Gazehound's Animal Communication » Rescue

Birdie Updates and an Occupied Aviary

Gayze — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:48:52 +0000

Completed Aviary

Although the door no longer sports the historical “Chicken Little Lanai” sign, said sign is actually mounted on the side of the aviary, and the restoration work is done. Note the inventive sliding glass door … an old window my husband found in the shed and recycled. The entire inside of the aviary is secured with 1/4″ hardware cloth, bungee cords and branches are strung and scattered about for perches, a neat table/shelf is set up for food and water dishes, and the Starlings and Grackle have taken up residence.

The birds have been outside for about a week now, and are doing extremely well. Birdies and home have stood up nicely to several rather raucous thunder storms without any problems. In fact, one storm hit in the middle of the night, and I stood for some time, with rain pouring down and lightning flashing around me, under the car port in my jammies just making sure the birds were safe.

They slept through the storm.

At first, we tried putting the three little House Finches in with the others. However, after an hour or so, one Finch had lost several tail feathers to the naughty Starlings. I sent my six-foot-three inch son, who despite the added height still bends better than his old mother does, in to rescue the little ones. The Finches are now spending days in their reptarium out on our front deck under the shade awning, and I’m searching for additional ideas for a safe release for them. Fortunately, we have House Finches coming to the feeders out front, so they’re becoming acquainted with others of their species.

Several of the Starlings

The six Starlings are overjoyed by their new location. They have lots of room to stretch their wings, and took right away to the feeding station and perches. There are ledges, front and back, up under the roof where it’s most sheltered, and they seem to like to roost there at night, while the Grackle takes the x-shaped bungee cord perch in the enclosed corner of the cage.

Today, for the first time that I was able to observe, I sat for a while beside the aviary and watched the Starlings drop to the floor of the cage. They were wandering about in shavings, prying with their beaks as “real Starlings” do in the grass, cleaning up cat food crumbles and dried mealworms that had been dropped from the feeding station. I even watched one find himself a real live beetle of some sort, beat it against the floor, and then manage to lose it again before he ate it. He’ll learn, though. They’re really coming along beautifully!

Kelly, the federal migratory bird rescuer whom I apprentice with, stopped by (with a baby Eastern Phoebe, who is still in my laundry room with the Barn Swallow who came for a visit last month and stayed) the day I’d put the birds outside. She said they all looked very happy, and I must agree. They’d truly outgrown the indoor quarters, and they really are enjoying the chance to be birds in a safe environment, learning the ins and outs of being, well, out instead of in!

My Grackle Friend

The Grackle is also doing very well. I was a wee bit concerned about him, actually, as he is a strange little fellow who seemed alternately to hate me and depend on me. However, he’s taken to the outdoor digs in a great way, holds his own against those rowdy Starlings, and seems to be having a grand old time. Four times a day, when I bring out fresh food and water, he is the first to hit the dishes and fill up on mealworms, sift through his favorite seed mix for peanuts, and drink the fresh, clean water before the Starlings have a chance to bathe in it. He’s such a funny bird, curious and comical, and I enjoy watching his antics as he explores perches, sifts through the cat food looking for mealworms, and stands with his head upside down to get a better view of the surface of the water in the big dish.

Although it took a while, and I got the birds outdoors much later than I’d hoped to do, they’ve adjusted just fine. I don’t think they’ll have any problem at all when time comes to release them. I’ll be setting up feeding stations outside the cage before that happens, in addition to the ones out front that are already frequented by the wild birds. The rescues will have a continual supply of fresh water, and all the foods they’re used to eating, as they spread their wings and learn to find goodies in the wild. I’m seeing wild Grackles, Starlings and House Finches all over the area, so I don’t think they’ll have any problem at all locating their own kind, and integrating.

Life’s good, when you’re a bird at the top of Gridley Hill.

Share and Enjoy:

Birds and Bird Sanctuaries

Gayze — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 17:16:45 +0000

It’s a good bird, a nice bird. Strangely enough, a relatively quiet bird (compared to the starlings). I know most people’s experience with Common Grackles would not include the word “quiet” in the description, but in this case it applies. I like the bird.

I like it better now that it is finally, after weeks and weeks–weeks long beyond the time that its parents would have left it behind–eating on its own. I’m not totally sure yet that it’s eating enough to sustain, so I’m still spoon feeding a couple times a day just to supplement. However, it seems to be doing well. It does like to float food in its water dish rather than eat it, which is a Grackle Thing. It would much rather eat junk food (dehydrated mealworms) than its balanced diet. But at least it’s eating.

