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Injured/Orphaned,and Wildlife Rehabbers (Part 1)Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2000 23:33:57 EDT Phil and "the list," Trust me Phil....you do NOT want to try and raise these birds yourself! Not only would it require round-the-clock care, if they even hatched, but their ultimate chance of becoming wild birds after imprinting on humans is doubtful. In most states, mere possession of the nestlings would be illegal unless you are a licensed rehabber. The best chance these eggs have is to be relocated into existing nests, preferably nests where incubation has not yet started or is just starting. Contact your local bluebird recovery group, and they can help you out...time is critical, espcially since you have started warming the eggs. Dee Warenycia (warbler5"at"aol.com) Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 11:21:38 -0600 Haleya Priest Amherst MA Thanks for the prayers. Ok, here is the scoop. Have talked to two rehabbers now and this will be good info for everyone out there: If the wing is up rather than hanging down, that is better. Up means it is hurting and just like we would do if our shoulder hurt, or arm, we'd pull it up towards our ear to protect it. Could be broken, but broken is REALLY noticeable if it is hanging down. Sometimes once they relax, the wing will go down, so you can't always tell one way or the other if it is up - but generally up is better. He is stretching his wings and trying to fly. This is good, that he is USING his bad wing. Some birds when they are injured won't even use their wing. They said if the bird can get up 6ft or so off the ground, they have a much better chance of making it so a cat doesn't get it.......... so, even if I released him now, he MIGHT make it. The rehabber I am going to work with (local) said I MUST find out about how it was injured. She got a call from the woman who found it and the woman said her cat got it. The woman NEVER told me this. (rrrggggg) But, the reason my rehabber wants to know is that if the cat got it, then she wants to treat it with very low doses of antibiotic because she said the birds metabolisms are so fast, they get sick easily, get well faster, etc., but that infection can set in real fast. I am not sure if I agree with this, but since she is my rehabber I have to follow her ways, I suppose. Anyway, we are going out of town this weekend, and they are happy to bring the bird back to the location of where it was caught to release it. This is certainly an example of having rehabbers available - so you know how to reach them in case of an emergency. Because I couldn't reach this one right away, I hooked up with a referral in Worcester, which is about 1.5hrs from here - but HEY, now I have TWO rehabbers and I am very happy about that. PS. Now it makes sense why this woman who found the bird mentioned cats a couple times during my pick-up. She said could I move the box farther out (the box is a LONG way from her house). I told her that you can't just move a box a little bit, that birds have BIG territories. Anyway, I am upset about this - and will have to see about some educating and while this woman was very concerned, I DO hope she feels guilty, because she should. Advice: What do you think about this anitbiotic thing? And, this may be a nester with 3 babies that just fledged. The anitbiotic will take a few days, other wise he might be released sooner. Do you think it is better to skip the anitbiotic and risk his life (or not) so he can go help feed the new fledglings, or she'll do fine feeding them. It is 11:00am EST and I am going to leave with Mr Blue at about 12:00 - 1:00 EST. Any suggestions, advice would be helpful. I do know this woman has an excellent references.
Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 11:38:15 -0400 (EDT) Haleya: I say YES to the antibiotics. Cat's claws and mucous are carriers of huge amounts of bacterial and other harmful matter. Also, I would remove the boxes from this area if removing the cat(s) is not an option. Nicholas p.s. Until and unless a cat is licensed and regulated, a cat in the wild IS a wild animal and should be treated as such. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The rehabber I am going to work with (local) said I MUST find out about how it was injured. She got a call from the woman who found it and the woman said her cat got it. The woman NEVER told me this. (rrrggggg) But, the reason my rehabber wants to know is that if the cat got it, then she wants to treat it with very low doses of antibiotic because she said the birds metabolisms are so fast, they get sick easily, get well faster, etc., but that infection can set in real fast. I am not sure if I agree with this, but since she is my rehabber I have to follow her ways, I suppose. Anyway, we are going out of town this weekend, and they are happy to bring the bird back to the location of where it was caught to release it. This is certainly an example of having rehabbers available - so you know how to reach them in case of an emergency. Because I couldn't reach this one right away, I hooked up with a referral in Worcester, which is about 1.5hrs from here - but HEY, now I have TWO rehabbers and I am very happy about that. PS. Now it makes sense why this woman who found the bird mentioned cats a couple times during my pick-up. She said could I move the box farther out (the box is a LONG way from her house). I told her that you can't just move a box a little bit, that birds have BIG territories. Anyway, I am upset about this - and will have to see about some educating and while this woman was very concerned, I DO hope she feels guilty, because she should. Advice: What do you think about this anitbiotic thing? And, this may be a nester with 3 babies that just fledged. The anitbiotic will take a few days, other wise he might be released sooner. Do you think it is better to skip the anitbiotic and risk his life (or not) so he can go help feed the new fledglings, or she'll do fine feeding them. It is 11:00am EST and I am going to leave with Mr Blue at about 12:00 - 1:00 EST. Any suggestions, advice would be helpful. I do know this woman has an excellent references.
Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 12:00:36 -0400 (EDT) You bet. In rehab we meds to birds that suffer from cat bites as a matter of course. It's possible they'll survive without it, but the odds are very heavy against that. Peggi ...
Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 15:18:25 -0600 Haleya Priest Amherst MA Mr EABL is in route to rehab. Here is some other informative things about rehab and the problems with cats. We think when a cat brings a bird in and drops it and the bird comes to and flies away that everything is ok. Well, I learned today how it is NOT ok. A cat will often puncture the bird when it picks the bird up. While the bird may not show injuries, it is wounded and not only will it die of infection most likely even within HOURS of the injury, but often die of internal wounds. Again, this is even if the bird flies away apparently unharmed. Even the tiniest of scratches or puncture wounds and the bird can die of infection in no time at all. I adore cats and had 3 until I gave them up for bluebirding. So, don't get me wrong about cats, but please understand that your cat is killing birds EVEN if you think your cat is being gentle and simply "bringing you a gift". Just think that right now my Mr Bluebird got separated from his family, and is in a shoe box 50 miles from here. Mrs Bluebird is grieving his loss and has 3 hungry newly fledged babies to try to take care of. The rehabber at first check says that it looks like this guy might be lucky and only caught the teeth on the wing, in which case, treating him with antibiotics and a few days rest and he'll be ok. But that is first check. I sure have some stories to tell from the rehabber about what cats do to birds, but I will leave that for another time. Thanks for listening to the facts. H
Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2000 22:31:52 -0600 Anyway, she told me to call when I return from my mini-vacation
next Tuesday. He could possibly be released that soon. :-) H Hi all...
Though I'm relatively new to the list, already I've seen more
than one urgent request for rehabbers. I was thinking that perhaps
I should start a web site to provide a directory of rehab facilities...but,
on searching the net, I found that http://www.livingwithwildlife.com/hospital.html
has a list that's nicely organized by state. Thought I would
post the URL here so that others may have it available when
needed. I have no connection with the site, and can't vouch
for its accuracy nor completeness.
Happy birding,
...Shel Michaels
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2000 09:15:38
-0700
Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2000 16:49:04 -0400 I started hearing EABL #2 calling (about 5 minutes later) in
the background until there were TWO EABL in the same tree. With
my naked eye I saw one fly about 2 feet with the sun in my favor
and no branches in the way - and it sure LOOKED like a female.
The sun was good so as I did NOT see that bright blue coat that
he still carries. They hung together in the tree for say 3-4
minutes. No sign of fighting or being upset. Just lots of easy,
not frantic calling and some chatter, but not upset chatter.
(Not the territory call).
Ok. One EABL takes off and the other follows (not in hot pursuit
whatsoever) and lands right next to the other, not wing wave
unless it was a very excited wing wave, but a Teeny tussle for
about .5 seconds - not viscious like when two males duke it
out. Nor is there any attacking going on.It was more like how
they are when they mate. There is that moment of "foreplay"
where it is not really an attack, but a mumble jumble together
(if you will). One takes off the other follows, not in hot pursuit
(this is getting subjective) they both land in the tree far
off. Too far away for me to continue trying to keep any tabs
on them. Now, back where I am standing, I hear a BABY EABL.
No mistaking. As soon as they took off from the first tree I
am hearing a baby doing its little call. And it doesn't really
stop.
I left at that point. The ONLY reason I would wonder if it
were two males is the teeny "tussle" if that was what
you'd call it. But I never saw one attack the other. Nor when
they were in the first tree. I have seen two males fight and
they truly are VISCIOUS!!!
So, what think you? Am I projecting my hopes here? Thanks.
H
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2000 18:50:17 -0400 Hello All:
Today I was assigned the distinct honor of releasing three
38 day old Eastern Bluebirds that had been found nesting in
a mailbox near Sharpsburg, MD; eight days old and both parents
found dead. The distraught finder of the nestlings was referred
to a local expert rehabilitator not far from Camp David in Thurmont,
Maryland.
Since the owner was out of town I was asked to "do the
honors" of releasing-- here is how it happened:
The three fledglings had already begun their molt, were frisky
and anxious to gain exit from their closed pet carrier. They
were released near Thurmont, MD where there are other juveniles
at my small trail.
When the top of the box was opened by my 9 year old grandson,
there was a flurry of blue feathers seeking height with lots
of loud chirping; however, one huddled in the box for about
5 or 6 seconds and then whooped it out of there to join his
siblings in the nearby tall trees. One could almost sense the
excitement and joy in watching this release into their new habitat.
They flitted from tree to tree and in about ten minutes disappeared
into the woods.
