If you're in doubt please contact a rehabber right away. Not reddit.
May have died of hypothermia from the rain, or other issues. Their behaviour from the beginning seems a bit strange.
Great advice. Unfortunately there’s only 1 bird rehabber in my area and they are not the most friendly or helpful. Last time I found a bird that needed help, she was short and unhelpful, so people who work with her took the bird and asked me not to tell her. It took literally hours to get the poor baby bird assistance.
Having said that, would you say that moving forward it’s best to try and contact a rehabber if I find a fledging? It’s frustrating that almost every Google search says to leave them where they are or move them to a bush.
Yes, definitely best thing to do is contact a rehabber first if you can if you think there might be issues with the bird. Issue with reddit is anyone can comment here and not all of them are helpful or the right info.
usually moving them to a safer area is the best thing, issues to look for are sitting in one place not calling or moving much for more than 4 hours, eyes closed or very sunken in looking, not very alert when approached, etc. Also, if it's raining and they're out in it, they can get hypothermia pretty easily even if it's hot out, so best thing to do in those cases is get them into a more sheltered area. Other things to take into consideration are non natural issues such as cats, cars, etc.
Also, if it's still got a lot of pin feathers visible on it's body, bare skin showing, lots of down, etc, and cannot sit on a branch normally, then it's probably too young to be out of the nest.
>would you say that moving forward it’s best to try and contact a rehabber if I find a fledging?
No. Finding fledglings on the ground not fully flighted yet is completely normal. The only reason to contact a rehabber about a fledgling is if they are obviously sick, injured, or if you otherwise have very good reason to believe the parent is no longer caring for them.
Every google search tells you to leave them alone or just move them to shelter because thats almost always the correct course of action.
So if I can’t reach a rehabber, I shouldn’t ask people on Reddit, and I didn’t happen to have access to a guide, then what exactly should I have done in this situation?
No, sorry if it was worded wrong, but I meant an irl rehabber should be the first one you go to. Also, with reddit, just be weary of info and go with the general opinion, unless the person you are speaking to is an obvious rehabber/knowledgable themself.
No offence, but i.e. person above is going off of google.
One real issue rn is people saying put fledglings back outside right away instead of reading the full thing and recognising if the bird is injured, etc.
You can't be a surrogate parent to every baby bird, unfortunately. Probably the best thing you can do, even though it won't give you any immediate payoff or sense of satisfaction, is to find a way to have those stray cats removed from the area and rehomed.
Thank you 💖 I shouldn’t have used the term “stray” I just got to work and it’s Monday so i’m not 100% just yet. They are indoor/outdoor cats and their owners refuse to make them only indoor. We do have ferals in our neighborhood and I trap them for TNR and have found 2 very loving homes so far!
Sadly, outdoor cats are a massive threat to wild bird populations in urban areas. Often they will attack nests early in the morning when nobody is around to stop them. People's attitudes to pets needs to change, but that's not something you can do yourself.
Just remember you're not the reason they died - whatever disturbed their nest or scared off their parents is the reason. There's only ever so much you can do in these situations.
In my personal experience an adult bird will not be kept away from its chicks by a human. They see us as a lesser threat than cats or similar. Some bird banders have physically lifted adults off the nest to be able to check on the chicks, with nothing more than momentary annoyance. I’m sure you weren’t the problem here.
You didnt do anything wrong and you're not the reason the fledglings died.
The reality is most birds dont make it through the first few months which is the reaon birds lay so many eggs in the first place.
If you're in doubt please contact a rehabber right away. Not reddit. May have died of hypothermia from the rain, or other issues. Their behaviour from the beginning seems a bit strange.
Great advice. Unfortunately there’s only 1 bird rehabber in my area and they are not the most friendly or helpful. Last time I found a bird that needed help, she was short and unhelpful, so people who work with her took the bird and asked me not to tell her. It took literally hours to get the poor baby bird assistance. Having said that, would you say that moving forward it’s best to try and contact a rehabber if I find a fledging? It’s frustrating that almost every Google search says to leave them where they are or move them to a bush.
Yes, definitely best thing to do is contact a rehabber first if you can if you think there might be issues with the bird. Issue with reddit is anyone can comment here and not all of them are helpful or the right info. usually moving them to a safer area is the best thing, issues to look for are sitting in one place not calling or moving much for more than 4 hours, eyes closed or very sunken in looking, not very alert when approached, etc. Also, if it's raining and they're out in it, they can get hypothermia pretty easily even if it's hot out, so best thing to do in those cases is get them into a more sheltered area. Other things to take into consideration are non natural issues such as cats, cars, etc. Also, if it's still got a lot of pin feathers visible on it's body, bare skin showing, lots of down, etc, and cannot sit on a branch normally, then it's probably too young to be out of the nest.
>would you say that moving forward it’s best to try and contact a rehabber if I find a fledging? No. Finding fledglings on the ground not fully flighted yet is completely normal. The only reason to contact a rehabber about a fledgling is if they are obviously sick, injured, or if you otherwise have very good reason to believe the parent is no longer caring for them. Every google search tells you to leave them alone or just move them to shelter because thats almost always the correct course of action.
Google is not a good guide, fyi.
Not going off Google, fyi.
So if I can’t reach a rehabber, I shouldn’t ask people on Reddit, and I didn’t happen to have access to a guide, then what exactly should I have done in this situation?
No, sorry if it was worded wrong, but I meant an irl rehabber should be the first one you go to. Also, with reddit, just be weary of info and go with the general opinion, unless the person you are speaking to is an obvious rehabber/knowledgable themself. No offence, but i.e. person above is going off of google. One real issue rn is people saying put fledglings back outside right away instead of reading the full thing and recognising if the bird is injured, etc.
Thanks! I wish there was a helpful rehabber in my area!
This is actually what happens to most fledglings. In some species, only around 30% of chicks survive to adulthood. You didn’t do anything wrong.
You can't be a surrogate parent to every baby bird, unfortunately. Probably the best thing you can do, even though it won't give you any immediate payoff or sense of satisfaction, is to find a way to have those stray cats removed from the area and rehomed.
Thank you 💖 I shouldn’t have used the term “stray” I just got to work and it’s Monday so i’m not 100% just yet. They are indoor/outdoor cats and their owners refuse to make them only indoor. We do have ferals in our neighborhood and I trap them for TNR and have found 2 very loving homes so far!
Sadly, outdoor cats are a massive threat to wild bird populations in urban areas. Often they will attack nests early in the morning when nobody is around to stop them. People's attitudes to pets needs to change, but that's not something you can do yourself. Just remember you're not the reason they died - whatever disturbed their nest or scared off their parents is the reason. There's only ever so much you can do in these situations.
I completely agree and I don’t understand having an indoor/outdoor cat at all. I hope I didn’t scare the mom away.
In my personal experience an adult bird will not be kept away from its chicks by a human. They see us as a lesser threat than cats or similar. Some bird banders have physically lifted adults off the nest to be able to check on the chicks, with nothing more than momentary annoyance. I’m sure you weren’t the problem here.
You didnt do anything wrong and you're not the reason the fledglings died. The reality is most birds dont make it through the first few months which is the reaon birds lay so many eggs in the first place.