HELP WILD Baby BIRD on ground! what do i do?

[Tiber]

So i have a very small fenced in yard where there are squirlls and a tree with apprently birds nest. I have a small bird who can't fly yet.. can run and flap okay. I dont know what type of bird it is, but maybe you guys can tell from teh pictures. I dont know what to do with it. We do have neiborhood cats and racoons running around, but there's no way i can even get close to a nest as the tree branches are too high and thin.

What do i do? Its actually pretty big.. bout the size of yoshi, but defininately a baby bird.

http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2125742349

I think its a starling? i'm not sure :-S the only adults I can name are robins and chickadees and sparrows!

Ok update!
I made a box outside above a light where the cats and coons cant get to it, but the silly thing keeps jumping out.. but it can't fly or even glide it just falls and hops to a corner...Yoshi can fly better with a wing clip!

[linda040899]

If the parents are around (and they most likey are), leave the baby alone. They will take care of it. There are a lot of baby birds just getting ready to fledge right now so a lot of people are seeing this. If you have cats, try to limit the amount of time they spend in the backyard right now. Baby birds grow very quickly and this one probably won't be on the ground for very long.

I agree that it looks like a baby starling. At first, I thought baby Mockingbird but this one looks different.

[bellarains]

Hey,

It most likely will not stay in the box, or back in it's nest. Once it is time to fledge, they are out. Mom and Dad will look after them while they are out, as they are teaching him to fly and hunt for his own food. Fledging is a very tough time of the year, as they are at their most vulnerable during this time. The best we can do is keep our cats inside for the couple of weeks that it takes for them to become fully fledged and hope nature is kind. The other thing you can do is provide the parents with a good seed mix, and also some birdie bread to help feed the baby, and help him grow. I have been feeding the mocking birds in my back yard this week and their two babies have almost doubled in size. I try and keep an eye on them as much as I can, but the parents also do a very good job protecting them.

If this little guy can not fly at all, you can put him on a sturdy tree branch with leaf cover this evening. He may or may not stay there, but it's worth a try, and it will possibly get him off the ground for the night. Don't forget to wash your hands well before handling your birds though.

I hope the little one makes it.

Lori

[Tiber]

thanks you guys! yea his parents are around, and i do keep my cat indoors, but i have a very small enclosured/back porch/ apartment complex type of thing, So he's just running around and around the edge of this area.. probably all of 15X9 ft. and I see about 3 different cats daily making their rounds pass my window... the cats haven't come in my enclosure since we first moved in and had a couple of spatting rounds through the window with my cat, but the racoons have. The feeder is full of bird seeds and i throw Yoshi's old seeds/pellet mixture out there too. Hopefully he'll take off soon! I'll try and see if he'll stay off the ground tonight. thanks again!

[Tiber]

Well just an update.. found the baby bird huddled in the corner of the patio/yard so now that its dark i put him in the box i fixed above the outside light fixture and he didn't hop out.. so hopefully he'll be safe tonight. The tree branches are all too high for me to reach, but the whole back area is covered by the two trees on oposite ends. We've been watching them through the window today.. and the parents do come around quite often.. Once one of the parents had a grub in its mouth, but i didn't see him feed it to the baby.. but they are keeping an eye on him :) The sparrows seemed to eat all of yoshi's left over seeds and bread today. there are a few fluffy baby sparrows jumping around the fence too, but they all flew around just fine. Since this area is enclosed should i put some water out in the morning? or will the parents feed him that too? I gotta say he is hopping better and even jumping higher this evening than when i first saw him this afternoon.

[linda040899]

Sounds like this baby is safe for the night. I would just watch him and let the parents do the rest. They should take care of his food needs. Baby birds get everything they need from their parents until they are fledged and can find what they need on thier own. While it may be hard to do, you are doing the best thing you can for this baby.

[Tiber]

ok I wont worry bout water then and just watch him run around back there =). He did make it through the night! He's out there running/hopping all over the place.

[linda040899]

Good deal!
Thank you so much for the update! I know it's hard to just watch but that's the best thing for the baby.

[bellarains]

Hey,

Glad to hear the little fella made it through the night. As my hubby tells me, "You can't save them all", and as I say, "No, but I can try and save this one" :)

[Janie]

Looks like a starling to me and UNfortunately, I have a few of those around here. Even if that one doesn't make it, the adults breed like crazy so there will never be a starling shortage.

I agree with Linda about letting the adults take care of it. They only time I have intervened is with nest box nesters (specifically Eastern Bluebirds) and then, if a baby fledges along with his siblings and isn't quite ready and can not get airborne, I do pop him back in the box and add a hole reducer to the box so that he can't get out but the adults can continue to feed him through the entrance hole. I've had to do that twice and it wasn't much fun but I didn't think the baby blues would stand a chance on the ground over night. Too many raccoons, snakes, owls, etc. By the next day, he's ready to go and the adults are right there waiting for him. It is very difficult to place a tree nester back in a nest. Most of the starlings around here nest in the roof gutters or in the tree cavity they take from our native cavity nesters.

Good luck to your little one but please don't tell him where "Georgia" is! :D We have more than our fair share here.

[Tiber]

heh, yes those starlings have been coming around more often around here the last few years.. never saw them when i was younger. But i do think they feathers are pretty ( his beak looks like frowning though!) I guess he's a quick learner, cause he's not out there any more.. I put my toddler down for his nap, and now he's gone! There has been birds out side all day today, and no crazy warning screaming or sign of a cat, so i can only assume that he flew away! Watch out Janie.. he might be coming for ya! ;)

EDIT: Never mind he's still here i have no idea where he could have been hiding, I looked EVERYWHERE, but he's out there eating seeds now! Don't worry janie I wont tell him where to go ;) besides a flight from washington is really FAR!

Edit edit: Baby bird's really good at hiding out there. Tried looking for him again last night (and there REALLY isn't that many places to hide). Couldn't find him, but he's there again this morning!