This is a much brighter world because there are people who
care so much about our wildlife. Our deepest thanks go to the
dedicated rehabilitators who do a magnificent job.
Betty Nichols, Middletown, MD
Date: Sat, 02 Dec 2000 23:57:55 -0500 Hi Gang,
Well in a good way, it's over from our end! Found a rehabber
in Fayetteville who would take the bird, so we drove her over
Saturday evening. Hey, what's a 110 mile jaunt, besides we needed
to visit Sam's Club. The implication was that the sooner she
saw the bird, the better. If steroids were needed for swelling,
etc., time mattered. She and her mother (who does the feedings
/ cleanings) seemed to think this bird had a real good chance
of complete recovery. If not, she has a museum / zoo lady who
would take her if needed. I'm not sure the rehabber has a lot
of experience with bluebirds, but she sure knew how to handle,
and check the bird. We'll follow up with her to see how the
bird does, and let you know. Rehabber seemed to think, it might
be a shoulder problem. My wife and daughter got 50 mealworms
this morning at the pet shop, and the bird ate 25 before getting
dropped off in Fayetteville, and that seemed to be a good sign.
For those of you concerned about us trying to do the rehab,
that was never our intent, simply how to maintain or improve
her condition, while getting her to a proper caregiver!
Funny, I've known what a bluebird was, but never up close.
The few times she chirped to us during capture, what a wonderful
voice. Even with her darker markings, what a beauty. Guess we
better put up my daughter's Bluebird house after all. Helped
her 6th grade class make houses last year (one per student).
Small world, isn't it?
This morning, we heard a bird chirping outside the same window
that got struck to start this oddessy. Do you suppose it could
be a mate? Read on one of the sites I visited, that the male
will feed babies, but couldn't incubate. Don't know why they
can't incubate, that seems strange.
Does anyone know what the mating pattern is? Do they mate for
life, or just a season? The rehabber seemed to think it wasn't
a big deal to not return the bird to the point of injury. In
conjunction with another lady, they try to let 5-6 go together
at one time.
Well, thanks again for all the support and encouragement! This
one seems to have a what I might call, a Bluebird ending!
Regards,
Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2000 00:48:50 -0500 By popular demand, here is the whole letter from Rick Varner
and a follow up on the condition of the bird at the end of the
letter. I hope you will all enjoy it.
Fawzi
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rick Varner" rickvarner"at"mindspring.com | Thank you all for the responses. I've edited and consolidate
them, and thought I'd pass them back to those of you who took
the time. Please don't be offended by the shortening. The bluebird
is doing much better this morning, hopping and chirping, though
still wounded. We're pursuing local rehabbers. Found some mealworms.
Will let you know the final outcome. Following is the followup letter from Rick (Rec'd 12/3/2000
12 AM):
Hi Gang,
Well in a good way, it's over from our end! Found a rehabber
in Fayetteville who would take the bird, so we drove her over
Saturday evening. Hey, what's a 110 mile jaunt, besides we needed
to visit Sam's Club. The implication was that the sooner she
saw the bird, the better. If steroids were needed for swelling,
etc., time mattered. She and her mother (who does thefeedings
/ cleanings) seemed to think this bird had a real good chance
of complete recovery. If not, she has a museum / zoo lady who
would take her if needed.
I'm not sure the rehabber has a lot of experience with bluebirds,
but she sure knew how to handle, and check the bird. We'll follow
up with her to see how the bird does, and let you know. Rehabber
seemed to think, it might be a shoulder problem. My wife and
daughter got 50 mealworms this morning at the pet shop, and
the bird ate 25 before getting dropped off in Fayetteville,
and that seemed to be a good sign. For those of you concerned
about us trying to do the rehab, that was never our intent,
simply how to maintain or improve her condition, while getting
her to a proper caregiver!
Funny, I've known what a bluebird was, but never up close.
The few times she chirped to us during capture, what a wonderful
voice. Even with her darker markings, what a beauty. Guess we
better put up my daughter's Bluebird house after all. Helped
her 6th grade class make houses last year (one per student).
Small world, isn't it?
This morning, we heard a bird chirping outside the same window
that got struck to start this oddessy. Do you suppose it could
be a mate? Read on one of the sites I visited, that the male
will feed babies, but couldn't incubate. Don't know why they
can't incubate, that seems strange.
Does anyone know what the mating pattern is? Do they mate for
life, or just a season? The rehabber seemed to think it wasn't
a big deal to not return the bird to the point of injury. In
conjunction with another lady, they try to let 5-6 go together
at one time.
Well, thanks again for all the support and encouragement! This
one seems to have a what I might call, a Bluebird ending!
Regards,
Date: Sun, 03 Dec 2000 16:43:38 -0800 Rick, if you get window hits often, you might want to think
about putting garlands or branches across a window or two. This
is the only thing that keeps the hits/kills to a minimum at
the cabin where birds kept wanting to fly through the cabin
at the "open" peak.