Still, I can’t wait to get the Grackle, those three nice little House Finches, and that sixpack of Starlings outside into the soft-release cage.

Ah, yes, the cage. It’ll be great when it’s finished, but “finished” may be a long way off. Did I tell you all about the cage? Thanks to Wes and NY Wildlife Rescue Center, I now have, sitting in my back yard, a nice little piece of history. Those readers who grew up in and around New York state may recognize it, in fact. One friend even told me she’s pretty sure she has a photo somewhere of herself as a child standing in front of the thing.

The Catskill Game Farm was, for generations, a stand-out vacation spot for New York families. I spent many hours there, and there are reams of old slides in this house to preserve the memories. Several years ago, the farm closed down, and the owners auctioned off all of the equipment, rides, cages, and even the animals. The Catskill Game Farm is no more. However, Wes managed to get ahold of two of the poultry cages. This one was the better preserved of the two.

That makes me wonder what the other one looks like. The more we look at this cage as we attempt repairs, the more we realize needs to be done. Last night, between jobs, my hubby spent an hour or so replacing several of the bottom support boards. He’ll be building that up so that it’s level and putting in a new floor over the one that’s there. The problem turns out to be that much of the wood is so rotted, it will not hold the new hardware cloth we’ll have to install to make the cage safe for songbirds. The door will also need to be replaced, as it’s rotted at the corners to a point that little birds like my finches will easily be able to either escape or hang themselves trying. The door issue can be temporarily remedied by hanging raptor netting inside the opening, which would have to be done anyway to prevent escapes while feeding and watering, but it’s not really the most secure solution.

Initially, we’d thought that just coating the wire on the inside with 3 or 4 gauge (1/3″ or 1/4″ gauge) hardware cloth would be all it needed to make it into a songbird release cage. Not so.

We’re picking up supplies as needed, though having a time finding the smaller gauge hardware cloth. Many stores have half-inch. However, in the past, I’ve seen a goldfinch strangle itself on half-inch wire; their little heads are tinier than they look under those pretty feathers. I’d definitely prefer not to re-build the entire cage with what’s readily available only to have to re-do the whole thing after losing a bird because I rushed the repairs.

It will be worth the effort, though, and it feels really nice to have a piece of history–a piece of my own childhood–sitting in my yard. I’ll definitely be adding to the sanctuary, creating larger aviaries in addition to this one, but it’ll be a nice start once it’s bird-worthy.

For the future, I rather like the portable cage plans found on StFrancisWildlife.org. I can see my yard housing several of these nice aviaries, large enough for even the bigger songbirds. They seem simple enough to build (once again, if one can locate a supply of quarter-inch hardware cloth), and very serviceable. They can easily be adapted for other animals, as well. They would make great squirrel cages. Not that I’d be rehabbing squirrels (see my recent post on the subject, ::smiles::).

By the time it’s finally done, perhaps the Grackle will be wholly self-feeding.

Would you like to help get things up and running? Wes and NY Wildlife Rescue Center have been a godsend to my birdie hopes. It was he who showed up with the Game Farm cage, they who made sure we had a safe dog yard when we moved into this house recently, and they always seem to come through with support, work efforts and funds when needs arise. Please visit their website and leave a donation. If you like, you can let them know it’s a ‘thank you’ for helping out with the songbirds.

In addition, if you know of a good hardware cloth supplier in the general area of Schoharie County, NY, please let me know. Tractor Supply Co. and Agway are local sellers of bird supplies, and both offer gift cards (the former can be purchased online), as well. Both NY Wildlife and I do a lot of our shopping for the birds and wildlife in those locations.

Also, by shopping Duncraft, a fantastic supplier of goodies for wild bird enthusiasts, through the ads on this website, small donations will gradually accrue and all of those funds will be used to support our wild songbird rescue program.

Share and Enjoy:

Baby Birds Grow So Fast!

Gayze — Tue, 25 May 2010 16:18:36 +0000

Mouse over and scroll,

or drag ball at bottom.

Click image to enlarge.

New Photos Added at End of Gallery.

“Like Weeds”, as the saying goes. I’ve added some photos, taken today, May 25th, to the baby bird gallery for your enjoyment. Compare today’s pictures to those taken a mere two weeks or less ago. It’s astounding how fast young birds grow and change.

