Bless your heart! I felt bad for the little sparrow too, and the mom, but mostly I ached for my wife and her sweet tender heart. The mom sparrow crying out distress calls was too much for my wife to take. We’re a small animal haven, and that was a sad day :-(
i teared up reading your post, i would have reacted similarly. you feel so helpless bc you don’t know what to do to help them. i can’t leave the garage door open 24-7, so i have to hope the mom and dad can figure out what the deal is and take their shifts on the nest. When we are home i do leave it open so they can come and go as they need to. the spring is fine, but NoVA gets dang hot in the heat of summer and it disturbs me to see them in there at that point especially if i know we will be gone a day or two.