During a multiple hit/kill weekend, I hauled up huge dead branches
and hooked the forks over exterior beams at the window peaks,
roped them in and let the fullness of the branches drape across
the glass. I then witnessed several larger birds veer away from
the branches during the rest of the weekend and the medium-to-small
birds landed on them and did some "people watching."
Needless to say, the window effect was rustic. As a spousal
compromise, Christmas garlands eventually replaced dead branches
on the back windows and more decorative live (pliable) branchlets
were found and twined together and draped across the front windows.
If you have frequent window hits, you might consider purchasing
or making decorative garlands made from dried vines and plant
materials.
Linda Violett Rick Varner wrote:
This morning we heard the characteristic "thump"
behind the curtains,
Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2000 20:11:51 -0500 Our large window close to the birdbath was being hit regularly
before my wife put up a pine bough with metal streamers hanging
from it. The aluminum streamers move with the wind and we've
had no more bird hits.
Perry
Date: Mon, 04 Dec 2000 09:01:46 -0500 Linda, et. al.-
The weird thing about the Bluebird, was the curtains were closed,
both a sheer and a solid, with a white backing. The window faces
E-NE, and it was near sunrise, so a blinding sun reflection
could be part of the equation. Or maybe the hawk was hunting
breakfast, and the Bluebird was in a hurry.
Several other times I've had a larger brown wren type (sorry
folks, I'm not a birder) that loves to fight his own reflection
on the west facing sliding glass door of my computer office
room. Funny, but he only does it in the top left corner, for
about 4 minutes.
On the fly through / bird strikes: you haven't lived (or almost
thought you died) until you're in the house when a grouse or
pheasant, at full velocity, or at least the speed of fright,
hits an 8 foot wide, solid glass, single pane window. When I
grew up (my wife might argue that part) in eastern Ohio in the
late 50's / 60's we had an overhung, north facing, porch front
window in the living room. The dining room backed to the living
room, and had its own 4'x5' window. From the back of the house,
the dining room window appeared as a second story window, because
the yard sloped down. Even though we had two winter feeders
in the back yard, bird strikes were rare, maybe because of the
elevation.
Out front was another story. Maybe because of the the northern
shadowed overhang of the porch, or the three oak trees beyond
the window, it looked protected, or safe for a fly through.
The lack of reflection obscured the glass, until too late. If
the Cold War had ever turned hot, it couldn't have sounded worse,
than one of those grouse doing the ut-oh, 60 to 0 on the glass.
How the window never broke remains one of life's great mysteries.
Mom finally hung sheer(?) curtains in the dining room, and that
mostly solved the problem.
Another salient "window" lesson, was that not all
stunned birds, are done birds. If you put a breathing bird in
a box, in the basement overnight, you better tie the lid shut!
No, let me change that to "if you put ANY bird." Lesson
two, you will never chase a flying bird out the basement door.
He's probably too busy being scared of you, to notice the open
door. Not to mention, that even his bird brain, should remember
what happened the last time he tried to fly through a big hole,
toward the light, at the speed of fright. The moral to the bird-
go gently in the direction of your dreams (as someone else once
said). For the human, just prop the door open, sit outside,
out of direct sight, and wait.
Regards, Rick Varner wrote:
Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2000 07:39:52 -0800 (PST) Good Idea Linda,
A couple of summers ago I had this Cardinal that would fly
into my window. The window is up high in the peak of the our
tall ceiling. We had never put the screens on because the windows
were to high to ever open. When the Cardinal started hitting
the window we just put the screens on and that took care of
our problem.
Kerry in Okla.
--- Linda Violett lviolett"at"earthlink.net wrote:
Rick, if you get window hits often, you might want
Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2000 19:08:24 -0800 I would like to thank all of those who posted their responses
directly to the original poster. Fawzi very kindly recapped
all the responses that, as one voice, said, "find a rehabber!"
I appreciated not having to read through all of those Messages
and support the idea of answering a specific question like this
to the poster only.
The poster then also recapped what he did and that was very
satisfactory to many. Since most of the responses echoed the
same idea, it was nice not to have to wade through all of them
so thanks to all who did as the poster requested.
Judy Mellin
----- Original Message -----
From: Katherine S. Wolfthal kate"at"nirvana.weichi.com Hear, Hear!! As I said in a private Message to Fawzi, this
is a
Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2000 13:18:43 -0800 Lonn in Roseburg, Oregon
This May or June the pair of Bluebirds first to come and set
up a nest continued to fight their reflection. I was quite upset
so I looked up the Audubon teacher that gave me Bird ID. She
said it was territorial and I should do things similar as to
what was suggested in this lists' recent posting about the injured
bluebird and ways to prevent these occurrences.
