I’m not sure what was going on, I’m hoping it was just tired. I have some stray cats in the neighborhood so I managed to grab it and look it over (I’ve got a zoology degree, and used to be a zookeeper, I don’t usually try to handle wildlife but wanted to make sure it was okay). I put it up in a nearby tree to get it off the ground. It flew higher up into the tree, and was gone about an hour later when I went to check on it.

I think it might have a curled toe deformity. I know for domestic birds they splint the feet to correct it, not sure what happens in wild birds though.

Baby feet are like curled canned shrimp.

Many birds feet curl by default and need effort to flatten. It keeps them perched while sleeping.