If you follow us on Facebook for Instagram, you probably saw we have a baby bird living in my flower pot at the moment. For the love of green-grass, there is ALWAYS a bird “thing” going on around here! {smile} Whether it’s rescuing turkeys or bluebirds in a shoebox or a swallow almost drowning in the water trough, sometimes it seems like there is a constant parade of little feathers through my living room. And don’t even get me started on the chickens…Thankfully I just got new planters for the front flowerbeds, so we were prepared.

Birds are a big part of the farmyard here at The Lowe Farm. We have several bluebird houses around the fields and a couple pairs of barn swallows in the lean-to and barn on a regular basis. We also usually have finches and starlings fighting for a spot at the porch corners or the garage’s wood stove chimney pipe, if we’re not diligent. Besides being enjoyable and educational, birds also help by eating a lot of insects and spreading seeds over the fields and we like to encourage helpful native species as much as we can across the whole farm. (So, not so much those pesky starlings…grrr…)

Here are the 3 simple steps we use to help the endless parade of baby birds that seem to find their way to our porches every year…

1. Put Them Back in the Nest

My kiddos want to “save” everything–and that seems to equate to bringing it home for Momma to “do something!” {smile} But from sheep to cows to baby birds, their momma is usually the best choice and our first step is to try and put them back in the nest they came out of. This is especially true if the baby birds are featherless and/or showing pink skin. There’s usually no good reason for them to be out of the nest at that stage. 

It’s a myth that adults will abandon baby birds (or babies of any species!) if humans touch them. We always look around and see if we can find where their nest might be. We look high and low, in all the nooks and crannies–the eves, the beams, the roof corners, the light fixtures, all the trees, deep in the bushes–yes, even the prickly ones! The mockingbirds’ love, love, love to nest in our big Holly tree. Hopefully, we find their home sweet home and can carefully and quietly put them back in.

 

CAUTION: MAKE SURE ITS THE RIGHT NEST! 

Look for other baby birds in the nest that seem to be the same type and age. Look for a similar amount of feathers, the same basic overall size, and similar colors. Or look for an empty nest and put them in there. But don’t put your foundling baby birds in a nest with eggs or babies that seem much younger or older. That will just cause more problems.

If you can’t find the right nest or aren’t sure about the nest you found, move to Step 2.

2. Leave Them Alone, in a Safe Place

Sometimes this one is even harder for the crew to accept! Sometimes baby birds are out of their nest FOR A GOOD REASON. And I don’t mean the circle of life here, either.

In the early fledgling and feathering out stages, it’s not uncommon for baby birds to spend a lot of time on the ground hopping and flapping around building up their muscles and trying to fly. Usually, it’s a protected area (in bird thoughts, anyway) and the parent is nearby supervising and still feeding as necessary. At this stage, it’s common for there to be a slowpoke or two in the family. They might seem abandoned because his siblings have taken off without him. But he’s fine! If he’s covered in down and/or feathers (like our most recent guest) this is probably case.

The key here is IN A SAFE PLACE.

The family of mockers that lives in our Holly does this every year. You’ll be walking along and see little mini-mockingbirds flickering around on the ground under the Holly tree. They hop around building up their flight muscles before going solo. The parents are up in the tree and get to screaming and dive bombing everyone that gets too close. And they’re pretty well protected by the prickly Holly leaves.

But sometimes the birds make a bad call on what “safe” means. The babies end up pushed out of the nest right in front of the garage, or right onto the porch floor. Or sometimes a nest will get pulled down or destroyed. At this age/stage, the same rule would apply–find a safe spot close to where the nest was and leave them there for their parents.

We use the hanging flower baskets in the front garden. It’s within 20-50 feet of where their nest was originally. If the parents are in the area they’ll still be able to hear and find the little ones. It’s also shady and high enough to keep the dogs–and most cats–away. You can monitor for 24-48 hours to make sure the parents locate them and take over.

This pretty much works every time. If you’ve got a softie in the family that feels bad “just leaving them out there!” have them read this…a great article about finding baby birds from US Fish and Wildlife.

But if you’ve got a baby in distress, or #1 and 2 don’t seem to be working out…on to Step 3!

3. Bring Them Inside, Call a Rehab Person

The 3 keys for a sick or traumatized animal are to keep them Clean, Dry, and Warm. Make a cozy replacement nest in a shoebox. Then put the babies in there in a safe, warm, quiet spot.

You can use old rags heated gently in the dryer–don’t make them too HOT! You don’t have to wrap the baby up. Line the box with the fabric and lay them carefully inside. Don’t try to give them food or water or anything. You probably don’t know if they are a bug-eater or a seed-eater. If you get that wrong while trying to feed them, you could make them worse! Besides, momma-birds feed by regurgitation, and who wants to do that?!?!  {smile}

Contact and certified and permitted wildlife rehabilitator and take the bird to them for care. You can find one by calling your local Animal Shelter or Veterinarian Office. You can also look one up at the Humane Society website, or call your local zoo, nature museum, Forestry Department, or Fish and Game Warden. They’ll all have at least one phone number to offer you.

Nursing baby animals is a tough job. It can be fun and rewarding, but it is an around-the-clock commitment (as the Ladybug learned with her little bluebird adventure!) and can be heartbreaking as well. We’ve had enough bottle babies around here to know that letting God and their momma handle things is usually best for everyone except in the most extreme cases.

And if you’ve got a kiddo that’s really, really passionate about helping, the Virginia Wildlife Center’s website has a lot of great information on what training and careers in wildlife rehab can look like.

Are you or one of your family an animal rescuer at heart? I’ve learned some patience over the years in letting God work things out before I step in. What was your biggest animal adventure?