Before the information from Audubon I put the blinds down on
every window and even put a blanket over the front door (made
with glass). But that was hard to put up with. After listening
to her suggestions I got hopping. I put the wind socks hanging
on the back window outside (which they proceeded to perch on
and stare at their reflection occasionally) and put 4 black
falcon silhouettes on the front door. I did get an e-mail from
Bob from here one time that said you'd have to put them at least
4 inches apart to be effective and that's what I had to do.
It's a mobile with front windows catching sun all day and in
the summer the blinds (inside and out) go down anyway and hanging
trees over the window didn't go well with my wife so I'll keep
the shades drawn; so that's my experience.
Date: Tue, 15 May 2001 17:29:01 -0500 Hello. I am new to this listserver. I just signed up my bluebird
trail on the website (25 boxes) and I better remember to renew
my membership now! I would like to share a story and get some
feedback. Sunday I found out that a friend of mine's son (about ten years
old I think) had been keeping and feeding a nestling for a couple
of weeks. His father is a biologist and former employee of Kansas
Department of Wildlife and Parks. It seems the boy had gone
out to their bluebird boxes back of their house and noticed
house sparrows in one. He asked his mom if he could pull out
the nest. He did and there were speckled eggs inside and, he
claimed, a baby bird. He asked if he could keep it and, since
my friend assumed it was a house sparrow, she said yes. About a week ago I guess, it started growing BLUE WING PRIMARIES.
His mother FLIPPED and accused her son of lying to her about
where the bird Their family is moving to Washington state TODAY. So, my friend
gave me the nestling, named Fred, yesterday. Fred looks like
he's about 14 days old and eats mealworms like a pig. Their
son is really mad at me for taking the bird because he really
wanted to take the bird to Washington in spite of his parents
telling him he absolutely could NOT. This morning I went out
on a friend's bluebird trail to check to see if there were any
broods Fred's age, (I don't have any nestlings that old on my
trail) and I FOUND one! The very last box that I checked. My
friend (Ken Brunson, Non-Game Wildlife Diversity Coordinator
for Kansas Wildlife and Parks) and I went to the box at lunch
(I made him go because if I had guessed the age of the five
nestlings wrong and they flushed from the box, it would be HIS
fault too.) and we put Fred in the nestbox with the others.
They look to be about three days younger than = Has anybody ever heard of house sparrows adopting bluebird
nestlings? Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 22:37:34 EDT Huntsville, AL I rescued a baby bluebird today from my bluebird box. I've
been battling sparrows for 2 or 3 weeks now. Earlier this spring,
the bluebirds had full run of the box. They had 5 eggs in there
and at least 4 of them hatched. Just a couple days later, I
started to notice house sparrows around the house. I went to
check on the bluebirds, but the nest was emty and the baby birds
were dead on the ground. I ripped out the sparrow nest, but
they rebuilt with eggs. I tore that out and put a big rock in
the house to keep them out. They started building a nest around
it. I took the bluebird house down for a day. I put it up a
couple of days ago and the sparrows started rebuilding. Today,
I went to tear the nest out and there was a young baby bluebird
sitting on the nest. Its head had been pecked beyond belief.
I got it out of the house and put it in a sheltered spot away
from the sparrows. It is alert, however, I don't think it can
see because of the swelling around its eyes. It does react when
I give it water. Does anyone have any advice on what to do help the little bird? I just wished I lived out in the country. I've got a 12 gauge
shell with those sparrow's names on it! Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 23:25:26 -0400 Greetings from Central NY! I have had quite an interesting Spring with my backyard feathered
friends. My first bluebird sighting this year was on Feb. 5th
in my yard. Since then I had had a pair of bluebirds build a
nest the second week in April and only produced 2 eggs. On what would have been the 4th egg day the female disappeared.
The male flew to the the tree tops to sing her back or attract
another? No sign of a female for a week then a female appeared
but know interest in nest building. Meanwhile the male stayed
in the area on and off and would return to my feeder many mornings. On May 11 he returned with a female and tried and tried to
get her interested in a nest box. She left he stayed. In checking my bird log book my first nesting of bluebirds
here last year was May 5th that fledged 4 banded chicks on June
7th. I have two pair of TRES nesting in my back yard this year and
they seem to keep the HOWR out of the back yard. I've noticed
when the HOWR flies to a tree where their nest are in or even
near their tree they chase him away! :o) HOWR around here are
just as vicious as HOSP. On Monday a male bluebird was going in and out of my niece's
nest box. No female bluebird in sight. I saw the male bluebird
be tricked by a mockingbird as the male bluebird madly flew
to investigate bluebird calls that turned out to be a mocking
bird! I saw the mocking bird take off when the bluebird came
to the tree he was in. The mocking bird sure fooled me! I was
so excited to hear a female call back to the male bluebird.