Of the three species here, some interesting facts:

In the wild, House Finch eggs hatch at 12-14 days, their eyes open at 4 days, they grow feathers at 3-6 days, and they leave the nest at 14-16 days. At Gayle’s house, these finches were over four days when they arrived, as they had feathers and their eyes were open. They are now at least fifteen days old, they’re still begging to be spoon fed, though they’re eating on their own. They fly well, but it’ll be at least a couple weeks of outdoor acclimation (still have to build the facilities!) before they can be released.

In the wild, Common Grackle eggs hatch at 12-14 days. The babies’ eyes open at 3-5 days, they feather out at about 14 days, and they leave the nest at 20 to 23 days. This means our young Grackle friend was a good two weeks old when he arrived, for he was quite well feathered. That would make him at least 27 days old now, and he is still, I repeat, still not feeding himself.

Starlings. Oh, my, Starlings. The European Starling’s eggs usually hatch in the wild at 12-15 days, and the young are fed by their parents for 20 to 22 days. They remain dependent on their parents for 4-5 days after leaving the nest, and will follow them and beg to be fed. These Starlings were at least nine or ten days old when they arrived, some several days older than others, on the 12th of May. That would make them about 22 days old now, the age at which they’d be leaving the nest. They just started picking at the food on their own today, and are now causing me some indigestion as they randomly refuse spoon-feeding even though they’re not getting enough on their own. However, having been down this road before (and trust me, these guys are trying to eat much younger than Stars and Stripes did!), I know this is a phase and they’re not going to starve.

In my last post, I mentioned how baby animals are so much better off being raised by their natural parents. I’ve included the facts above to illustrate how hand-rearing wild baby birds does, in fact, set them back. All three species are progressing more slowly than they would have in the wild … especially that darned Grackle, though I cannot shake the feeling that he’s snowing me.

The finches, if I had facilities ready to do so, would be moving outside very soon. Tomorrow, my dear hubby is going to be swinging by Lowe’s and trying to pick me up some materials to begin building my release area. These birds escape at the slightest sign of an opening (witness the adventure trying to get a Starling out from behind the washing machine this morning). Should that happen outside, before they are acclimated to the outdoors, to eating from outside feeders, etc., that would be a death sentence. Therefore, these facilities have to be pretty darned secure.

I’m looking at two-by-two lumber and hardware cloth of no more than 1/3″ gauge (1/2″ is too large — I’ve seen baby Goldfinches hang themselves in 1/2″ gauge cages). The cages will be meshed on all four sides, with one side of each cage a door, in which there will be a secure feeding door. I’ll also put a similar flap in the side of each cage, which will be locked shut till I’m ready to release birds. Once they’re ready to fly free, I’ll open that small door, and let them find their own way into the wild.

I’d love to eventually get two three-foot by six-foot by six-foot tall cages built, one for large songbirds, and one for small. For right now, though, a single cage will have to do.

I plan to build them in panels. I’ll make three-by-three panels of lumber and hardware cloth, and create modular cages of whatever size I need. Thus, once a single cage is done, I’ll keep making panels and adding to the facilities.

One very important part of each cage will be an entrance addition. This will be a 3′w x 3′l x 6′h cage attached to the door end of each main cage, so that I can walk into the entry, secure the door behind me, and then enter the actual cage or open the feeding door without having to worry about birds releasing themselves before they are ready.

I’ll hang bird feeders, set up feeding trays, install water dishes/baths into the cage(s) as well as hanging and setting up identical ones all around the outside of them. The release area is going to be located under some nice bushy arbor vitae trees, for shelter, and in which to hang feeders. Thus, the birds, when released, will have feed and water available in stations they already recognize, and plenty of shelter in the bushy branches of the trees. I’ll also be setting up nesting/roosting areas for them.

And the trick is, of course … how do we afford to do this right? As usual, for now, I’m tossing that out to the Universe and trusting that the answer will soon arrive!

Share and Enjoy:

Starling Sixpack, and Baby Season

Gayze — Wed, 19 May 2010 15:27:53 +0000

The baby starlings are climbing out of their nest now, so have been put into a reptarium (mesh cloth cage) for safe-keeping and to give them room to exercise those little legs. I’m still waiting for everyone to start eating on their own. The finches have started nibbling at the seed, but really aren’t “eating-eating” yet, other than a few bits here and there. It’s a start, though, and I’ve hung a millet spray in with them. I’ll be able to tell fairly easily if they begin cracking those seeds, as the bottom of the cage below it will be littered with empty shells. Let’s hope that happens soon.

