What to do about baby bird that fell off nest (Austin: to live, storage)

[sxb317]

Sadly a baby bird fell off the nest on our front yard and is really struggling. He seems to be very young, kind of fuzzy, does not have feathers yet. He's not able to move, not sure because he's too young or hurt. I'd like to help him but I have no idea what to do. The nest is quiet high up that there's no way I can put him back. The mother seems nowhere to be found. (An egg fell off the same nest couple weeks ago so I don't think she's getting any mother of the year awards.)

My husband is currently away and I'm taking care of our toddler as well as cat and dog so taking him in to care for him is not going be possible or safe for the bird. Plus I don't want the mother think she lost him.

Can someone knowledgeable about these things give me advice on whether there's anything I can do to help.

[timfountain]

Honestly, I've tried to rescue birds that have fallen out of their nest in the the past and it has never worked out for these poor creatures. Perhaps some ground up bugs and earthworms given through a pipette might work, but most of the time they seem to fade away. Nature can be cruel.

- Tim

[austin944]

Not much you can do, except maybe move the nestling into a good hiding spot close to the nest, and into the shade.

[h886]

Yeah, I've tried this before when the same thing happened and it's never been successful. One website said that sometimes when they fall out, the mother will still care for them--she'll just fly down to the ground to feed them, etc, if they can't get back into the nest, so not to take them away from where you find them. Of course, this does nothing to protect against dogs or anything else getting them on the ground.

I'm sorry. I wish I had a better idea.

[N. Olikee]

Many years ago, my dog got ahold of grounded nestling, and had his way with it. It happens....nature.

[capcat]

From Austin Wildlife Rescue:
http://www.austinwildliferescue.org/...0do%20next.pdf

[JayBrown80]

Very important you don't touch any baby animal. If the mother smells or senses something strange on her baby, she will abandon it, and then it's chances of survival drop to Zero.

[SickOfCalifornia]

That's just nature. Survival of the fittest. I know a little helpless bird is cute and makes you feel sad, but you're not doing any good by unnaturally extending the life of the weak. Harsh, but true.

[Trainwreck20]

Actually, the scent of human thing is apparently a myth, or at least for most birds (according to my co-workers that deal with the 'bugs n bunnies' part of our work). Anyway, at my in-laws house, they had a bird build a nest above one of their outdoor fans. They shut that fan off and the mother was happily raising four little birds, but then one of the brave ones (he/she was always standing on the edge of the nest looking cocky) fell out. We scooped it up and dropped it back in the nest and it did just fine and eventually flew away. The mother is now raising a second brood(?) of little birds.....

[G Grasshopper]

One thing you can do (this is done by professional rescuers sometimes) is affix a small basket to the tree high enough to protect the baby from ground predators, line it with something soft, put the baby in and hope the mom will find it. They do sometimes adapt this new "nest" for the baby. What was said earlier about not touching baby animals is true for mammals, as they have a very good sense of smell. But birds (other than vultures) have almost no sense of smell. The mother bird will not know that any human has touched the baby. This is about all you can do. I would not recommend feeding it anything. You can give it a few drops of water to fend off dehydration in hopes that mom will find it. But feeding a baby bird is a science that few people can do without training. If the mom doesn't find the bird in your basket nest, it will die, and there really isn't anything to be done. I don't think there are rescue places in Texas as in some other places, but I could be wrong about that. This bird, since you said it doesn't have feathers, very probably fell, and did not attempt to fly, so it is not prepared to live on the ground at all. Sometimes when nestling fledge (fly for the first time), you can find them on the ground. But these babies have feathers enough to fly, albeit poorly. For fledglings, I would only move them if they happen to have ended up in a dangerous area. Then you can move them onto a low branch of a tree or something similar. They are capable of standing there and calling for their parent, who will feed the fledgling, wherever it is. I know this is a worrisome situation, but you can only help so much. If the baby dies, remember that many birds fall to predators, and they are useful as prey as well as alive. (Unless the predator is a domestic cat, who could have been eating cat food. In that case, I consider the bird's life to have been wasted, although that may be a controversial view.)