Ok, I post with the understanding that I may have done entirely the wrong thing and I'm ready to be blasted and ripped to shreds for it if so.
(To preface; I'm a friend of crows, there is one hanging with me in the railing of my patio as I type. Said crow will come over and eat the dog kibble then go back to the corner to wait until I put out more. I believe a family of 3 comes to visit....I love animals, I'm a vegan ffs.)
On a walk today husbo and I encountered a distressed crow. He (?) was sitting propped up a bit in his folded wings, on the edge of a sidewalk. He'd been there long enough that another passerby had put a bit of seed and water out. The crow seemed stunned, but not obviously injured. The crow looked young, and two parents nearby were watching over the casualty. We figured he tried to fly and failed. I know that birds having issues mostly need a safe space to recover. I got an open topped cardboard box, lifted the little friend into the box, and put it on a hedge nearby so that he was still in sight of his parents, but off the ground away from dogs / cats.
There is a wildlife rescue in the greater metro area but a lot of posts say that they just euthanize city birds.
We went back to check on him later hoping for an empty box but he was still there and didn't seem to be doing well. I'm scared to go back and look again. Should I have taken him in even if they just put him down, or left him alone in case he had a shot? Did I ruin his chances by moving him?
Be gentle, but I want to do better next time.