I’ve got to get outdoor facilities set up so that, as soon as these babies are eating self-sufficiently and able to fly, I can move them safely outside. Once outdoors, they’ll begin to adapt to the point that they can eventually be released. I’ve got great plans … now for the resources to bring them to reality!

A call came in today. A kind gentleman found a baby fawn near the road.

I think this is a good opening to simply remind everyone that baby animals are always better off with their mothers. Though it’s natural for humans to want to shelter and protect what they perceive as orphans or abandoned babies, most of the time those babies are not abandoned at all. Mother deer do not stay with their fawns, at least not the tiny ones. They leave the babies in hiding, and only return every so many hours to nurse them. In the interim, they stay well away from the hiding site, so as not to lead predators to their offspring. If a baby deer is found, unless the dead body of the mother is nearby and evident, there is an almost 100% chance that the mother will be back looking for it soon. Mother deer don’t always choose the smartest hiding places (I recall a series of photos that circulated around the internet not long ago of a fawn that was actually hidden on a family’s back porch step, but the mother did come back for it). Baby deer don’t always stay put (I had one, years ago, actually run into my arms, because she’d left her assigned spot and got confused — I eventually got her to stay in the edge of the woods and, sure enough, along came mamma a couple hours later and tended to her). However, returning a baby fawn to the general vicinity of where it was found is always the best option, unless you’re absolutely certain the mother is dead.

Bunnies are another species often abducted from their nests by humans who think they’ve been abandoned. A mother rabbit will only return to the nest once or twice a day to nurse her offspring. The rest of the time, she stays well away, because a predator won’t smell or spot the hidden babies, but they might follow the adult to the nest. So often, we receive baby rabbits that good-hearted people think were abandoned because they watched for an hour and never saw the mother nearby. Mother most certainly returned at dusk to nurse her babies–only to find them gone.

Those babies, too, should have been returned to the spot where they were found.

Baby birds too small to hop around and flutter should be returned to the nest if possible, and if not, put near the nest location. A makeshift nest is easily made out of a basket, such as the plastic ones strawberries come in, lined with straw or hay or even shredded and wadded up paper towels. Even putting it in a sheltered spot on the ground near the tree that contains the original nest will allow the parents to find it. If a nest or bird falls or blows out of an opening in a house or barn, return that makeshift nest into the opening as close to the original location as possible. It’s an old wive’s tale that parents will reject babies that have “human smell” on them. Those mother and father birds are usually frantic over their missing offspring, and will continue to feed and tend to them on the ground, in the new nearby location, and in the human-made pseudo-nest.

Note, too, that if a baby bird is on the ground and it is old enough to hop and flutter, has feathers, and is in the “cute as a button” stage … it’s probably on the ground on purpose. Babies fall out of the nest as a normal part of their development. The parents will feed the baby on the ground until it finds its wings and learns to fly well.

Unless a baby animal is obviously injured, or you are one hundred percent certain that the parents are dead, they are always best off with their natural parents.

If there is injury or no other option, then hit Google, do a search for wildlife rehabilitators in your state or location, and try to track down someone licensed to legally and skillfully care for injured and orphaned wildlife.

I know you love animals … you wouldn’t be visiting my blog if you didn’t. Part of that love is to learn the best way to be their friend. Thank you for caring so much for our wild relatives!

Some books you may enjoy:

Healers of the Wild by Shannon Jacobs
Introduction to Wildlife Rehabilitation by Nancy Schwartz
Beginning Wildlife Rehab by Donna Ralph

Technorati Tags: animals, wildlife, birds, wildlife rehabilitation

Share and Enjoy:

Baby Bird Season, ’010 (And Then There Were Ten)

Gayze — Wed, 12 May 2010 14:43:21 +0000

I did mention, in my other baby bird post about the Finch/Phoebes, that it was only May, and baby bird season was just starting, didn’t I? Last evening Wes called again, and a short time later showed up on my front deck with two more containers. One had six baby (Oh, God, Not) Starlings in it, and the other contained a nestling/fledgling Grackle.

Unlike the House Finches (which still may, very remotely, be Eastern Phoebes, but I’m entertaining that possibility less and less), who were fooled by the light being off till I got up around seven in the morning, the Starlings knew when the sun came up. Thus, when the sun got up, so did I, to the sound of chittering tweeting hungry mouths. They’re eating, and pooping, like as many little pot-bellied pigs. Not only are Starlings the fugliest babies on the bird-planet, they’re the messiest.

I absolutely adore them.

