01254 53622(24 hour emergency)

Help..What do I do with this Baby Bird?

Baby Birds Daisy Street Vets News

An important reminder this summer-time....

Spring and summer time is an amazing time of year, with many new born creatures to be seen and our caring instincts are put to the test when we see young animals that look like they need our help. However, it is very important we learn and understand if and when these animals actually need our help. At Daisy Street Vets, we often get well meaning people bringing healthy baby birds to us at this time of year. This often spells disaster for the baby bird as by the time the bird is returned to where it was found, it's parents will have gone and the babies cannot be helped. The following paragraphs are extracts from the RSPB website.

It is common in spring and summer to find young birds sitting on the ground or hopping about without any sign of their parents.This is perfectly normal, there is no need to be worried

There are generally two groups of baby birds:

"Nestlings"

These are baby birds who have fallen out of their nest too early, they have no or very few feathers, are pink in colour and can't fend for themselves.

​So if the young bird is unfeathered or covered in fluffy down and has obviously fallen out of a nest by accident, it may be possible to put it back. Only do this if you are sure which nest the chick came from, and if it appears strong and healthy. Sometimes parent birds sense that there is something wrong with one of their chicks and they will eject it out of the nest so they can concentrate on looking after the healthy ones. If a nest can't be found, then make a new box, eg out of a plastic container (makes some drainage holes so it doesnt fill with water), add some soft cloth for bedding and nail this up on the tree you think is where the baby has come from. Then monitor this from a distance for the return of the parents.

"Fledglings"

These are baby birds that are ready to leave the nest, but have not yet learned to take-off and fly. They do have feathers. They can fend for themselves on the floor by finding food, or their parents are often close by to look after them. This is a normal learning process that can take a couple of days to a couple of weeks for different species of bird.

However tempting, interfering with a young bird like this will do more harm than good. Fledglings are extremely unlikely to be abandoned by their parents. Just because you cannot see the adult birds does not mean that they are not there. The parents are probably just away collecting food - or are hidden from view nearby, keeping a watchful eye, or may have been temporarily frightened away from their youngster by your presence. Fledglings should be left where they are, in the care of their own parents.So, if the young bird has a full covering of feathers, it will have left the nest deliberately, and is no longer meant to be in a nest. Such a bird should be left where it is, in the care of its own parents.

If the bird is on a busy path or road, or other potentially dangerous exposed locations, it makes sense to pick it up and move it a short distance to a safer place. Make sure you leave it within hearing distance of where it was found. Birds have a poor sense of smell so handling a young bird does not cause its parents to abandon it.

If you have cats, make sure they are kept indoors until the fledglings are airborne. In any conflict of interest between wild animals and domestic pets, it is always the domestic pet that must give way.

Here is an interesting, informative link on you tube - Please take note that this is an American site and if you do need to contact a Wildlife centre for further advice, please contact the RSPB here in the UK - RSPCA on: 0300 1234 999, or take a look at their website at www.rspb.org.uk

Thank you for reading. We would really appreciate if you would pass this article on or share it, so as many people know what to do to try and help these lovely little creatures.

John Davies and Sam Purcell
Daisy Street Vets, Blackburn. 

28th April 2015, 19:16
Page updated 14th Oct 2016, 08:23
brickweb | instant websites