Nest abandonment (Part 1)
Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2000 16:41:24 -0400
From: "Gary Springer" springer"at"alltel.net
Subject: Empty nests/Meal worms/Micromanagement
...For the last month or so there have been many posts
written by folks concerned that the completed bluebird nest
may have been abandoned. The concern in nearly all of these
has been how long should the monitor wait before giving up on
the nest attempt and removing the nest.
It seems there is a widespread belief that it is urgent to
remove an unused nest if it becomes inactive. Why?
As has been posted recently, Cornell Lab of Ornithology is
currently conducting studies to determine whether or not used
nests should be removed. As of the date of this writing, I do
not believe any conclusion has been drawn. These completed
nests that have never been used are much cleaner and bacteria
and mite free than nests that were used to fledge birds.
Therefore, I don't see what harm it would cause to leave the
nest in the nest box for two months or longer after the nest
was completed. Why is there such a feeling of urgency to
remove them?
One thing for certain, the incorrect evaluation of a nest
as abandoned and the subsequent removal of the nest from the
nest box is a problem.
As Keith Kridler recently wrote, if a female bluebird is
ready to lay eggs and her nest is destroyed, she will lay eggs
where she can. She can't delay laying. In this situation she
will be forced to lay eggs in less than favorable sites.
Sometimes the site is in the nest of another female. This is
called dumping and can result in clutches of 9 or more. This
puts a lot stress on the adults trying to raise a clutch
nearly twice as large as normal.
Egg laying in nest boxes with little or no nest material is
another consequence of removing nests prematurely. Others
still may be dumped on the ground or in open areas where there
is no chance for success.
Because an unused nest in a nest box does not preclude a
second nest attempt, and because removing a nest that actually
is active will normally result in a nesting failure, it is
apparent that patience and leaving the nesting up to the
bluebirds is once again key to successful bluebirding.
Meal Worm feeding
If I were new to bluebirding, following the list closely
over the last several days would have caused me to conclude
that meal worm feeding is a necessary part of successful
bluebirding. As most of us know, nothing could be further from
the truth.
Mealworm feeding is for the enjoyment of the birder.
More than 99 percent of all successful fledges of bluebirds
from nest boxes in the United States and Canada this year will
be from nest boxes where the bluebird landlords handed out
absolutely NO Mealworms.
At this point, considering how few people are engaged in
the practice, I believe feeding meal worms has very little
impact in the scheme of things. Therefore, I am not taking a
position against feeding meal worms. While many believe
problems associated with the bonding of wild birds to humans
outweighs any possible advantage of feeding, I believe the
experience can result in learning more about the birds and
that this knowledge might prove beneficial.
But, I'm certain that if the time, effort, and money were
removed from purchasing and maintaining meal worm feeders and
raising and feeding meal
worms, and instead, put into setting out more nest boxes in
ideal bluebird habitat, the effect would be many thousands
more bluebirds in the sky.
Micromanagement
Dean Sheldon describes the excessive involvement by
bluebirders in one or a few nest boxes as micromanagement.
Many times this excessive involvement reduces the nesting
success of even the few boxes being managed.
Reading many posts reminds me of my experience of growing
Indian corn when I was a child.
I tilled a couple square feet of soil and buried five or
ten corn kernels and watered the ground. A couple days later I
wondered if they were doing well so I dug them up. I could see
they were starting to germinate. I reburied them again but not
until I worried for some time how to position
them to make sure the roots were going down and the green
plant up. My worry continued about this matter for days
wondering if I may have ruined them by planting them upside
down.
So, about 3 days later I figured I better check on them so
I dug them up again and now saw that they had roots and a
small stem. To help them along I planted them so the top could
get some sun light.
Only two corn plants survived the ordeal of my love and
curiosity.
When these were about two feet tall I began wondering when
the tassel would push up from between the leaves. I started
pulling the leaves apart and looking deep into the plant. I
didn't tear the plant but I'm sure my probing didn't help.
Then, when the tassels started growing, to encourage
pollination, I prematurely stripped most of the tassel and
dropped it between the leaves.
By some miracle I got an ear of corn on one of the plants.
Over the next several weeks I pealed back the husk several
times to see how the kernels were progressing.
I ended up with half an ear of corn with about 7 kernels.
Boy was I proud.
Think how much less time it would have required, how much
less worry would have been involved, and, how much more corn I
could have produced if I had tilled three times as much
ground, planted 20 seeds and pulled weeds once or twice.
It's an awesome experience to have bluebirds successfully
fledge from a nest box. It stimulates our curiosity and
captivates our interest. But, instead of micromanaging the way
I did with Indian corn, think how many more young bluebirds
would fledge from our nest boxes if we put out more nest boxes
in good bluebird habitat and spent a fraction of the time
worrying and micromanaging each nest box.
Gary Springer
Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2000 17:05:57 EDT
From: Sss2gemini"at"aol.com
Subject: Re: Empty nests/Meal worms/Micromanagement
Sherry Hunter,
Byron Center, MI (10 miles south of Grand Rapids)
Gary,
I am grateful to you for this posting. I am a new bluebirder
with one nestbox in my yard. A couple of months ago I posted
about whether to leave the wood guard on my nestbox as it
seemed the bluebirds were hesitating to go into the box
because of it. As almost everyone on this list assured me the
guard was necessary and that they would enter the box when
they were ready, they did and have built a nice cupped nest,
but no eggs yet. During this process though it has been hard
for me to not check the box almost everyday to see what they
have been doing. But after reading the recent posts about
overmanaging I have been now just checking once a week. They
started their nest on March 23 and stopped bringing material
after about 5 days. I thought then it was completed, but never
seeing a bluebird nest before I didn't know. We then had some
pretty cold and snowy weather after that. Then on April 17th
Mrs. Bluebird started again to bring nesting material for
several days. So from the first sighting of Mr and Mrs
bluebird on the nestbox, February 18 to now, it has been about
2 & 1/2 months. I am thinking that since this is my first year
at this nestbox thing I am overly anxious and watchful and
that maybe next year I won't feel a need to watch their
movements day by day. Your example of the indian corn you
planted when you were young helped me to get the bigger
picture in the scheme of things and to let nature takes it
course. Now, if only those bluebirds would lay some eggs!
Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2000 21:27:41 -0500
From: "R_C Walshaw" walshaw"at"gte.net
Subject: Gary Springer - "abandoned" nests
Gary wondered why anyone would want to remove nests that
appear to be abandoned. I can of course only speak for this
area, but I mentioned earlier that I suspected that I had some
dummy nests where I had put houses a bit too close together in
high bluebird population areas. My first few bluebird nests
are fledging in the last two weeks, and during this period
where I have removed three nests that had no activity after
three weeks, in two of them bluebirds have started new
families. This is consistent with my experience here in the
last several years.
Bluebird Bob, NE OK.
Date: Sat, 29 Apr 2000 11:12:23 -0400
From: "Gary Springer" springer"at"alltel.net
Subject: removing nests
Dear Bob,
In your post you seem to be writing that removing nest
material has resulted in successful nests in two of three nest
boxes which you disturbed.
Isn't it possible that what actually happened is that the
birds nested in two of the three nest boxes despite your
intervention? And, that the third box was abandoned because of
it?
Gary Springer
Date: Sat, 29 Apr 2000 22:46:21 -0500
From: "R_C Walshaw" walshaw"at"gte.net
Subject: Gary - abandoned nest comments
Gary had questions about my experiences in having fresh
nesting activity after removing nests where there had been no
activity for three weeks or more. As KK suggests, I had put
straw across the entrance and when this had not been disturbed
when I monitored the trail a week later I removed the nests.
In some cases spider webs have been used as indicators. When
the nesting season is fully underway I believe this is the
right course to take
at least in this area.
Bluebird Bob, NE OK.
Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 12:18:13 -0400
From: "daveandgail" daveandgail"at"coslink.net
Subject: abandoned nest
I have had EABL raising young in my various yards for the
last 16 years. This year I had something happen for the first
time. Hoping someone out there can advise. ( I KNOW someone
will ) LOL!
The male bird appeared much earlier this year than ever
before, March 6. Often I don't have them until May. .(Nothern
Michigan).
Female soon followed and by April 7, she was sitting on 4
eggs. Two weeks to the day later, the nest was abandoned and I
have not seen her since, although I do see him several times a
day.
I fear that since it was Very cold during the week she was
laying that the eggs probably froze before she started
incubation. This would afffect their viability (??) and after
two weeks of incubating, she knew they would never hatch and
left.
