the care and feeding of baby birds

last weekend at the cottage my nature knowledge was put to the test, once again proving how useful the internet would be in some situations. it's funny, everyone thinks that they know what they should do if they come across a baby bird that has fallen from its nest, though as i discovered, most of that information is totally incorrect. so in this post i set out to remove those misconceptions and to inform myself of what to do if this situation arises again in the future.

if you find a baby bird, you will need to determine whether or not it is really an orphaned bird. the best way is to determine if it is a nestling or a fledgling. most young birds that are found are really just young fledglings that can't fly well. in order to determine whether the bird is a nestling or a fledgling allow the baby bird to perch on your finger. if it is able to grip your finger firmly than it is a fledgling. the best thing to do in this case is to place it in a nearby tree or shrub and leave it alone. the parents will continue to care and feed it on their own.

if the bird is not able to cling to your finger, than it most likely a nestling. if this is the case try to locate the nest. most of the time it will be close by and well hidden. place the bird back in the nest. contrary to popular belief, the parent birds will not "smell" a human and reject the nestling if you replace it in the proper nest.

if the nest cannot be found, try lining a small container with tissue and tying the basket to a tree. place the young bird in the basket and leave it alone. the parents will take care of it once you leave. of course we did not know this, nor could we find the nest to place the baby back in. we made the mistake of bringing the baby inside and trying to feed it ourselves. this is a lot of work and should only be the last resort.

many bird deaths are caused by well-meaning people. improper feeding and stress can cause a baby birds death. forcing birds to drink water can also cause drowning and death. like human babies, birds need protein and lots of it to help them grow at such an incredibly fast rate. mushed up meat is the basic diet for baby birds. you can vary this diet with the white of hard-boiled egg cut into strips; and mash the yolk with milk to a thin paste. raisins soaked in water and drained when plump or dog biscuits soaked in milk may also be given to young birds.

we fed our bird crackers soaked in milk. not the greatest choice as there is little to no protein in that. i later added some finely crushed up peanuts to the mix for a bit of added protein. it is likely the bird would have slowly died from lack of protein if we continued to feed it that diet.

unfortunately this young bird did not survive as the caretaker let it fall to the ground, breaking some of its tiny bones which eventually led to its death. it is a sad tale, as it likely would have survived if we had just left it where we found it. or if i had been informed of the proper way to care for fallen nestlings. it was a learning experience and i feel better prepared to deal with this situation in the future. i will share the things i have learned with the others involved and next time we will watch nature thrive from a distance.