So I thought! I took my NYS Fish and Wildlife test for a wild life rehabilitation
and passed with a 94 score out of 100 questions. Today I had
an interview and I will be recommended for my state permit.
My specialty will be for bluebirds. Best regards to you all! Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 23:24:56 -0400 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) 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 Submitted
By: Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 23:50:51 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst MA International Wildlife Rehab Council ... Kematthe"at"cs.com wrote: Huntsville, AL ... Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 22:55:13 -0500 So sorry about your babies. I understand how you feel. Is there
a vet in your area that will attend to injured wildlife? That
is all I can suggest. We have a farm vet in Brown County who
will see injured wildlife and there is also one in Indianapolis. I took a wild goose in to the vet in Indianapolis that had
been hit by a car. I was on my way to work and saw it flopping
around the hiway and stopped my car and finally got it in my
car. People were honking and honking at me. Worse than the duck.
The duck looked terrible. I didn't think it could possibly live.
One eye was even hanging out. But the vet said she could fix
it up ok and that it would be ok. So if you can find someone
like that in your area, maybe the little thing can make it. Good luck!! Dottie, Brown County, Indiana Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 10:46:10 -0400 (EDT) Please reply to Lori King randyandloriking"at"worldnet.att.net
who is not a member yet. Does anyone know a rehabilitator in
the Research Triangle (NC) area? ---------- Forwarded Message ---------- Hi...I am not sure this is the right place to ask a question
but if not, maybe you can direct me. I would greatly appreciate
it. I have a BB box with babies and it appears the mother/father
have abandoned it. The babies are not chirping like usual and
we do not see the parents entering the box with food. Is there
anything we can do to help this babies? Their eyes are opened
but their feathers are not mature. We live in Raleigh, NC so
if there is someone we can contact or any tips you can give
us, it would be greatly appreciated. Please send any info to:
randyandloriking"at"worldnet.att.net as soon as possible. Thank
you! Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 11:36:51 -0400 Wow, I can help out here. I got the number yesterday. It is
the Wildlife Welfare of Raleigh though it is listed as an Apex
number. I spoke to a vet last night who says they do lots of
work with BB's. The phone number is 387-1662. Also the Orange County Animal Shelter has a wildlife specialist.
Good luck, Barry Whitney wrote: Please reply to Lori King ... Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 11:17:16 -0700 Dear Laura, I think Haleya Priest of Amherst MA has the right idea. Going to this web site: In Santa Rosa California, we have a bird recovery program and
they are really cool. However, I think that is a little to far
away for you. Good luck. Sincerely, Laura Agnew wrote: Wow, I can help out here. I got the number yesterday. It is
the Wildlife ... Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 16:34:27 EDT Hi Folks, Here is an address for Wildlife Hospitals and Rehabilitation
Facilities listed by state. Some states have few or no rehabbers
listed. It was last updated 10/04/00. http://www.livingwithwildlife.com Tom in NW Florida Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 10:57:43 -0400 Does anyone have a link or # for a Raptor Rehab in Michigan
that might want some HOSPs?
Thanks
-Theresa"at"BowEcho.com
Date: Wed, 4 Jul 2001 09:09:02 -0400 http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.htm is a website that
lists rehabbers by state. I found several in my area with different
specilties - birds, small mammals, etc... printed it up and
put in on my refrigerator, so in an emergency, I will have these
numbers at my fingertips.
-Theresa"at"BowEcho.com Dottie,
Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 08:56:32 -0500 Not all local rehabbers are on this list, only the ones that
agreed to be on it. I know of two local rehabbers in my area
that are not on the list. You can supplement this list with
other rehabbers by making calls to your state DNR, local Audubon
Society, Sierra Club, etc.
Jay Gilliam -----Original Message-----
From: Theresa"at"Bowecho.com [mailto:Theresa"at"Bowecho.com] http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.htm is a website that
lists rehabbers by state. I found several in my area with different
specilties - birds, small mammals, etc... printed it up and
put in on my refrigerator, so in an emergency, I will have these
numbers at my fingertips.
-Theresa"at"BowEcho.com Dottie,
Date: Thu, 05 Jul 2001 10:25:26 -0500 All the Messages about rehabbers prompted me to ask about local
rehabbers when I visited the pet supply store. This proved to
be a good source of information. The owner wrote a name and
number on a piece of paper and I stuck it in my purse. I have
never needed a rehabber's help, but you never know...
I ended up using the number yesterday when my husband went
to use the tractor and discovered 4 baby birds on the concrete
under the swallow nest. I went out immediately, armed
with a basket to put them in temporarily. The parents were flying
around giving their alarm calls.
I was only able to find three babies, who were strong enough
to cling to the concrete and then my fingers. I climbed up on
our pickup parked (just about under the nest as luck would have
it) and was able to place them in the nest, after making sure
no foreign critters such as snakes or fire ants had driven them
out. (I was also able to note that the nest was completely lined
with clean white feathers.)