I will not, however, I repeat, NOT, allow these to imprint. Fortunately, there are six of them, and the chance that they’ll attach to their own species is much greater than it was with my two permanent residents. I also have a place here that I can keep them between feedings that is closed off from human contact.

The Grackle’s also a good eater, though nowhere near as demanding as the Starlings. He’s older, too, already perching, and trying to climb out of his nest. He was in a double nest container … a small container inside a larger one … when Wes brought him over. However, he kept trying to perch on the edge of the small container and flipping it. When I found him, at one feeding time this morning, wearing the small container on his head, I took the hint. Since, he’s been mostly perching on the edge of the “nest”. Since my larger reptarium took a ride with 2008 season’s Goldfinches to another rehabber for release, and it never made its way back home (that’s okay, mice had chewed through part of the mesh, anyway, and I wanted to replace it), I ordered a 38 gallon reptarium today. I’ll set it right up and transport this guy’s nest into it so he can hop around, exercise his wings, and have some perches to hold on to. Once the Starlings are perching, they’ll join him.

I do hope these Starlings learn to eat a lot sooner than Stars and Stripes did. They were a good four months old before they deigned to take a bite of food on their own. Little manipulators.

The Finches are well, all feathered out, flapping their wings, and will be clambering out of their nest container very soon. I’ve got them in my small (22 gallon, I think) reptarium with a perch (bungee cord) strung within reach, so they’ll have that to play with as soon as they like. Once they do that, I’ll put dishes of food in there, seed and some grit, and a little shallow jar lid of water.

Hopefully everyone will start eating on their own fairly quickly, so I can move them outside when the weather’s good enough, and start teaching them to be real birds.

Note to self: Outdoor Facilities are a Priority.

Soon.

(Chitter Chitter Rattle Squeak … the Starlings are hungry again, must run!)

Share and Enjoy:

It’s Baby Bird Season

Gayze — Thu, 06 May 2010 16:43:45 +0000

House Finches (?)

There’s nothing cuter than a baby bird.

Okay, maybe that’s a matter of opinion. At this age, though, you can really see why many scientists today believe that birds evolved from dinosaurs, can’t you?

What everyone can agree on, I’m sure, is that they do look tiny and helpless, especially when the wind blows an entire nest of them out of the overhang of your house onto the ground. One didn’t survive the fall, but the other three appear to be uninjured.

The best thing the home owner could have done in this situation would have been to get a ladder, and replace the nest in the soffit. Even if they weren’t able to get it back in the exact same spot, the parents would have found their babies, and continued to care for them, feed them, and rear them naturally.

Instead, the well-meaning and kind-hearted people called NY Wildlife Rescue Center the evening before last. So, naturally, my phone rang a few minutes later.

“Will you take three baby birds?”

Half an hour later Wes’s daughter Hanna was ringing my front doorbell (note of surprise: I have a front doorbell?! Who knew?)

He wondered if they were “starlings or sparrows”. Sparrows maybe, most definitely not starlings (ask me how I know this….) But, considering all of that fluffy fuzz sticking out of them, not likely sparrows, either. After pouring through books and websites, I’m about 90 percent … okay, maybe 85 percent … let’s call it 80 … that they’re House Finches.

Regardless, after half a day of having to gently pry little mouths open, they began to realize that the red straw cut into the shape of a mommy-bird beak contained food. Now, they’re gaping well, eating well, and due to the fact that they’re well covered in down and new feather growth, I’m able to feed them about every half hour to forty minutes, rather than every twenty minutes, as a really tiny nekkid baby would require.

One nice thing about doing nestling bird rehab is that at sundown, the natural parents would stop feeding … which means they, and I (most of the time), sleep through the night. The drawback is, of course, that sunup means hungry mouths, and we have another entire day of every half-hour feedings ahead. I’m definitely ready for sunset by the time it arrives.

Baby birds really aren’t so bad. The danger is, of course, in the fact that they imprint so easily.

Ask me how I know this….

Once a bird is truly imprinted on humans (or any rescued wild animal, for that matter), it is no longer a good candidate for release. To successfully rehabilitate a baby bird to the point that it can be put back in the wild when ready, one has to remain distant, handle only when feeding and providing necessary care, and provide a safe, secure, place away from human interaction the rest of the time. The bird is better off if it can be kept with others of its own, or at least a similar, species. Once the baby is perching, trying to fly, and eating on its own, it must be introduced to natural foods that it would find in the wild, and be moved to a situation where it can learn to forage for itself. Ideally, it should be released in its own home environment…or, at the very least, an area very similar to that in which it was born. There are a large number of things that can go wrong when rehabilitating wild animals, and rehabbers have to do their best to find the right balance for success.