I left the eggs for 1 more week, then removed them and
checked their contents. Nothing but yolk etc. No sign of
embryo.
Question, Can the mother bird feel the live babies getting
ready to hatch out as a pregnant woman feels the child inside
her? This would account for her leaving before the incubation
time was actually done.
Also since I have not seen her I am HOPING nothing happened
to her. I do have more boxes but have not looked at them since
removing the eggs from the abandoned nest. I didn't want to
spook her off from starting another nest. It has been three
days since I removed the eggs. I will begin checking my boxes
for new activity as soon as the rain (FINALLY!!!) stops.
---Gail Maison
Date: Mon, 01 May 2000 13:17:33 -0400
From: "Vivian M. Pitzrick" vivianmp"at"eznet.net
Subject: Don't give up.
To you who have a neat bluebird nest all built but nothing
happening, don't give up.
On 8 April, Box 24 had a completed bluebird nest in it but
there APPARENTLY wasn't a bluebird anywhere around.
Weekly checks showed no change.
Last Thursday, 27 April, I checked but there was still no
change.
This morning, 1 May, there are three blue Eastern Bluebird
eggs in the nest. I thought I heard a few notes from the
bluebirds but couldn't see them. The eggs are cold indicating
the female may not yet have completed her clutch. Of course, I
checked the box "just in passing" thru the field not lingering
at all as early in the nesting cycle the birds can be easily
deterred from continuing.
So, don't give up....
Vivian Mills Pitzrick 18806
Amity Lake, Belmont, NY 14813, Allegany County
Date: Tue, 16 May 2000 19:11:39 EDT
From: "Charlotte Brown" charlotte_e_brown"at"hotmail.com
Subject: abandoned babies
I don't know if my original message made it to the list but
could you please resend any previous replies. For some reason
I was unsubscribed from the list and my messages were coming
back. I need help with our Eastern Bluebird babies -- they are
about 12 days old and we found the mother dead in the nest.
The father has been feeding them but today my husband found
two dead babies in the bottom of the nest (they may have died
when the mother did). My husband removed the babies but the
father has not returned all day and we need advice as to what
to do with the babies. We have a wildlife refuge that will
raise them but we didn't know if we should wait another day to
see if the father returns. Also, since they are almost ready
to fledge could we give them a mealworm in the meantime? Any
help is appreciated.
Thanks,
Charlotte
Date: Wed, 17 May 2000 00:56:21 -0400
From: "Paul Murray" paul"at"fifthdaycreations.com
To: BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Subject: Article on raising a bird
Below is an article that I came across that deals with
raising a bird.
Paul
--------------------------
WHAT TO DO WITH THAT CHICK YOU FOUND
1- Does the bird have feathers or not? If it does, I would
recommend doing nothing, although you may want to put it up on
a branch if it allows you to. But do not chase it if it is
afraid of you. You might drive him into a more dangerous
situation. Many baby birds go directly to the ground when they
have fledged, and the parents continue to feed them there. If
the bird seems injured, move on to paragraph #7. If the bird
does not have feathers, or has very few, small feathers read
on.
2- Put him back in the nest. Nobody is more capable of
raising the chick than its own mother. It might seem fun, but
it is a lot of work, and too many things can go wrong too
easily. That being said, maybe you would have done this, but
it was not possible for some reason (in my case, we did not
have a ladder that went up high enough to reach the nest).
Read on.
3- Give him no water whatsoever! Even 1 drop may give him
pneumonia, and he will definitely die if this happens. This is
probably the most common killer of orphaned birds. Baby birds
get enough moisture from their food to maintain their water
needs.
4- Keep him warm (around 90 degrees), and no direct heat
from a light bulb. If you must use a light bulb as a heat
source, place a towel between the bird and the light bulb (but
not directly on the bird) to avoid burns or overheating until
you can call a local animal shelter or organization that is
equipped to deal with these birds. Try to be quick about
finding a place, if there is such a place in your community.
If you have difficulty, use this link to help you find a
rehab. center in your area: http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/instruct/devold/twrid/html/contact.htm
If you cannot find an organization immediately, or at all,
read on.
5- So you may have to keep the bird. Now what do you do?
Find a cardboard box with dimensions of about 1' long x 1 1/2'
wide x 1 1/2' high. Place a heating pad on the bottom of the
box, turned onto its lowest setting. On this, place a small
wicker basket or similar, that is high enough to prevent him
crawling over the edge and falling onto the heating pad. The
bird will overheat if this happens. Inside the basket, place a
folded towel, taking care to insure that the complete bottom
of the basket is covered.. The bottom of the basket is too
hard for the little guy, as I found out when I let him sleep
without a towel one night, and in the morning he was miserable
and had a very sore leg, which I'm sure would have gotten
worse if I did not immediately return his blanket. Also, try
to make it that he cannot get under a fold in the towel as it
is quite a bit warmer there. Put a thermometer directly on the
area where he will be living, and check the temperature often.
A good thick glass thermometer from the pet store will do, but
not one of those thin plastic ones that can break too easily.
You want to keep the temperature at about 90 degrees. This
seems to be the temperature that my bird is happiest with,
although it was recommended to me that 85-95 was acceptable. I
tend to disagree. 95 seems to hot for him, and 85 not warm
enough. In any case if your bird is panting, he is too hot.
Lower the temperature gradually until he is comfortable.
Keep a dark towel on top of the box, with just enough of an
opening to let a little bit of air in. 1" or so should do, but
this affects the temperature in the box, so check it and
compensate as necessary. If the temperature goes a little too
high, you can also try putting a folded towel between the
basket and the heating pad. It will take a few hours to make
sure the temperature is stable, so keep checking. Keep their
area dim, especially for cavity nesters.
A contributor suggested the following setup: A closed
carboard box with about five airholes no bigger than a pen's
circumference. The heating pad was kept under the box as
opposed to inside it, and was set to 'medium'. If this setup
successfully keeps a good temperature range, then it would be
the better bet since it would protect the bird from drafts. In
any case, the temperature should be verified often!
6- Now you need to feed him. I have had success using hand
rearing formula for seed eaters that I got at the pet store.
This should also be supplemented with an occasional insect (no
houseflies, cockroaches, spiders, ants, or caterpillars)
Mealworms are acceptable and can be bought at the pet store,
although they have to be chopped into bite size morsels. Do
not give the bird too many though, since the chitin (hard
parts) can be hard to digest. Use mealworms as a supplement.
When using the hand rearing formula, mix it so that you can
see the glisten of water on the paste, but it will still hold
its shape when formed. Using a syringe is really the best way
to go, but when you have filled it, let it sit 15 minutes on
the heating pad to keep it warm and for it to absorb any
excess water in the mix (see below #22) If it is too late to
go to the store, use dry cat/dog food (dog food is better)
that has been soaked completely, but squeeze out the excess
moisture with your fingers as much as you can. Cooked egg yolk
mixed with a little water to form a paste is also good. These
last 2 options are not nutritious enough for constant use, but
will hold him through the night. Any food you offer him should
be warm (not hot!) Feed with a Bic pen cap (use that part that
is supposed to go in your shirt pocket)or buy a syringe at the
pharmacy. Touch his beak a couple of times, which should make
him open his mouth. If he does not open his mouth, he may be
sick or injured, or unused to you. Go to next paragraph. Get
the food well into his mouth, but be gentle. If he is healthy,
he will do most of the work himself. Feed every 15 minutes,
from 6:00 in the morning until about 9:00 or 10:00 at night.
The portions of food should be easy to swallow for him. If you
look on the right side of his neck, you will eventually see a
bulge that will travel from his head to his body. This is the
food being swallowed. (Neat, eh?) I have been told this food
will work equally well for insectivorous species, but if you
prefer to give them a more realistic diet, then by all means
go ahead. But even when feeding insects try to provide a
variety of insects. Likewise for berry eaters.
My contributor, says that he fed the bird every 45-60
minutes at the beginning, with the amount of formula estimated
at 1 cc. By 1.5 weeks, he was feeding about 1.5 cc's every 2
to 3 hours, and after three weeks, he fed the bird 3 cc's
(still every 2-3 hours). He said that the main thing is to
make sure the crop always has food in it. Also, the birds
apparently stop feeding when their crop is full enough, but
that one should watch to make sure they really don't overstuff
themselves anyways. Apparently some birds (ie. swallows) do
not have crops, and others don't have crops when they are
young, so it will be necessary to feed them every 15 minutes
or so.
