baby chickadees falling from nest

[mangotiki]

my friend just called. for the second day in a row, a baby chickadee has fallen/was pushed out of the bird house. the nest is too high, she sees another baby right at the doorway.

she put a pillow underneath, but the second baby was dead on the pillow tonight.

any suggestions?

traci

[mangotiki]

well, never mind, i went over to have a look, no live babies left, mom is no where in sight. the babies crop looked totally empty, we are not sure if they died and she tossed them then abandoned the nest or what :confused: .
it is too bad, my friend was pretty surprised when they nested in the decorative bird house over her front door...

traci

[bellarains]

Hey Traci,

Fledging season is so hard. There are so many little ones, and the percentage of babies that actually make it out of the nest and survive is not too good. It is heartbreaking, as you just want to scoop them all up and take care of them so that they have a better chance.

This year has been tough on me also. I had a nest of baby robins in the back yard, started with three, and best I can figure, only one made it. Had a nest of mocking birds in the front yard, started with four babies, three actually came out, and only two survived so far. One of them is on the ground learing to hunt for food and can fly pretty good, the other is still perched in a tree as of last night. The smallest one did not survive the first night out of the nest. It just broke my heart to bury that little tiny baby :(

I know my neighbors probably think I'm nuts, but I do ask them to keep their cats inside if possible when I start to see the babies fledge. It may not save them all, but it gives them a better chance.

TTYL,

Lori

[sdgilley]

I'm sorry about the babies, it's sad indeed. A few years ago we had a bird build it's nest on the light outside the front door. She didn't make it very sturdy, and one baby fell out & died. The next day or so, we found the nest falling apart and another baby, this one alive (barely) on the porch. We called animal control for help and they told us to put the entire nest in a colander and attach the colaner back up to the light. It worked! Mama came back and raised the baby!

[Janie]

I have far more wild bird experience than pet bird experience and I've had two seasons of Chickadees nesting in my "bluebird" box......so, I really wonder what "threw" them out....???? A House Sparrow (NON native species and the worst nightmare to our native songbirds) would do that but if the entrance hole is 1 & 1/2 inch, no other bird would enter the box and toss out babies. The parents would not toss out live babies and would die trying to defend their young. All decorative boxes should have the entrance holes "plugged" so that a songbird can not enter and nest in it. They aren't really right for wild birds....pretty but not safe or correct for wild bird nestings so I would suggest that you share that information with your friend. A proper nest box for bluebirds, chickadees, titmice, etc, should have ventilation and drainage and an entrance hole of 1 & 1/2 inches. I'm so sorry to hear this......I had four chickadees fledge just a week ago. They are adorable little birds.

[mangotiki]

well, we are really not sure what is going on as today the parents came back and started mating. I wondered whether or not it is a different pair of birds, it just seems weird. I dont think the babies could have fallen, after looking at the nest; they must have been pushed, either before or after they died. oh well. it is just sooooo sad.