Then I went inside, dug around in my purse for the phone number,
and called the rehabber, to give her a heads up. She was going
to be out of town today, so she gave me instructions and a recipe
for baby food, in case they hopped out again and I had to care
for them for one day.
When I checked an hour later through my binoculars, I saw no
babies on the ground, and observed two of the little ones with
their heads over the edge of the nest, so all seemed well. However,
about one hour later, I found two babies on the ground again.
I was uncertain about the number of babies who were in the nest
before they bailed out, and hoped these were two more who had
perhaps been hidden behind the truck tires when I looked for
baby number 4 the first time, rather than two of the babies
I had already placed back in their nest. (John only saw four
but one may have already been hidden under the truck.) I placed
these two back in the nest. Just to be safe, I placed a pillow
directly under the nest to cushion their fall, should they bail
out again.
This morning all seems normal, and I am crossing my fingers
that they all stay in the nest. I have no idea what could have
driven them all from the nest, but will keep a careful watch.
I have the rehabber's number handy, just in case I do need her
after all.
Kate Oschwald
Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 07:07:41 -0500 Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas 104*F in the shade yesterday.
Four boxes in my extended yard (three of my designs; a two holer,
extra thick cut slab lumber, a 6" PVC pipe box and one
of Gary's Chalets) with new born chicks doing fine. Fifth nestbox
designed in the far north with primarily round ventilation holes
abandoned their eggs.
If you hand raise a young bird that has not been trained to
hunt you MUST train this bird to return to you at feeding time.
They are programmed to fly to a tree top and wait for the parents
to come to them. They will sit there and starve to death waiting
for food. Other adult bluebirds will consider this bird an intruder
if it is introduced to their territory AFTER their young have
already left the nest.
I have seen where these young birds will take up to a month
to learn to feed themselves without real parents teaching them
to hunt. Several times during the day they must be able to fly
down from their hiding place to feed. I have found it helpful
to allow the babies to perch on your shoulder while you crawl
around on the ground catching grasshoppers or crickets. If you
take too long the bird will sometimes hop-along on the ground
but will seldom even pick at an insect you are holding.
Make the transition to forcing the bird to pick the crushed
insect out of your hand to then picking it up from the ground
where you have dropped it to chasing after the insect after
you have released the insect unharmed. When the young bird can
hop after and catch it's own insects then you have just about
trained it to feed itself.
On two different occasions the young birds met near disaster
when they flew to neighbors to beg them for food. If you had
a strange bird fly into your face while walking outside would
you swat at the bird? One neighbor had our young blue jay attack
him while Sandy & I were gone all day at work. He /she would
fly up behind you and grab your ear begging for food. This resulted
in the neighbor ripping the bird from his shoulder and bashing
it to the ground. He then threw the stunned bird in a cage and
kept it in his house for two weeks.
A chance meeting at our mailboxes and I mentioned our orphan
blue jay was gone. He immediately returned it to us for re-release.
It was missing ALL of it's tail feathers and about half of the
wing feathers were broken. We CANNOT teach these baby birds
about any predators and people ARE predators. We had a baby
bluebird go beg food down the street and was smacked really
hard and could not fly correctly for several weeks. It also
never would return to our outstretched hand for food and we
would have to lay the food on the ground and walk away.
Consider this whenever you hand train any wild animal to come
to food! Just remember how hard it is to train a puppy to stay
off of a busy street. These birds have SO many predators after
them it is the equivalent of teaching a puppy to eat from a
bowl placed in the middle lane of a freeway! We have all seen
crows and vultures that can do this safely but most hand raised
birds do not stand a chance learning about danger on their own
with no adults to help them! KK
Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 22:07:23 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst MA
While revising the REF GUIDE I came across something of interest
to all from the:
International Wildlife Rehab Council
http://www.iwrc-online.org
Parental attention:
Birds:
Bird parents usually make a decision about whether to abandon
their young based on the investment they have already made:
A. If a nest with no eggs is disturbed, the parents will find
a new location.
B. If there are one or two eggs in a nest and the nest is disturbed,
birds will move and start over again.
C. If the completed family of eggs has been incubated for some
period, the parents may abandon the nest and start over again.
D. Usually, if one egg has hatched or the young are growing,
the calls of the young will persuade the parents to return and
care for them.
If you find a fallen nest with young birds in it, wire it back
up in a tree at that location. Make sure the nest is well-protected
from rain or too much sun. Make sure it is high enough up the
tree. If the nest is broken, take a plastic container (like
a margarine container) just large enough to hold the nest. Poke
some holes in the bottom of the container for drainage and securely
wire it back to the tree with the nest and nestlings in it.
The parents will probably continue to care for the birds. Watch
from a window or from a considerable distance. If the parents
do not return within a few hours, contact someone for advice.