With any bird, as they grow, slowly increase the amount you
feed them while decreasing the frequency. I would say to make
these changes on a weekly basis, as above. I agree with my
contributor that any changes to the frequency and amount of
feeding should be done gradually, over the course of a few
days if it is a drastic change.
Also, the paste should become thicker. The handrearing
formula usually has the details marked on the instructions.
7- Is your bird injured or sick? If he is sick, there is
probably not much you can do. Call a vet, rehabilitator, or
wait it out otherwise. He may get over it, but most likely
not. If he is injured, is it internal (are there any unusual
black, blue, or unusually red marks, keeping in mind that
these colors might be normal sometimes) or a limb? If it is
internal, do not feed the bird. Try to wait until there are
signs that the injury is subsiding. Again, he will most likely
die if this is the case. If the injury is to a leg or wing, he
will probably survive, but he will be lame. He may never be
able to return outdoors. Will you keep the bird as a pet in
this case, and is it legal where you live? You should find
out. If it is not legal, you could probably do a little more
research for a shelter or organization that can keep the bird.
A sick/injured bird can use a little more heat than normal,
maybe up to 95 degrees or a little more. Check for overheating
(panting).
8- Growth should be noted every day. The best thing to do
is to weigh the bird each day to insure that he is gaining
weight. I had no device for this myself, so I cannot be more
detailed than that. But you should notice things like bigger
feet, eye development, colour changes, feather growth, etc.
Sometimes you will only notice one thing, such as when I
noticed my bird all of a sudden had these huge feet. He looked
otherwise the same to me as the day before. This is apparently
normal. As long as something is growing, the bird is doing
alright.
9- The bird should also have a good energy level, and
should want to eat when you offer him food. If you notice a
drop in these, start paying close attention to him. He may
have simply had a bad night, but more likely he may be getting
sick. If this behaviour lasts more than 2 hours, raise the
temperature to 95 degrees, and call a vet, rehabilitator, or
wait until the situation passes, one way or the other. Try to
observe his surrounding conditions for anything noteworthy,
like drafts, noise, fumes, etc.
10- Let the bird get 8 hours uninterrupted sleep. Remember,
he is a baby after all. Stay out of his room, and keep all the
lights off. However, on the first couple of nights, don't let
this stop you from checking the temperature of his box. Simply
bring a flashlight with you, and avoid shinning it directly in
the box. Take the thermometer out, and read it there, then put
it back.
11- Keep his area clean. I remove his stools whenever I
notice them, and I change his bedding every 2 days since we
got a lot of food all over his little towel.
12- Do not let any other animals near the chick. Even if
the animal is friendly, you do not want your bird getting used
to that animal since when you release him, you will decrease
his chances of survival. Just imagine that your bird has been
playing with a friendly cat, and then when you release him he
goes to the first cat he sees thinking it is a friend. There
goes all your work! I would even go so far as to say that you
should not let the bird see you with your animals.
13- No smoking, or spraying of air fresheners, pesticides,
cleansers etc., in the bird's room. Keep all chemicals and
toxins well away from the bird. It does not take much to make
the bird ill(or dead) with these substances.
14- By the second week, my sparrow only had pin feathers
coming out of his wings and tail, and they were not very long
at all, maybe 1/4", if that. By the third week, he had almost
all his feathers, except at the area on his body below the
wings, a small patch on his belly, and his leg feathers were
only just coming in. On top of that, most of his pin feathers
came off so that his feathers are completely open and useable.
When feathers are growing, you've got to be very careful not
to break them, since the birds can bleed to death. At this
stage, the bird may seem quite uncomfortable with the feathers
coming out, which I suppose is to be expected. If your bird is
tame enough to handle, you might want to pet him in the
direction of the growing feathers. This may help relieve him
somewhat.
15- You will notice that as the bird continues to grow, he
will start becoming more curious about his surroundings. They
will also start to walk, talk, and flex their muscles. They
are usually pretty clumsy at first, but in a few days they
will learn the ropes. Take care that they cannot become
injured with their little explorations, or fall out onto the
heating pad.
16 Within a month (much earlier for some species), the bird
will have fledged, which means not only does it have almost
all its feathers, but it will actually fly, or try to. They
usually fly pretty weakly at first, but within a week, they
should have basically mastered it. I often held my sparrow on
my finger and let my hand down repeatedly to get him to
exercise his wings.
17- I stopped using my heating pad and immediately set up a
cage when my bird had fledged. By this time, the feathers will
protect them from heat loss. I still left a towel over 1/2 the
cage to make it a little less drafty.
18- Also at this time, you might also want to start putting
a bin of seeds in his cage. My bird started taking seeds a few
days after he fledged, although only when I was not looking.
He still prefered the formula and the attention he got with
it. Do not give up the formula entirely. Again, simply extend
the time in between the feedings. Some birds still want their
parents to feed them weeks after they have fledged and learned
about seeds, so depriving them totally is a little heartless.
Nonetheless, be assured that after a week, if you cannot be
there to feed your bird, he will manage for a day. At this
time, also add a water bin. I have not noticed my bird ever
using it, but it should be available just in case.
19- Now onto the great outdoors. This is the most painful
process, but it must be done. Be aware that the following
birds are not protected by the Wildlife Protection Act, and
may be kept as pets if desired: European house Sparrow,
Starling, Pigeons(Rock Doves), European Tree Sparrows, Cattle
Egret, any Parrots or Parakeets, European Goldfinch. In other
words, any introduced or non-native bird is not covered by the
Protection Act. Nonetheless, I recommend that you call your
local authority and have this confirmed, as laws can differ
from state to state or province to province. If you do intend
to keep the bird, do your research on its requirements, diet,
habits, etc.
When your bird has fledged, bring him outside in his cage
every day to the same location so that he becomes adjusted to
the new environment. Remain with him to increase his
confidence. After a few days, open the cage and let him
explore. Some species (ie. finches) will take wing
immediately. Observe them if you can, and call out to them to
give them more reassurance. Watch that nothing obvious is
around that could harm the bird. Also look to see if they
really want to go or if they would like to come back but are
afraid to. Help them if you can. Leave their cage in its usual
location for a few days in case they decide to return.
My sparrow on the other hand took about a week of exploring
outdoors before he got the urge to fly far away. The first few
days he simply hopped on the driveway behind the appartment,
and pecked at the ground alot. By the end of the week, he flew
strait onto the third balcony of the neighboring building.
There was nothing that I could do but watch. I noticed that
the other sparrows were coming to him, and that he was
responding to their presence, although he never followed them.
Luckily (for me), he flew to the top of my building after a
couple of hours, so I went up, called him over, and he came to
me. I have been told by a rehabilitator that the first 2 weeks
of freedom are the hardest as the birds have to learn the
ropes, but after that they will live as any other bird would.
20- If you are wondering how much is instinctive, I have
noticed the following behaviours that were not taught by me;
flying, exploring, pecking at the ground, dusting the
feathers, eating small rocks(grit), hunting flies. Seems to me
that young birds already have alot of skill for survival once
they have fledged.
Now here is the list of mistakes that I have made;
21- When I first received the bird, I had been told to give
the bird moist catfood. This was a mistake since there is far
too much water in it, and this causes diarrhea. By the second
day, the bird stopped eating. I figured he was dying because I
always heard that it was so hard to raise these chicks. I has
stopped feeding him, and after about 5 hours, he was again
ravenous for food. By then I found out about egg yolk and
moistened dry cat/dog food, and that is what I fed him until I
went to the pet store and bought formula. If you have made
this mistake, raise the temperature a little bit, and wait
until the bird feels better. Don't pester him all the time to
see if he is hungry. This is just further stress. Maybe every
2 hours you should gently touch his beak to see if he will
feed again. As always, any sickness, even belly-ache, is
serious.
22- Just 2 days ago an even more serious thing occured. My
bird got chilled. He did not eat in the morning and started
shivering, and he got worse in the following couple of hours.
I gave up hope. You see, the night before, I was feeding him
when the unthinkable happened; a drop of water got in his
mouth. I had just started a new batch of formula, and fed him
once already with it, so I could not believe that there was a
drop of unmixed water in the syringe! So the next morning,
when I saw him getting steadily worse, I figured that was it.
