Baby Bird Season is coming, be prepared...

Hello all,
As a Wildlife worker I thought I would put up some little known facts about baby birds so that you will know what to do when you find one. I know this is not exsactly pet stuff, but it is all about animal rescue. These are just some words of advise!

First Myth:

"A mother bird will not return to the nest if it or one of her young is touched by a human."

FALSE!!!! If you find a baby bird and you can see and reach the nest, place the bird back in the nest. This will not cause the parents to abandon. If you find the whole nest on the ground with survivors and the parents are still in the area (usually they will make distress calls or even dive bomb when you go near the fallen nest) pick up the whole nest and place it securly in the nearest tree or protected shrub. If the nest is beyond repair put the remains of the nest in a small box (to hold it together) and then place it in a tree. If you stand back and watch 9 times out of 10 the parents will return to feed their young within a few hours.

If the parents do not return, or there is no reachable nest in sight please take the young bird to the nearest Wildlife Center. A lot of people do not know that there is one in their area, but usualy there is. Call Animal Control, or the Humane Socity for the name and number of the nearest Center.

Place the bird in a small cardboard box (like a shoe box) lined with paper towel and transport it in a quite enviroment. Do NOT pet or talk to the bird to try and calm it down. It does not understand human kindness and figures that it will soon be a meal. Stress can kill wild baby birds very quickly. The best thing is to keep it in the dark and quite (turn off the radio in your car while transporting it). If you can not take the brid in right away place it in the box and then place half of the box on a heating pad set to the LOWEST setting. Do not put the whole box on the pad, the bird will seek out the temp it wants.

Raising baby birds to be wild is VERY difficult! They not only need special food, but also if you are not careful you will 'humanize' the bird and this will ruin it for life in the wild.

Second Myth:

"The best thing to feed a baby bird is milk and hambuger."

Ack! FALSE! You would not believe how many people bring us baby birds that they have been feeding either milk or hambuger. When was the last time you saw a bird attack a cow? Since birds do not produce true milk (doves do produce a liquid feed for their young that is called 'dove milk' but it is not like mammal milk) they can not digest lactose and it can kill them. This is also true for baby mammals! If you find an abandoned baby mammal do not give it cow milk (they bloat). If you find an abandoned baby mammal and you have to keep it overnight before taking it to a Wildlife Center the best thing you can give it is plain old water!

Also many of the commerical baby bird feeds (NutriStart, ect) are unfit for wild baby birds.

Feeding baby birds is very tricky. Each species of bird eats a diffrent diet. The best thing to do is, of course, take the animal to a Wildlife Center or a licensed Wildlife Rehabiltator. (For one thing in many states it is illegal to raise wildlife without training).

If you find a baby bird and there is no one in the area that can properly care for it e-mail me and I will try and help.


Third Myth:

"If a baby bird leaves the nest it should be able to fly."

False. Almost all birds learn to fly from the ground up. A bird that is almost ready to fly will leave the nest and often find itself on the ground. The parents will still care for it and after a dangeorus few hours to a few days the young bird will learn to fly.

If you find a baby bird that is fully feathered and hopping around on the ground with its parents near by (again they will shriek and sometimes dive bomb), leave it alone, it is trying. If you own a cat please try and keep it indoors (if not all all time at least during the summer). Domestic cats kill millions of wild birds every year.


If you have found an orphaned animal and need advise please trying and contact your nearest Wildlife Center or e-mail me at [email protected].

To see some of the babies I've raised:
http://members.tripod.com/Balme/Tabetha.html


Cheers,
Tigeress

I just read your post and think it is wonderful that you decided to mention this. I also am a wildlife rescuer and know the troubles of raising orphaned wildlife. I applaud you for taking action to let people know what they need to do in this situation. I just got in 4 sparrows, 1 house dove and 5 squirrels today. It is a tough job that requires patience and commitment. I am happy to see that there is someone out there who cares as much as I do. If anyone needs assistance please email me at [email protected]
Do to State laws I can only take in certain species of wildlife.

It is wonderful to hear from a fellow Wildlifer! I know what you mean about the work! I've raised a whole mess of squirrles and they are nothing but trouble. But I love them anyway.

You said you have sparrows. They aren't English House Sparrows are they? Becuase we can't raise and relases them here in Florida. Are the laws diffrent in OR? I'm just curious. In fact I have a pet EHS because of FL law, she really is a sweet bird (not to mention a European Starling for the same reason, I'm a sucker for birds that are going to be euthanized due to their speices).

In any case, keep up the good work!!

Cheers,
Tigeress

Yes I mean a house sparrow. You have to have a special lisence here for them. Yes squirrels are a lot of work. :p

Facinating. In FL they have a No Tolerance for invasive animals. You can own them as pets but you simply can NOT release them into the wild. And I whole heartedly agree with the law. I love my Sparow and my Starling dearly, but I do understand that they take away resorces and space away from native animals.

I'd love to see pics of all your babies!

Cheers,
T

We just got so many mangy squirrels in along with a seagull. He he. Here in Eugene, you don't see seagulls too much.:p As soon as I snap some photos I will send you some oky doky.

You know amazingly enough we don't get many Seagulls in at the Florida Wildlife Center. I think it is because most people don't like Seagulls so if they find one hurt they just leave it there. Because we get lots of other seabirds such as Terns, Black Skimmers, Petrals, etc...

I'd love to see a pic!

Me too! Me Too!

I can just tell, you 2 are going to be absolutely fascinating additions to the Pet Talk family! Already I've learned so much from your posts!!!!! Please stick around and share your advice, experience and pics with us!!!

I know this is a late reply, but I hope someone will still read this!

First off, I too thank you for posting things like these. It's very informative and helpful.

The first myth you posted (bout touching the birds) was especially good to hear because I've always belived that! I'm glad I know the truth now!

Now to my actual question... There has been two birds that have been in my garden alot. I don't know what the species is called in english (I'll try looking it up if anyone wants to know). Two of the same breed or perhaps even the same breed were here last year as well. They fly in and out of the big hedge we have in front and sometimes they have little pieces of wood and stuff so it seems as if they are buliding a nest. They did this last year as well but I never saw any baby birds... So are they really having babies in there although I don't see any? I was also thinking, I have a persian cat and when I comb him there is a lot of fluffy soft fur over... If I laid that out on the grass infront of the hedge, would the birds use that for their nest as a soft little touch? Or would it perhaps scare them cause it would smell like a cat?

Oki doki, that's all the questions I had! :)

Yep, your little pair of feathered freinds are building a nest. Birds have a mirriad of ways to hide their nests from predators and even the most skilled eye can have trouble finding them in the thick leaf cover. The best way to know if there are baby birds in your area is sound. Young birds make diffrent sounds than adult birds. Usualy their call is a single repetative note that tends to be high pitched. After working in the nursery for a week I was able to walk down the street and tell you which tree had babies and what kind. However even with the vocal cue I rarely saw nests.

As for cat fur they might just take it. Birds (make that MOST birds) have a very poorly developed sense of smell and do not use it to detect predators. I'm sure with a big fluffy kitty like that the he is an indoor animal and poses no threat to young one. So I repeat the stuff about keeping cats inside during the season.

If you have any other questions, please ask!

Cheers,
Tigeress

Thank you for answering! I brushed him today and put the fur outside, I just hope the birds will pick it up before it blows away (it's kinda windy today)! And yuppers, Oliver is an inside cat only so he poses no threat to the birdies whatsoever! :)

I'll be listening to bird noises more intensely now!