couple of times," he explained with a smile. He had put the bird in his left hand and used his hand warmer as a blanket.

He didn't know what to do with it at first. He tried giving her away but there were no takers. "I haven't had much luck." He even considered bringing his little crash victim to the SPCA.

Nendick said he could use a pet but the bird was a little small. He recently lost his dog, a pit bull puppy named Quinn, a couple of blocks away. Quinn had ran out of the house chasing a cat.

"I couldn't stop her. I just don't have the power to chase her. All she wanted to do was chase cats. The next thing I see is her laying on the road.

"I really hit rock bottom because of my dog. I still see her in the house."

Nendick got up off the bench and walked over to a patch of grass and opened his hand to let the bird hop or fly out. It chose the latter but it flew in a rough circle before crashing. It hopped up and took flight again. This time the bird flew two-feet, landing in a bush near the steps at city hall where it vanished.

Nendick was prepared if the bird couldn't take flight. He had another hand warmer ready to go.

To contact a reporter for this story, to send photos or videos, email Shannon Quesnel at squesnel@infotelnews.ca, call 250-488-3065, send tweets to @shannonquesnel1 or @InfoNewsPentict. You can also check out Shannon Quesnel or Infotel News on Facebook.

A hand warmer packet keeps this tiny bird cozy as it takes a time-out in Lloyd Nendick's hand. The Penticton man rescued the bird from traffic after it knocked itself senseless against the Smart Shopper window on Main Street. He released the feathered flyer a half-hour later.

(SHANNON QUESNEL / iNFOnews.ca)

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