He's got pneumonia! Emotionally I gave up. Lucky for my bird,
my boyfriend did not. At 11:00 I told him what had happened,
and he spent the rest of the day until 6:00 p.m. nursing the
bird for me. To be honest, the bird was already getting better
1/2 hour after my boyfriend started with him. What really had
happened was that, although the thermometer said 92 degrees,
the warm air from the box was coming out and being replaced by
cooler air from the room. We did not have much of an opening
over the box at the time (only an inch along the narrow side
of the box), but it was enough. And the room was being heated
to 20 degrees (Celsius), which apparently was not sufficient.
My boyfriend raised the room temperature to 25 degrees C (
this was in June mind you!), and also raised the temperature
directly around the bird to 100 degrees F by covering the bird
with a small hand towel. The bird was drained by the
experience, but made a good comeback afterwards. By nightfall
we allowed the temperature in the box to remain at about 93
degrees F. Moral of the story, keep the room warm too, or do
whatever you have to to avoid drafts!
23- Be better than me, and don't give up hope too easily.
If not for my boyfriend this last experience would have taken
the bird away. If you have a problem that you can't find a
proper solution for, use your instincts. Patience,
observation, and research are your tools, so use them as best
you can.
24- Here's a small piece of first aid that is valuable to
know. If a bird breaks a nail or a pin feather to the point of
bleeding, you must act fast. The loss of a couple of drops of
blood is sometimes all that is needed to kill the bird. Keep a
stipdic pencil handy(those sticks you get at the pharmacy that
stops bleeding from minor cuts on contact), and use it on the
nail or pin feather as you would use it on yourself. You will
have to hold the bird gently but firmly while doing this, as
it may be painful or unpleasant for him. This can save the
bird's life. As usual, after such an event, he may be weak, so
give extra care as needed. I am unsure to the appropriateness
of using this method for any body cut. There the chemicals
from the pencil may be more easily transfered into the body,
which may harm him.
25- I thought it might be a good idea to list some of the
other things that can go wrong that I have heard from other NG
members. This may help you to prevent them from happening to
you.
1-Cupping a bird with the hands may provide an immediate
source of warmth and shelter for a young bird, but as quickly
as possible you should find an appropriate box or other
shelter for the bird. They can become over-stressed,
over-warmed, or injured by this method. I had one report of a
young chick dying from this method.
2- I received one report from a member of ants having found
their way into a box containing a young chick. It was bitten
to death.
3- Small cuts on a bird should always be treated as serious,
even if there is little loss of blood. Infection can settle in
quickly, and sometimes becomes systemic, which often goes
unnoticed.
4- Parasites can be a health problem. If any are spotted, call
a vet or pet store dealing in birds, to find out the
appropriate measures to take. Please remember that this is a
small, wild bird, so any treatment should be undergone with
the utmost of care. Start with reduced dosages if possible.
5-Diseases and parasites can be transmitted to you and other
pets (especially birds) by a wild bird, and also to the wild
bird by you! Wash hands thouroughly before and after dealing
with the bird, or wear gloves. I myself got a 3 day long
stomach upset due to taking care of my bird, even though I
followed my own advice above. Please be careful in this
respect.
Date: Tue, 16 May 2000 22:41:40 -0700
From: "W.Guglieri" wendyg"at"jps.net
Subject: Re: Article on raising a bird -NOT!
Wendy Guglieri
Rescue, California
To Paul and the Constituency:
I try very hard not to be confrontational when submitting
anything to the List at large, but the article above "What to
do with that chick you found" was so full of misconceptions
and downright misinformation that I wouldn't know where to
start! I'm not sure who wrote the article, but I have spent a
number of years volunteering at a wildlife rehab center, and
helped to raise thousands of nestlings. To anyone who does not
have the luxury of a wildlife rehab center if and when they
encounter an abandoned baby bird - I'd suggest finding the
nearest one and CALLING them!
1. The water issue: True: in nature, nestlings get all the
liquid that they need from the food that the parents provide.
But an abandoned/orphaned/cat-caught nestling is not your
normal scenario. They are usually shocky and in need of
immediate rehydration.
2. Hours between feedings? I think not. Have you ever spent
any time watching the parent birds flying back and forth to
the nest frantically. Baby birds need to be fed every 15 to 20
minutes.
Again, this topic is far too complex and detailed to be
dealt with here. Folks, I'll say it again - if you find a
downed nestling, and cannot return it to the nest, call your
nearest rehab center - call one a hundred miles away if you
must - but use their advice. If you truly don't know what to
do
with the little thing, the best thing that you can do is to
keep it warm until you can talk to someone at a wildlife rehab
center who can give you
advice.
I honestly do not wish to start any type of a confrontation
here. If there is a wildlife rehab expert out there that
DISAGREES with me, I'd like to hear from them.
Wendy Guglieri
Date: Wed, 17 May 2000 17:37:55 EDT
From: "Charlotte Brown" charlotte_e_brown"at"hotmail.com
Subject: abandoned babies
An update on our three babies whose mother we found dead in
the nest and the father stopped feeding: We took them to the
AARK (our local licensed wildlife rehabilitation center) last
night. When we called to check on them today they said they
are eating well but still not definitely out of danger. I do
feel better that they are in experienced hands. We're going to
ask and see if we can be there when they release them (if
everything goes well). Next problem: what to do about the
nestboxes. Last night we were ready to take them down. Today
we're considering trying one more time. We could try the
monofilament line in case it was a house sparrow attack and I
think most people are past putting chemicals on their lawns
for the next few months. Any other thoughts on the subject?
Thanks again for everyones advice and concern. I'll let you
know the babies' outcome.
Charlotte
Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 17:33:03 -0400
From: "Chickie Smith" cas"at"superior.net
Subject: upset (sob,sob)
Hi everyone,
I am really upset!!!! After waiting and waiting for bluebirds
to move in, I was overjoyed when a pair finally did. They
proceeded to lay four little blue eggs. What I'm upset about
is, no one is setting on the eggs. I have not seen a bluebird
over by the box at all and the four eggs are very cold and I
believe abandoned. I am sooooo discouraged. Out of eight nest
boxes, that was the only one with bluebirds in-the others( at
least four) of them had tree swallows. Do you think I could
take the four little blue eggs and sneak them in a tree
swallow's nest? I wonder if the swallow would accept them. If
not, how long should I leave the eggs in the box before I get
rid of them.I think I will take them into a class of special
education students and let them see what they look like, if
you think they are really abandoned
I'm also upset about not seeing any hummingbirds yet this
spring. My feeders are up, but no hummers are around. This is
the first year in about seven, that I have not had
hummingbirds starting in may. I guess this is just not my year
for birding. I miss them and my bluebirds so much.
Does anyone have any advice for me? HELP. Chickie Smith
Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 17:53:06 -0700
From: "Nicholas A. Zbiciak" nzbiciak"at"gfn.org
Subject: RE: upset (sob,sob)
Wait! Don't do anything. How long have they been there?
Mama won't sit on them until she is done laying. See Stokes
Bluebird Book page 76. Please be patient. Mama will incubate
when she's ready.
Nicholas
Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 18:49:14 -0400
From: Bill & Dot Forrester wforres1"at"twcny.rr.com
Subject: Re: upset (sob,sob)
Hi Chickie and all,
You didn't say how long the eggs have been there, so it's
hard to say if they're abandoned or not. It would probably be
wise to wait a little while. Abandoned or not, putting them in
a tree swallow nest would not work. They might possibly hatch,
but babies could never survive on the tiny flying insects
swallows feed to their young. Even if they miraculously did
survive, babies would have no one to teach them how to find
insects at ground level, to say nothing of future problems
finding a mate of the correct species. I am also in upstate NY
in the snowbelt north of Syracuse, and my pair of bluebirds
has been here for over two months and still hasn't begun a
nest, even though they come often to the boxes. There is a
long time left in the nesting season, and about all you can do
is be patient. If this particular nesting of yours has gone
wrong, birds will no doubt try again. I DO understand your
frustration
- all I do is read about everyone else's baby bluebirds,
and am about ready to strangle my first-year female who
refuses to get down to business. The poor male probably thinks
his wings will fall off after more than 2 months of
unsuccessful wing-waving! Female has already driven off 2
pairs of tree swallows and removed moss from one box just as
fast as the chickadees can carry it in. I too may end up with
no birds! At least the nearby trail that I help with has
bluebirds. As for hummingbirds, my first one showed up just
two days ago, at least 2 weeks later than usual. It's really
hard to be patient and not be upset, but there isn't much we
can do about any of this except to wait some more.
Dot
...
Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 21:16:55 -0400
From: "Fawzi P. Emad" femad"at"comcast.net
Subject: Re: upset (sob,sob)
Hi all! Yes, we all need to be patient with our beloved
bluebirds, especially as we get closer to the North Pole!
Also, please don't put the female down, she probably knows the
weather better than our Channel 9 weatherman! She knows the
right time for her, and she will make a nice nest, eggs and
babies... :-)
Fawzi
...
Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 22:39:01 -0400
From: Haleya Priest/Thom Levy hpandtl"at"crocker.com
Subject: chickie/abandoned
Haleya Priest Amherst MA
Chickie, et al - - - careful not to assume the eggs have
been abandoned. I made that assumption with a nest earlier
this year. The eggs weren't cold, they were freezing. Plus the
duct tape I had on the ventilation holes had partially come
off and was flapping in the breeze - which must of frightened
her from the nest - which is why the eggs were freezing cold.
I actually took the nest and eggs out thinking I'd give
someone else a fresh start. Between 1.5-2.5 hours I put it
back in because I couldn't live with my own thoughts, "What if
they come back?". Well, the next morning I checked and sure
enough the eggs were WARM AS TOAST!!!!
However, I was sure I had killed the eggs (It was only 40*
that day). Happy to say those little eggs all hatched. Did I
sure learn a lesson! Check your box to make sure there are no
bumblebees in the nest, or wasps on top of the nest, and
probably nothing is wrong and everything is right! Eggs are
obviously viable for a LONG time. The parents know best. Keep
us posted! :-) H
Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 22:20:08 -0700
From: "dputman" dputman"at"syix.com
Subject: abandoned eggs?
the first question to answer when wondering if a nest is
abandoned is how long since the last egg was laid? You need a
time line to judge the situation. In most cases, the hen
begins incubating when the last egg is laid, but there are
times when a day or two may pass prior to incub. I'd be
surprised if more than two, but I'd give it 5-7 days, just to
be sure. Then, if no incub., just take out the nest. I suspect
that something has happened to one of the pair when eggs are
laid but no incub. I also suspect that sometimes young hens
might lay eggs but don't quite know what to do with them. If
the pair is still alive, they may return to start another
nest; if the male is still around, he may return with a
different hen.
You can't foster bluebirds in a swallow nest because the
two species have very dissimilar feeding behaviors at
fledge--if the swallows would even raise them that far, which
I doubt.
Kevin Putman, Yuba City, CA
Date: Fri, 26 May 2000 05:01:00 -0400
From: t_k_bennett"at"juno.com
Subject: Abandoned Young or Eggs
Abandoned Young or Eggs:
It is sometimes hard to tell if eggs have been abandoned,
and there is not much you can do about it if they are. During
egg laying, which usually takes place over a period of several
days, the female does not stay near the nest during the day,
so the eggs will be cool and unattended.
Once the female begins incubation, she remains fairly
constantly at the box, taking short breaks to get food for
herself. If you monitor while she is on a break from
incubating, the eggs will usually warm to the touch. Even if
they are cool to the touch it does not mean the female has
abandoned them. there are times, particularly in cool weather
when the female may stay off the nest for a while, that the
eggs will cool. If she does not remain off too long, they
still will hatch. In cases like this, the incubation period
may be longer.
Only the female can incubate the eggs. If she dies, the
male cannot take over, so the eggs will die. However, once the
young have hatched, if one parent dies the other is perfectly
capable of raising the young alone. The young can only be
considered abandoned if both parents are known to have died or
abandoned the nest.
The only sure way to know that young are abandoned is to
watch the nest at least 4 hrs. to make sure that the parents
have not visited it. Abandoned young will be weak and maybe
cold, but they can survive about 24 hrs. without food.
If you are sure they have been abandoned, call the local or
national bluebird society, the Audubon Society, or a bird
rehabilitation center. You cannot raise the young birds
yourself; it is against the law. They can be raised legally
only by someone who is licensed with a special permit from the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or the Canadian counterpart.
If you have to care for young bluebirds in an emergency
situation while you are getting them to a licensed
rehabilitator, here are some tips.
First of all, keep them warm. Warm then in your hands or by
putting them nest to your body until you get them home; then
keep in warm place in a small box with a nest made out of soft
tissues. They should be fed every 20 minutes, dawn to dusk.
They can be fed meal worms, ( available in pet stores)
earthworms pcs, canned dog food, canned puppy food, small pcs.
of ground beef, or scrambled egg or hard-boiled egg yolk.
Offer food on blunt tweezers, giving small young tiny bits of
food and more developed young larger pcs. Do not try to
force-feed young when they are cold; warm them up first.
From: The BlueBird Book By: Donald and Liilian Stokes
Kathy Bennett
Durhamville, ( Central ) N.Y.
Date: Fri, 26 May 2000 07:10:55 EDT
From: Punkatunka"at"aol.com
Subject: Thank you regarding empty nest!
Thank you to all who responded to my empty nest entry. I am
not totally convinced that the babies did fledge. The nest was
still in a nice bowl shape and was not flattened and there was
not a lot of fecal material but then again there never was. I
don't know if that is the case because the parents would take
it out of the box.
Anyways, I AM new to this but have been trying for several
years to get bluebirds in. There is such competion here for
nesting sites that I was not wanting to monitor the house much
more then I did because it sure seemed that when I went out to
check my houses that other birds seemed to flock from one nest
box area to the next.
Lastly, I do love the bluebirds tremendously and have done
everthing that I have been capable to do for them. I do have a
very busy life and am not able to sit and watch or dedicate my
entire day to monitoring. The dilema is this, do I just remove
all nest boxes and stop trying or continue and hope I am
successful?
Thanks again, Molly
Date: Fri, 26 May 2000 07:16:24 -0500
From: "Keith & Sandy Kridler" kridler"at"1starnet.com
Subject: Earthworms/cowbirds/missing young
Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas
I second Dean's warning about feeding earth worms! They are
a desperation food and last choice for bluebirds. They contain
too much water and do create digestive problems for baby
bluebirds. Also canned dog food must be fresh and not allowed
to go through warm-cold cycles as it may develop bacteria that
will lead to botulism killing the young birds. They will die
of symptoms called "limber neck".
Cowbirds: I have never seen a bluebird abandon a nest that
contained a cowbird egg or ever seen them push it to the side.
They accept it as one of their own.
Missing young:Molly you are doing a GREAT job! Just because
you do not watch the birds ALL day long does not mean you are
not helping! On average I spend less than 2 minutes observing
a typical bluebird nest on my trail from nestbuilding to
fledging! The birds are lucky to even see me come by! I
normally open a box only 3-4 times while they complete a
nesting cycle! If you only have 1-2 young in a box they
normally do not flatten the whole nest as they are not
fighting for food and trampling each other. They also will
often fledge a day or two sooner as they can get more food. By
tearing apart the nest after the young "disappear" you should
find white chips that look very much like (really bad) human
dandruff as this is the feather sheaths that protect the pin
feathers as they mature. These white tubes break down into
small chips as the feathers develop and work their way to the
bottom of the nest. Often a nest that had five babies fledge
will only have 1 or 2 bird dropping left in it. I have seen
some nests with only a couple of birds fledge that were
perfectly clean as the adults removed even the last fecal
sack.
People who watch the birds ALL day long and feed mealworms
to the birds do it for THEIR enjoyment. Placing a nestbox with
the best predator guards and using minimal monitoring is for
the cavity nesters enjoyment. All of you out there with a
nestbox or two are doing a TREMENDOUSLY important part in
conserving our native cavity nesters! If these birds are going
to prosper it will not be because of a few huge nestbox trails
in a small area but scattered boxes over a huge area! Anyway
here's "Three Cheers" for all our nestbox owners no matter the
number they own! KK
Date: Fri, 26 May 2000 09:29:53 -0400
From: "Wilkinson, Denise" Denise.Wilkinson"at"UCAR.com
Subject: Not looking good...
Dear Friends,
I don't think things are looking good for my first pair of
bluebirds. The last time I saw the female was the 14th. The
male continues to check the nest and to enter on occasion. I
have 5 eggs. I am beginning to think that this nest should be
removed and I should attach the box to a pole as has been
recommended by the group. Keep in mind that I just started
documenting the nest on May 14. These eggs had been laid I
believe the beginning of the month.
And I still do not know what kind of bird has nested in the
spider plant. I am not home very much so it has been difficult
to monitor. However, the spider plant is looking great!
Thank you for your help and wisdom.
