You did the right thing, putting them back and creating a marker to see if she returns. Just check, without coming close to the nest, to see if the leaves were moved. If the leaves are moved, all is well and mom is taking care of her babies. If the leaves are intact, get the name of a wildlife rehabilitator and ask exactly how you can transport them for care. Regarding the littlest one: mom will take care of it. Runts often survive. Try to keep away from the nest, because that leaves a scent trail for raccoons, foxes and coyotes.

A day or so after my husband mowed the lawn he pointed out a bare spot in the middle of the back yard. He said it wasn't there when he mowed. So I decided to take a closer look. I poked around with a twig and was frightened by movement and what appeared to me to be the head of a small snake. On closer look I thought it was a rodent and immediately wanted it out of there. Poking some more, I counted 3. So I put on gloves, removed them and the nesting material under a tree in an unsold lot adjacent to our unfenced backyard. I then went on the internet to see what I could find out. Baby bunnies...don't remove the nest....yada, yada. Now I panicked thinking Mom would abandon them. One did not appear very alert...almost comatose. Frightened or in danger? Periodically I looked out to see if Mom was there and she showed up over the nest. Back to the internet for more research.T wo days now and I only saw her that once. The babies were about 3-4 inches long, ears back, eyes closed and plump bellies. At 6:30a yesterday I checked to see if they were there and breathing and arranged some twigs over the nest so I could see if the nest was disturbed later as proof Mom returned. Late that afternoon/early evening it became a gully washer with thunder and lightning and I feared their nest would be flooded. The best I could do was put a folding canvas camp chair over the nest. An hour or more later I looked out and it was blown over. Dashed out and flipped it over so it formed more of a tent over the nest and then worried I was too late. 4:00a this morning I went out with a flashlight and changed the chair a bit to make it maybe a little easier for Mom. I was shocked to see the babies (only 2) huddled on top of the nest completely exposed. I fear the comatose one didn't make it. Now I'm checking every few minutes to see if Mom is there with them. It's not raining right now but threatening. I don't know if they are out of the nest because it's flooded or the sibling died and Mom got them out. It's 74 outside and I worry I'd they are warm enough. It's thundering and lightening again, but not raining. They looked healthy, but not quite as frisky as they were the day I moved them briefly. What's the danger to them now? They look much bigger than they were when I first found them. I recall seeing the Mom sitting in the lawn a day or two before my husband pointed out the bare spot. I'm guessing they are maybe 5-7 days old now. Seems she put them in the worst possible location, right in clear sight. Could she be ready to move their nest elsewhere? Maybe I shouldn't worry about them as this is probably very common in nature. It's just the first time I've witnessed it!

You are a lovely good hearted person! But bunnies need to be left to their own devices. I think trying to corral them will not help them. They need to survive on their own.

i found a young bunny once after a big storm, he was half dead. I took him home and cared for him for a few days and then started calling around to vets to get a check up. In my area there are only certain vets that will deal with wild animals. Anyways, the vet I found refferred me to a rehab and sancturary for wild animals. They try to rehabilitate the animal to be released into the wild and if it can't be they keep it on their property with others of their species and age. The bunny had a bad eye infection and went blind in one eye so he was kept on their site. Years later my husband hit a racoon, didn't actually run over it with the tires - just went under the center of the truck. He picked up the racoon and brought it home. We kept it in a kennel for the night and contacted the same rehab the next day. They rehabilitated the guy in two weeks and released him in a safer area. Perhaps if you call around to vets in your area you could find something like this? Or maybe if you contact my local org. they can refer you to someone in your area? (link below) Good Luck! Here is a link that might be useful: Tucson Wildlife Rehab