Recently, I came across a stranded bird in my garden, the little poppet had literally ‘flown the nest’ too soon. Although I had some idea of how I could try to help the poor mite, I did find myself having to use good old Google to double check as I was doubting myself. This brings me to today’s blog! As in Spring and Summer, it is not uncommon to come across baby birds and fledglings I thought I’d share my findings with you here, in hope that it may help you and others if ever faced with this situation.
So, first things first in this situation, you need to decide whether the bird is a baby or fledgling. If the bird has feathers, then it is a fledgling and if not, the bird is what we could call a nestling and this poor baby may have fallen out of its nest by accident. Now we’ve established that, here is what to do if you discover either of these:
A Fledgling
The reason you may find one of these on the ground is that although it may have its feathers, it probably is still unable to fly. Fledglings often spend time on the ground whilst their feathers finish growing. When you spot a fledgling you should work out whether it is in danger or not, here is how:
Danger: It is exposed on a busy road/path, or is the fledgling at risk of other dangers due to being exposed, if it is you will need to pick it up and move it.
You may be wondering how to move the fledgling? I’d recommend putting on gloves, however, your scent on the bird won’t result in the bird being abandoned, then move the bird a short distance away from where you found it, the bird needs to be in hearing distance to allow its parents to locate it. Oh, and if you have a cat and the fledgling is in your garden, maybe keep the cat indoors for an interim period of time.
What to do if the bird isn’t in danger?
The answer to this, no matter how tempted you are, like I was, is to do nothing. The fledgling may not actually be abandoned by its parents, after all, they may be lurking nearby. They may often sneak out when it is quiet to feed and tend to their baby, so be careful you do not scare them away! It is the last resort to move a fledgling so please bare this in mind, but of course, if they have been abandoned or they are injured this is an exception.
Baby Birds
If you discover a baby bird, you may want to try to return it to its nest. However, you can only do this if you can access the nest and you are 100% sure that, that is where the baby belongs. You must also make sure the bird is strong and healthy if you are going to return it, because unfortunately, the parents may reject the baby bird. Sometimes nature can be rather cruel!
If the bird is injured or weak, returning it to its nest is not the solution, this means the bird needs to rely on our intervention for survival, therefore, get in touch with a rehabilitator as soon as possible, this would probably be the RSPCA.
I hope that you don’t have to be faced with an escapee, but I hope this information arms you if the situation should arise!