Denise Wilkinson
Cadiz Kentucky by Land Between the Lakes
P.S. I think the neighbor has gotten rid of the cat.
However the raccoons are still around and the trap that I
received from animal control doesn't work. So they are
bringing me out another one.
Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 14:38:26 -0400
From: Don Cragin dcragin"at"pivot.net
Subject: Eastern Bluebirds seem to have abandoned nesting site
How come the Eastern Bluebirds at my place have somewhat
"abandoned" their nest? They finished it, and when I looked in
today, there was nothing but a dead leaf at the bottom. It
appears that either the bird(s) threw out the nest, or
otherwise The Bluebirds are spending more considerable time
away from the nesting site, just coming to perch on the
telephone wire above the box a few times daily. Could they
have a nest somewhere else and just decided to make a "false"
nest here?
I haven't bothered the nesting site, checking the box 3
times a week. Now when I check, I find a disappointment. There
are no harmful insects, and the cat is outta' here, but what
is happening?
I have been "Bluebirding" for almost 3 years now, and I've
never experienced something quite like this. But then again,
there's a first for eveything...
Thanks for any helpful information or input,
Derek Cragin
Limington, ME
dcragin"at"pivot.net
Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 11:52:59 -0700 (PDT)
From: Koby Prater koby_2004"at"yahoo.com
Subject: Re: Eastern Bluebirds seem to have abandoned nesting
site
Derek,
How long has the nest been completed? Most of the time the
parents wait a week or two before the first egg shows up. I
hope this helps you. If you have any further questions, you
can contact me privately.
...
=====
Koby Prater
Seneca, MO (two hours from Tulsa, OK(Up Interstate 44)
Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 23:13:47 -0400
From: "Katherine S. Wolfthal" kate"at"nirvana.ziplink.net
Subject: Good news and bad news (or maybe not...)
The good news is that the second batch of titmice began to
hatch today, in the same box as before. I saw more parental
activity around the box than usual, so went up to check. Sure
enough, there were two hatchlings and four eggs. This is a day
early according to my calculations, but I also suspect she may
have begun incubating before the last egg was laid. I will
refrain from checking again for a few days and let the rest of
them hatch without interference.
On the negative side (although I know some of you would
consider it good news), I am beginning to wonder if the house
wren in the bluebird box in
the middle of my lawn has abandoned her seven eggs. I have
seen nobody around that nest for several days (although I
myself have been very busy
and not had much time to look), although I have heard house
wrens calling, and yesterday was the earliest possible
hatching date. When I looked, there were the eggs, but no
hatchlings and no parents in sight. Same story today. So I
marked two of the eggs with a black marker, to see if they get
turned or moved.
How many days should I wait before I can assume the eggs
are abandoned? I realize that I might have come along when the
mother just happened to
be absent, and the late hatching may be due to the cold
weather we have been having (not today: it was 90 and more of
the same predicted for tomorrow). But why would a bird abandon
seven eggs? I know she was incubating them a week ago.
On the other hand, HOWR #2, in the hanging ex-'dee box,
seems to have resumed nest-building after several days'
hiatus. Today I saw what looked like a pair, and one of them
was bringing non-twiggy looking stuff to the nest. The nest
itself seems to have made progress.
I wonder... could the lady from Driveway North have
abandoned her mate and progeny and gone off with the
raggle-taggle gypsy from Driveway
South? Does this ever happen among birds, and house wrens in
particular? I know I'm weaving a romantic fantasy... but I'll
be interested to see if we have *any wee wrenlets here this
year.
--
Katherine
Weston, MA
-------------
kate"at"nirvana.ziplink.net
Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 23:12:51 -0500
From: "R_C Walshaw" walshaw"at"gte.net
To: "Bluebird Listserve" BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Subject: Sandy/Barbara - very young chick deaths
Re: young chick deaths - I lost a family like this last
week only a few days after hatching. No unusually hot weather
- they were all just dead in the nest. It happens on my line
about once a year and all I can ever figure out about it is
that something happened to the parents, or at least the female
if it has happened early in the year when there is still some
cold weather. Bluebird Bob.
Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 21:04:40
-0700 (PDT)
From: Koby Prater
To:
BLUEBIRD-L"at"CORNELL.EDU
Subject: Abandonment, and a question.
Hello all,
Checked a box on my trail today. Last Saturday (6/17) there
were 5 cold eggs, and no sign of adults anywhere. The first
egg was laid on June 3. I was
out of town June 10, so didn't check it. Last Saturday I
decided to leave them alone for another week. Today when I
checked the box, there was a paper wasp nest attached to the
side wall, not the side that opens. I knocked it off, soaped
the inside roof and side walls, and removed the nest along
with the five eggs. I was wondering if it would be worth a try
putting an egg in some of my other boxes because the next
brood is the 3rd brood, and most nests will have only 4 eggs.
So could I put one egg in five nests, and mark that egg, and
see if it will hatch? The only thing I was worried about was
causing these five nests to be abandoned. Or will the parents
be glad to have an extra egg. I think this will work if I put
the egg in before the mother begins incubating. Any answers,
comments, or suggestions are appreciated. These replys should
be private, so it won't crowd the list.
Koby Prater
Seneca, MO
=====
Koby Prater
Seneca, MO (two hours from Tulsa, OK(Up Interstate 44)
koby_2004"at"yahoo.com
Reference Guide- http://www.crosswinds.net/~bluebirdguide/
Best of Bluebird-L- http://members.aol.com/bestofbbl/bblindx.htm
Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2000 09:16:44 -0700
From: "Mike & Kelley Coppens" coppens"at"qtm.net
To: BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Subject: birds abandoned box
Kelley from Bridgman, Michigan here!
Around the middle of May a pair of bluebirds found one of
our boxes and started nesting immediately. I noticed that the
female started sitting about a week later. My husband and I
checked the box and found 5 beautiful blue eggs and were very
excited. We checked the box each week, but after 3 weeks
noticed the eggs were still as they appeared the first week.
The female continued to sit and the male continued to feed her
and "run" off anything that got close to his territory. On
June 28 the pair finally abandoned the box. They would fly
around and settle on the box and act disturbed that there was
something in it. After the female had not been around for 2
days, I cleaned out the box. Why did the eggs not hatch? Is it
possible that they were a young pair, perhaps didn't know how
to "sit" the eggs, were the eggs not fertilized? We have great
conditions for the birds. My hubby built boxes according to
internet instructions and did not paint the inside. Outside of
box is stained light tan to keep weather away. Our yard opens
into an open field/old grape arbor. Did we do something
wrong?? Can anyone give us insight?
Thanks!!!
Date: Sat, 8 Jul 2000 10:26:33 -0400
From: "Lynn & Pat Brye"
To:
Subject: HELP
I have four babybluebirds that the parents have left.......trhey
are very hungry and I don't know what to do......they are
about 12 days old. Please help me
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 10:52:35 -0700
From: "W.Guglieri"
To:
Subject: What to do with orphaned/injured birds...
Greetings all:
Recently, Pat wrote in with the subject "help" regarding
orphaned Bluebirds that she wasn't sure what to do with. I've
been in contact with her, and
luckily she found a local wildlife rehabber who took the
birds, and who feels that they have a good chance at survival.
Since the beginning of the nesting season, we have had several
similar emergencies posted to the List. I'd like to suggest
that NOW is the time to find your local wildlife rehab center.
Trying to find someone when you actually NEED them can be an
exercise in futility and frustration. What if they are closed
to the public on the weekends or evenings? What if they do not
answer their telephone, but instead rely on phone messages?
This is frequently the case. And what if you had to keep the
birds for several hours or overnight until you could get them
to the rehab center? Would you know what to do with them
during that most critical of time periods?
Our local center is listed in the yellow pages under the
heading "Animal Control and Support Centers". If you aren't so
lucky, try calling your local Fish and Game Department. THEY
have to take their animals somewhere. You might also try the
local animal control shelter, or even your local vet.
I'd suggest, also, that you call them, find our how to contact
them in an off-hours emergency, if possible. If you are forced
into keeping the birds for a short period of time, ask them
what they'd suggest as far as what to do with them: How to
house them, what and how often to feed them, etc. Also, have
on hand everything you need, at least the basics. In my rural
area, where every single window of my house reflects the oaks
that surround us, I have need of a "first-aid station" at
least weekly just to take care of the birds that run into the
windows, and are lucky enough not to have broken their necks
in the process. Trying to run around finding a heating pad,
box with vent holes, and the proper food at the last moment is
frustrating, to say the least, especially if you have a box
full of weak and/or injured nestlings.
