Baby Songbirds - to rescue or not to rescue?
PHOTO: Barn Swallow hatchling - the only survivor after a homeowner (illegally) knocked the mud nest from a carport
That is an excellent question!
It’s Spring and our feathered neighbors are busy building nests and raising families. Wild birds live among us in our gardens and parks, natural and urban areas. Some birds nest high up in trees, others nest low to the ground, some use nest boxes and others share our human dwellings. Baby songbirds are vulnerable and sometimes they are genuinely in need of human assistance, but how can you tell?
Baby birds go through many stages of growth and development before they become independent and no longer require the care of their parents. Their behavior and need for parental care varies at each stage of development. If you encounter a baby bird that you suspect may need to be rescued, some knowledge of their natural development is helpful.
Hatchling songbirds are naked, featherless, and helpless; their eyes are closed during the first few days of life. At this stage, they are in the nest, not on the ground. Without the constant care of their parents, they will quickly die of hypothermia and starvation.
Nestling songbirds are still nest-bound and very dependent on their parents for care, but their eyes are open and they are vocal at this stage. Their bodies will be covered in pin feathers (feathers which are just developing and still covered in a keratin sheath). Older nestlings will have mostly feathered bodies, but their tail and wing feathers are still growing in.
PHOTO: These nestling Bushtits nest was destroyed by a curoius cat. Two of the babies did not survive the attack, but these all made it and were released back to the wild. Photo by volunteer Bobbi Lance of Yuzu Studios.
The length of the nestling stage for songbirds varies from species to species, but is usually 10-14 days from the time they hatch. Swallows and swifts are an exception as they remain in the nest until they are approximately 21 days of age. Nature’s plan for baby songbirds is for them to grow quickly so they can leave their nest quickly. As prey species, the longer they’re in the nest, the more vulnerable they are to predators.
Fledgling is the stage of development that we receive the most calls about at The Songbird Hospital during the breeding season. It is important to know that most songbirds leave the nest BEFORE they’re able to fly. In much the same way human toddlers crawl before they can run, baby songbirds hop and walk around on the ground before they’re able to fly. The only exceptions to this are SWALLOWS and SWIFTS – these species are flight capable when they fledge the nest.
The majority of fledgling songbirds are well feathered on their body with short wing and tail feathers. They’re able to stand, walk and hop and they may be able to make short flights from branch to branch or from the ground up to low branches. They are vocal and mobile, but still dependent on their parents for care. During this stage they are commonly observed on the ground, out in the open, on branches, in bushes – they’re all over the place!
Although the parents may not be with their fledgling every minute of the day, they remain in vocal contact. The location where you observe the baby is the parent’s territory, so mom and dad are usually nearby. It will take a few days to a full week before young songbirds can fly well enough to attempt to keep up with their parents and evade danger. They are vulnerable and naïve at this age. If you have outdoor cats, the kindest thing you can do for the birds is keep your cats indoors.
So, what do you do if you find a baby bird? Now that you know a little about their normal development, here are some steps to follow that will help you determine when a baby bird may need your help.
- Is it a nestling on the ground? If it is a warm healthy nestling, can you find the nest? If yes, put the baby back in the nest and observe the nest from a distance for one hour. If the parents return to care for the baby, everything is okay. If the parents do not return after one hour, or you cannot find the nest, call us for further advice.
- Is the baby a healthy fledgling, hopping around and vocalizing? Make sure the area is clear of pets and people. Are the parents caring for the baby? Watch the baby for one hour, non-stop. If the parents are caring for the baby, everything is fine and you can leave the area. After careful observation, you determine the fledgling is truly orphaned, bring it to us ASAP.
- Is it a healthy fledgling in an unsafe place, like the middle of the street? It is okay to move the baby to the nearest bush, or low tree limb. Birds have a poor sense of smell, so the parent birds will not abandon their baby if a human has touched it.
If you answer “yes” to any of the following questions, please bring the bird to a wildlife rehabilitator ASAP.
- Is the bird sick or hurt? Is it bleeding, unable to flutter its wings or stand, weak, shivering, or covered with insects?
- Did the bird have contact, or suspected contact, with a cat? Cats have bacteria in their mouth and claws that is lethal to birds.
- Is it a hatchling on the ground?
- Is it a swallow or swift on the ground and unable to fly?
For more details about when and how to rescue a baby songbird, please visit The Songbird Hospital website at www.songbirdhospital.org. And please remember that all native birds are federally protected and can only be cared for by a professional wildlife rehabilitator that is licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife.
The Songbird Hospital: (707) 484-6502
PHOTO: Northen Mockingbird Fledgling
The Sonoma County Gazette website is brought to you in part by Sophie's Cellars, The Sonoma Wine & Cheese market, Monte Rio, California.
Comments:
There is an amazing woman in Sebastopol who runs a Songbird Hospital (licensed and under the umbrella of Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue). I looked up the website and there were instructions, directions to the hospital and the phone number. I called and got her voice mail, so I left a message saying I was coming with the bird. I wrapped it loosely in a cotton napkin and put it in a small box. I took off for Sebastopol and found the hospital down a long country road south of town. The gate was closed and no one in sight, but there is a drop box with a form to fill out and some brochures. I decided not to leave the bird in the exposed box (made with chicken wire) because it was windy and cold. After about an hour or so of sitting in the car listening to the radio, a car drove up. It was Veronica Bowers, who founded and runs the Songbird Hospital. She said she was returning from picking up an injured bird in Novato (about an hour away). Anyway, in we went and she took the little Siskin and tucked it into a small covered basket to be examined and medicated soon. (I read that cat's mouths and claws contain bacteria that are lethal to birds).
I asked if I could look around a bit and we talked about the Hospital operations. There was a House Finch who had collided with a window and somebody else who had been hit by a car, also a large cage containing a whole bunch of Swallows of various species, overwintering because they'd been unable to migrate south for various reasons and the nights are still too cold for them. There's an overwintering female Grosbeak who's been flirting vocally with a friendly male in the neighborhood, not yet released for the same reason. Veronica has a cadre of volunteers who assist with pickups, feeding, various other chores, and release. I'm so impressed and grateful that I'm seriously thinking of becoming one of them.
Back to the cat. This cat is big and energetic and hyperactive (really, attention deficit! Also smarts deficit and charm deficit ... but I digress). I thought about taking him back to the shelter but he would just do the same thing somewhere else, now that he's got the hunting bug. I feed so many birds and love seeing them so much that I'm reluctant to give up the feeder, though it may come to that. He can't reach the feeder but may be catching the birds at the water bowl on the deck railing.
Anyway, Veronica told me someone had reported trying something called a "cat bib" which you put on the cat when it goes out and it prevents the cat from being able to pounce. Check out the video athttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQM97igNMLE made by a very pleased owner of a killer cat. I ordered one - it's not as wide so the cat can move more easily ... hope it works! The source is:http://www.catgoods.com/index.php
You can see the Songbird Hospital and learn a lot about songbirds at:http://songbirdhospital.org/Home.html. Be sure to click on "patient photos."
That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
Betsy