Bird development:
Young precocial birds such as quail, pheasants and ducks hatch
fully-feathered with their eyes open. They leave the nest to
follow their parents within hours of hatching. Precocial
birds learn to forage within three or four days. They rely on
their parents for warmth, guidance, supervision and protection
from predators. If separated from their parents, it is not likely
that they will survive.
Young small altricial birds such as robins, goldfinches and
swallows hatch with no feathers and their eyes are closed. They
are fed in the nest by their parents and are "brooded"
or kept warm by a parent until their feathers grow in. These small
altricial birds must be able to get around before they can start
to learn to forage. It may take small birds as much as
3 weeks to grow strong bones and feathers and become strong
enough to leave the nest.
For large altricial birds such as eagles, owls and crows it
may take much more time. When they leave the nest it takes a
number of days to become able to fly with skill.
At this point people find them on the ground, apparently unable
to fly. It is likely that the parents are nearby and supplying
the fledgling with food when it calls, waiting for
its motor skills to develop. When the youngster is capable,
it will start learning to forage. When hungry, it will chase
the parent, begging all the while. If a well-meaning
person picks up the bird and takes it home for a couple of days
until it can fly and then releases it in a location remote from
its parents, the bird will starve. Leave the fledgling to perfect
its skills in its own habitat.
How many times have you heard someone say: "It can fly,
so it must be able to take care of itself?" This is simply
not true. Young raptors such as owls, eagles and hawks may take
as long as several months to learn to hunt effectively. Ordinarily,
the parents support these birds while they are learning. If
they are released to the wild without these skills and have
no parents, they will starve.
If young raptors have spent a long time in the presence of
people, have become used to the presence of people and have
become reliant on people for food, it is unlikely that they
will survive in the wild.
Young birds and mammals suffer as a result of human impact.
An animal that has lost its normal or innate fear of humans
will not survive in the wild. Releasing a tame wild animal is
signing its death sentence.
Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 21:44:27 -0400 Betty Nichols, Middletown, MD Hello All: As the nesting season draws to a close, it is appropriate that
my final report covers the release of seven rehabilitated orphan
nestlings saved from starvation. The birds were raised by a
licensed rehabilitator & were self-feeding, "at" 38 days
of age. The night before release the nestlings were screeching and
raising quite a fuss, their caretaker visited flight cage and
discovered all seven of them were watching an imposter near
the kibbled biscuits about 10' away -it was a mouse! Pretty
smart birds for being raised in captivity! Today they did not exit their brown paper bag w/vigor as others
had in the past, they just sat there and looked up at me, then
a group of 69 teachers at the ThorpeWood lodge got to see them
up close. The birds soon realized the blue sky beckoned them
and they left their bag prison and soared to the surrounding
trees. I doubt that there were many dry eyes in the crowd! To all the monitors across this great nation: we are witnessing
a successful grass-roots endeavor-- the Bluebird has indeed
returned to reassure that all is well. Thank You. Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 22:42:31 EDT Betty (and all list readers): Your description of letting the
rehabilated bluebirds brought tears to my eyes, too. It must
have been a sight to see. Why do bluebirds bring such emotion? I am 59 years old. Back in the late '40's and early '50's,
I was a young child growing up in a family in Eastern Mazzzchusetts.
My father had made bluebird boxes and placed them in our small
yard and we had bluebirds in them for several years. My mother
was a bird lover and in my early elementary school years she
would invite my school class to come to our house for a picnic
and see the bluebirds and other birds in the yard. After a few
years, the bluebirds didn't come any more and the boxes were
taken over by tree swallows. We all know now why they disappeared.
We left our home in MA in 1955 and life moved on. A few years
ago, now living in Western New York, we put up a bluebird house.
All we got were HOSPS. I faithfully cleaned out their nests
so as to not let them reproduce, but we never did get bluebirds.
This spring while walking through Wal-Mart, I spotted a bluebird
house. We put it up about 50 feet from the other house. Within
a few days, (in fact, it was Mother's Day), we had a pair of
bluebirds checking the house out. I had tears of happiness that
day. Fifty years it had taken to see a bluebird again! However,
the HOSPS also began to compete for the house. It was then that
I found this list and the links on the bluebird sites. I found
Larry's arrangement for the monofilament line and put it on
the house immediately. The HOSPS disappeared from that box and
the bluebirds took it over! They had 3 eggs, two hatched and
one survives. Every day they come back, morning and late afternoon
to get their mealies. All 3 have stayed together since they
fledged on July 5th. We will miss them very much when they leave
this fall. However, we know that nature will take them away
for awhile and we hope that we shall see them again in the spring. This list has taught me so much about the bluebirds. The knowledge
that I have gained in one season is unbelievable - it is all
because of all of you and all of your contributions. Thank you. Keep up the good work - you are making a difference in the
life of this species! It will live on with all of us helpiing. Judy |
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