Although not difficult to do, raising orphaned songbirds can
be a challenge. Baby birds must be fed every 15-20 minutes
from morning to night, and there are MANY other
considerations. It is not something to be attempted by someone
who has not had the proper training. Hopefully, the situation
will not arise, but being prepared for it is a necessity.
Wendy Guglieri
Rescue, California
-in the Sierra Nevada foothills 40 mi. east of Sacramento-
wendyg"at"jps.net
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2000 07:15:47 EDT
From: Phl806"at"cs.com
To: wendyg"at"jps.net, BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Subject: Re: What to do with orphaned/injured birds...
...
I may sound like a broken record here, but I can't stress
enough the fact that everyone should read/reread Lawrence
Zeleny's book. It once was the 'bible' of bluebirding, but
many now think it obsolete. Too bad. He includes a chapter on
raising baby bluebirds in his home. I do not recommend it, as
it is not only illegal, but certainly not for all of us to do.
It takes much work. I was put in this situation one time
several years ago and all I can say is thanks, Lawrence!
Phil Berry
NW Florida
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2000 08:29:22 -0400
From: "Elizabeth Nichols"
To:
Subject: What to do with orphaned/injured birds
Betty Nichols, Middletown, MD
Hello All:
Recent postings have been submitted re: dealing w/emergencies
involving orphaned/injured birds. Both wendy"at"jps.net and
Phl806"at"cs.com present valuable info. especially for those
who do trouble-shooting and responding to desperate phone
calls.
Several yrs. ago Lawrence Zeleny's book was our only guide &
it remains a great source of data. I have experienced
hand-raising an orphaned Bluebird (see Sialia Spring '94 The
Summer of the Bluebird). Since then, I have worked closely
with my local rehabber and have the pleasure of releasing
rehabilitated Eastern Bluebirds for her at an ideal location.
Here is the interesting part: In comparison, the
professionally rehabbed bird upon release immediately flies
off (age about 34 days) without a backward glance or a
fare-thee-well or even a thank you! The hand raised Bluebird
at the same age remains bonded to the human hand and is
reluctant to function independently.
"Fostering" same age nestlings into a functional nest that can
sustain additional care by both parents is the ideal immediate
solution; however, it is imperative that anyone dealing with
emergencies establish themselves w/a professional
rehabilitator BEFORE their aid is needed.
The length of this report is regretted but I feel this needs
to be said.
Betty Nichols
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2000 12:33:26 EDT
From: Phl806"at"cs.com
To: birdlady"at"netstorm.net, BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Subject: Re: What to do with orphaned/injured birds
...
I wholeheartedly agree. I was caught in the situation
whereby feeding the babies immediately was imperative. Once I
forced their beaks open and got
them alert enough to feed on their own, there was no turning
back. I stayed homebound until they fledged. One, a male,
still comes to me when I whistle, my famous bluebird imitation
that I used when I fed him as a "nestling." He has grown into
a responsible adult, but the going was slow. After releasing
them (two) they came "home" at night for three nights in a
row. I don't know aboput bird #2, but the one male is still
alive and well (5 years now). What an experience.
Phil Berry
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2000 22:23:45 -0700
From: Linda Violett lviolett"at"earthlink.net
To: BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Subject: Rehab Classes
Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif.
In So. Calif., Fish & Game heads up the rehab
classes/licensing and I've asked if I can take classes. Nope.
I've been told that they will not give classes to someone
unless they are willing to take in ALL birds. When I explained
I'm trying to better care for my 40-box bluebird trail in
emergencies, they said it's not worth their time.
The rehabber in our Orange County area is very busy and I'm
hesitant to take any bluebirds to her. Last year I took a
goldfinch nestling to her after tree pruners cut the nest.
Later, another was found on the ground and I took that to her
as well. Left my name and telephone with her.
Since I was not invited into her home either time, I could
not view her rehab setup for cleanliness, etc. But I took the
opportunity to ask about licensing and rehabbing. She said she
spends thousands of dollars each year doing it, etc.
She asked me not to call about the goldfinches anytime soon
because she was in the middle of the busy season. She'd give
me a call later. So I waited for word on the goldfinches but
none came. After the busy nesting season I called for results.
She was on vacation per the answering machine. Later I called
again and left a message . . . no response.
I wouldn't feel comfortable taking any bluebirds to the
local rehabber so if there is a way to get rehab
classes/licensing, without taking in ALL birds and spending
"thousands of dollars per year", please let me know how to go
about it.
Lynn & Pat Brye wrote:
These are the four bluebird babies that were abondoned
last
Saturday.......remember my plea for HELP?I am now looking
into taking
coarses to become a license Rehabber in my area.Thank you all
that
sent e-mails.Pat :)
Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2000 07:58:55 -0400
From: "Fawzi P. Emad" femad"at"comcast.net
To: "bluebird-l" BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Subject: Re: Rehab Classes
Hi Linda and all. By contrast, here is what I wrote Pat
about our "Second Chance" place, just two miles down the road
from where I live:
----cut----
What a nice story Pat! Here near where I live there is a place
called "Second Chance". They take in ANY hurt wild animal.
Once I saw a female House Finch nearly blind. I just walked to
her and was able to catch her with my hand. I took her to
Second Chance, and they wiped her eyes with a saline solution.
She was able to see at once. They told me she will be released
in three weeks after taking an antibiotic in her water! I
could visit her
any time, as they called her "my bird". You'll be doing
similar work... how nice!
----cut----
Fawzi from MD
...
Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2000 10:46:13 -0400
From: "wings" laurasia1"at"mindspring.com
To: "bluebird" BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Subject: Rehab classes
Dear Linda,
Read your message about Calif. Fish and Game. I'm from
Calif. and a licensed master falconer and when I asked Fish
and Game for a permit, they wanted to know what kind of birds.
Seems they have rehabers for song birds, raptors, etc. They
also told me 'no'. No reason and when I asked why, I got all
sorts of excuses from, 'we don't want falconers rehabbing' to,
'if you rescue the little haouse sparrows etc. then you're
taking away some other animals dinner'. I also asked if I
could have some sort of permit for taking in birds and hold
them untill I could get them to a rehabber. I managed a pet
shop and people always brought me birds. The allmighty Dept.
of Fish and Game said 'You better not!. Yet I ran into
licensed rehabbers that shouldn't have had a pet bird let
alone a rehab license. So I did my thing anyway. I figured
what they didn't know wouldn't hurt me and I got quite a few
birds returned to the out of doors. I wouldn't tell anyone to
do anything illegal but, as far as I'm concerned, CA Fish and
Game doesn't have a clue!!
Wings
Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2000 09:34:39 -0700
From: Peggi Rodgers prodgers"at"axiosdata.com
To: "'laurasia1"at"mindspring.com'"
laurasia1"at"mindspring.com,
"bluebird"at""
BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Subject: RE: Rehab classes
Hi all,
I have an answer to the Fish & Game issue Wings mentioned
below. I hold an Oregon state and a Federal permit to rehab.
Unfortunately, the permitting rules in California are
different so when I moved here I was no longer allowed to
rehab under my own permit. Needless to say I was really upset
and have tried numerous times to change their minds.
Apparently Fish & Game feels that they can monitor
activities better by allowing regional permits. I guess in
some areas there are some individuals but that's unusual. For
instance in our area (Monterey) the permit is issued to the
SPCA Wildlife Center. In the next county (Santa Cruz) it's
also issued to an entity. It seems to depend what region in
California you're located. I know in Southern California there
are people who hold their own permits.
Peggi
-----Original Message-----
From: wings [mailto:laurasia1"at"mindspring.com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 12, 2000 7:46 AM
To: bluebird
Subject: Rehab classes
Dear Linda,
Read your message about Calif. Fish and Game. I'm from
Calif. and a licensed master falconer and when I asked Fish
and Game for a permit, they wanted to know what kind of birds.
Seems they have rehabers for song birds, raptors, etc. They
also told me 'no'. No reason and when I asked why, I got all
sorts of excuses from, 'we don't want falconers rehabbing' to,
'if you rescue the little haouse sparrows etc. then you're
taking away some other animals dinner'. I also asked if I
could have some sort of permit for taking in birds and hold
them untill I could get them to a rehabber. I managed a pet
shop and people always brought me birds. The allmighty Dept.
of Fish and Game said 'You better not!. Yet I ran into
licensed rehabbers that shouldn't have had a pet bird let
alone a rehab license. So I did my thing anyway. I figured
what they didn't know wouldn't hurt me and I got quite a few
birds returned to the out of doors. I wouldn't tell anyone to
do anything illegal but, as far as I'm concerned, CA Fish and
Game doesn't have a clue!!
