The only time I've ever really rushed headlong into catching anything was when I was a kid up north. We had a family of loons that came to sun themselves on the dock every afternoon -- parents and about 15-20 little ones. Well, after a really bad storm one night, I went out in the morning and discovered one baby loon that had been separated from the family.
I had to catch him--HAD to!! Ended up running through the lake with socks shoes, pants and all, and diving down to catch it while it dove underwater to get away.
And after hiking back up to the house, dripping wet, loon in hand, my grandmother gave me a 'talking to' I won't ever forget and marched me back down to the lake to return him.
But it was so worth it to actually hold a baby loon for a few moments!