Bluebird rescue

Yesterday, when I took a walk up the street, I heard a noise in a mailbox.  I wondered if someone had played a prank and stuffed a small critter into that mailbox.  I don't know the person who owns that mailbox, so I was a little cautious about my inspection.  When I heard the familiar and somewhat plaintive call of a bluebird, I stepped closer to the box to inspect.  The mailbox was on a vinyl post with a missing cap.  About 18" or so down in the open post, I could see a bluebird that seemed to be trapped.  I tried to put my walking stick down into the opening to get the bird to grip it.  Then when a young mother across the street came home, I tried to enlist her help.  By that time, I realized there were 2 birds inside the post.  We tried scooping a bird out with a grill fork to no avail.
Finally, the first bird grasped my walking stick.  I gently drew the stick out, and the bird was able to fly off.  The second bird was a bit weaker.  As a last resort, I actually stuck my hand down into the post and brought the bluebird gently out.  It was also able to fly off.  It was late afternoon.  I hope they were able to recover sufficiently to make it through the night.  That was an interesting experience.