Wings
Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2000 09:53:57 -0700
From: Peggi Rodgers prodgers"at"axiosdata.com
To: "'lviolett"at"earthlink.net'" lviolett"at"earthlink.net,
BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Subject: RE: Rehab Classes - long but hopefully informative
Hi Linda,
What your local rehabber said was true, you do spend alot
of money rehabbing. Most rehabbers are volunteers so even if
you hold a license, you still foot the bill for food, supplies
(including medical supplies), caging, etc. It's very costly
and VERY time consuming.
What she was referring to was "baby season". To give you an
example, I took in 60 ducklings (my specialty is waterfowl)
over the course of about 8 weeks time. My total for the 3
month baby season was 80 ducklings. This didn't include the 13
quail, 1 turkey, 2 bobwhite, 1 grebe and three cages full of
rehabbed passerines that I "hacked out" or readied for
release. This was a pretty easy year. Typically, the shelters
will have hundreds of birds come through each summer.
However, I always let the people know who brought the
animals to me what the outcome was. I would often ask them
along on the release. It only takes a few minutes and I think
it's only fair to the kind people who rescue the animals in
the first place. Her behavior toward you, in my opinion, was
totally inappropriate.
The reason the Fish & Game Dept has to restrict the license
to people who take all birds has to do with the permit itself.
The permits are issued to cover all birds and/or all mammals
(except marine which require an additional permit), and/or all
reptiles, you get the idea. It's separated into categories.
For instance, my permit allows me to handle/hold all birds
except raptors and all mammals except marine mammals. I didn't
choose to
take the state test for raptors and reptiles as I don't intend
to work with them. But you must have general knowledge of
these categories as well.
I wouldn't worry about the state of her facility (in this
case her home) because Fish & Game can visit at any moment,
without warning to inspect a
facility. In order to get a federal permit (you can't work
with any migratory specie without one) you must provide
incredible amounts of information about your facility, have
letters of reference, etc. I've only seen one person who had a
really bad facility in the 8 years I've been rehabbing and
Fish & Game shut her down and removed her license.
What you can do is take the classes, be willing to accept
all comers, but specialize in bluebirds. You may have to take
a few Starlings or robins in
the interim, but you will eventually wind up only working with
the bluebirds. I don't believe they'll issue you a permit
unless you're willing/interested in rehabbing, though.
To anyone who's interested, there are three organizations
on the web where you can get information. http://www.iwrc-online.org
is the primary agency.
They are the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council.
The second is http://www.nwra.org that's the National Wildlife
Rehabilitators Assoc. and
the third is for the state of California (I'm the webmaster on
this one) www.ccwr.org, the California Council for Wildlife
Rehabilitators.
Hope this helps a bit.
Peggi
Date: Sat, 22 Jul 2000 20:29:43
-0400
From: t_k_bennett"at"juno.com
To: loonlark"at"egroups.com, BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Subject: Abandoned Young or Eggs
Abandoned Young or Eggs:
It is sometimes hard to tell if eggs have been abandoned, and
there is not much you can do about it if they are. During egg
laying, which usually takes place over a period of several
days, the female does not stay near the nest during the day,
so the eggs will be cool and unattended.
Once the female begins incubation, she remains fairly
constantly at the box, taking short breaks to get food for
herself. If you monitor while she is on a break from
incubating, the eggs will usually warm to the touch. Even if
they are cool to the touch it does not mean the female has
abandoned them. there are times, particularly in cool weather
when the female may stay off the nest for a while, that the
eggs will cool. If she does not remain off too long, they
still will hatch. In cases like this, the incubation period
may be longer.
Only the female can incubate the eggs. If she dies, the male
cannot take over, so the eggs will die. However, once the
young have hatched, if one parent dies the other is perfectly
capable of raising the young alone. The young can only be
considered abandoned if both parents are known to have died or
abandoned the nest.
The only sure way to know that young are abandoned is to watch
the nest at least 4 hrs. to make sure that the parents have
not visited it. Abandoned young will be weak and maybe cold,
but they can survive about 24 hrs. without food.
If you are sure they have been abandoned, call the local or
national bluebird society, the Audubon Society, or a bird
rehabilitation center. You cannot raise
the young birds yourself; it is against the law. They can be
raised legally only by someone who is licensed with a special
permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or the
Canadian counterpart.
If you have to care for young bluebirds in an emergency
situation while you are getting them to a licensed
rehabilitator, here are some tips.
First of all, keep them warm. Warm then in your hands or by
putting them nest to your body until you get them home; then
keep in warm place in a small box with a nest made out of soft
tissues. They should be fed every 20 minutes, dawn to dusk.
They can be fed meal worms, ( available in pet stores)
earthworms pcs, canned dog food, canned puppy food, small pcs.
of ground beef, or scrambled egg or hard-boiled egg yolk.
Offer food on blunt tweezers, giving small young tiny bits of
food and more developed young larger pcs. Do not try to
force-feed young when they are cold; warm them up first.
From: The BlueBird Book By: Donald and Liilian Stokes
Kathy Bennett
Durhamville, ( Central ) N.Y.
Date: Sun, 23 Jul 2000 19:05:20 EDT
From: CHR9"at"aol.com
To: Bluebird-L"at"cornell.edu
Subject: Abandoned eggs
I have two boxes where the
female has abandoned eggs and stopped laying after only two
eggs were laid. In one case I had to work at the box about
twenty minutes to replace the post which was too short (I
suspected a cat had jumped to the box and caught the female
(lots of fine blue feathers at the base of the post). A second
female had started late, on July 18, in that box but abandoned
2 eggs after I had changed the post. In the other case I had
picked the female out of the nest when she stayed there upon
openeing the box. I released her from my hand. Would that
cause her to quit laying? Is there any evidence to show that
females abandon eggs simply because it is late in the season?
Charlie in southeast PA
Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 06:12:14 -0500
From: "Keith & Sandy Kridler" kridler"at"1starnet.com
To: "BLUEBIRD-L" BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Subject: Re: need help quick
Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas thunder and lightning
last night but no rain.
Anytime you suspect a nest of baby birds has been abandoned
in one of your boxes wedge a piece of grass stem in the
entrance hole so that the next trip an adult makes they will
knock it out and you know that they have been there if you
cannot watch non-stop. Remember that baby birds can go all
night without food without "starving" to death. Especially in
high heat or during cold spells it is harder for adults to
find insects which are hiding from the heat or not moving due
to cold. In these instances the young birds "act" like they
are starving when they are really in no danger. I remember
Shawn would have "starved to death" waiting for a bottle of
milk to get warm if we had not had a microwave.....
This is why I like to check on yard boxes everyday up until
they fledge. You actually can find some who are starving and
as Don is doing now, a quick walk by and peek in the entrance
hole during the day will not cause them to prematurely fledge.
I would not reach into a box and try to touch the young after
about day 14.
Harry Krueger carried a few pine needle straws in his shirt
pocket and placed a broken off piece in an entrance hole every
time he checked a box that contained eggs. The next trip to
the box (he checked his boxes every day) he would know if a
bird had entered the nest without feeling the eggs. He could
tell right away if the female had disappeared and not have to
wait weeks sometimes for the eggs to hatch or before he
realized he had a problem. KK
Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2000 08:59:29 -0700
From: "Nicholas A. Zbiciak" nzbiciak"at"gfn.org
To: "'blueburd"at"srnet.com'" blueburd"at"srnet.com,
"BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu" BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Subject: RE: "What? ALL my pretty chickens...?- Shakespeare
Bruce:
I am surprised that the Blues were raising young this late
in the season. Could it be possible that the parents realized
it's September and abandoned the nest?
Nicholas
--------------------------------------------------
To: the Constituency:
I'll rephrase my 9/2 post in question form: "Why did four
very small Bluebird chicks (5 day-old, maybe) simply die in
the nest, with no nest disturbance, no injuries, no signs of
predation, nothing that would suggest why they died?" What
causes of death come most readily to your minds? Remember
that I'm in NH, - not exactly in the nation's Heat Belt, - not
far from Dartmouth, a famous north-country SKI-school, and
site of the renowned Cold Climates Lab.
Bruce Burdett, NH Bluebird Conspiracy, Sunapee NH
blueburd"at"srnet.com
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