Thus, the first option when finding any baby bird, is to try (and try hard) to return it to its parents.

There are many excuses we hear when people bring us birds. Some of them are really not valid, when the welfare of the bird is made the first priority, I’m sorry to say. A very common one is “my cat might get it” (why not keep your cat inside till the babies fledge? This usually happens in just a couple of weeks, they grow very fast).

There are also, of course, valid reasons. Occasionally the parents will have been killed. Sometimes it’s impossible to locate the nest site. The bird could be injured and need special care. However, always assess the situation carefully, with the fact in mind that a baby bird is always better off with its parents (even if it might mean doing a few calisthenics to get it back to them).

People who bring baby animals to rehabilitators for care are really very good people. Their hearts are in the right places, and we do appreciate this. However, learning about wildlife, educating oneself about the best thing for the animals, is a big part of that caring nature. There are quite a few good books out there about wildlife rehabilitation, and websites that give lots of wonderful information.

If you’ve found an orphaned or injured bird or other wild animal, see this as a nudge in the direction of self-improvement. Let it open your mind to curiosity about wildlife. Let the experience spark a desire to know more. Hit the library, browse the web, stop by the bookstore. If you visit the “Book Shop” here on Gazehound.com, you’ll find quite a few books there about wildlife care and rehabilitation. One of my favorites for songbird rescue is the little booklet in the Storey Country Wisdom series, Helping Orphaned and Injured Wild Birds. For a little book that’s not much more than an oversized pamphlet, it’s packed with great information.

It’s only May. That means baby season is just starting, and in fact, it seems to be early this year. No doubt, these three little Probably Finches are just the first of a full season of orphans. If people arm themselves with knowledge and locate their local wildlife rehabbers “just in case”, it will make the summer a more satisfying one for everyone, birdies included.

Share and Enjoy:

Help NYWRC Help The Animals

Gayze — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:29:05 +0000

Please vote for (name entered as:) *NY Wildlife Rehab Center* (address:) Llama Rd. Middleburgh, NY to win a grant from the Berkshire Bank’s giveaway:

http://www.berkshirebank.com/about_us/in_the_community/berkshire-bank-foundation/help-us-give-away-20000

Share and Enjoy:

No related posts.

Wild Bird Rescue in Winter

Gayze — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 16:02:58 +0000

With the temperatures across the nation dipping into the negative digits, and wind chills making things even worse, we humans are not the only ones having a hard time dealing. In the past week, I’ve received several emails and other notes about people finding wild birds in trouble. The most recent came this morning, with a note about a friend of a friend, who rescued a little bird from the side of the road.

The bird was apparently stunned, but the most noticeable thing was that when she picked it up, it was cold to the touch. She removed her gloves and warmed it against her body, and took it home with her to observe it.

This lady did the right thing. She put it in a warm, quiet place, and allowed it to regain its body heat, with the plans to release it back where she found it if the bird recovers. At the time that she sent my friend the email, the bird had regained mobility, was warm to the touch, and appeared to be doing better.

Minor collisions in flight happen all the time with wild birds. We, of course, usually only know about them when the collisions occur against our windows or the sides of our houses, but they happen in the wild, too. On windy days, a little songbird is at the mercy of the air currents, branches can blow suddenly into their path, and down they go. Under normal circumstances, birds are pretty resilient. Often, they sit, stunned, for a moment, shake it off, and flit merrily on their way.

In sub-arctic temperatures, though, those minor dings can turn fatal, fast. Birds have super high metabolisms. Watch a bird for a while, and you’ll note how they tic and twitch, moving their heads in fast jerky motions, their little wings move at a rapid rate, and they’re almost constantly in motion during the daylight hours. Those tiny bodies, when stunned and on the ground after a bump, can lose body heat rapidly.

The little bird this lady found was probably stunned by a collision, fell to the roadside, and then very quickly began to freeze.

If you find a bird in distress, any time of year, warming it is the first course of treatment. In the summer time, you have the luxury of observing the bird for a period, as often they will simply shake off the confusion and recover on their own. When the temperatures are below freezing, however, there’s a much higher chance that the bird is going to lose the battle with the elements before it can recover its mobility. If a bird is so stunned that it cannot take flight, you probably will be able to gently pick it up rather easily.

Be a human hot water bottle. Warm the bird against your body. Observe whether the bird begins to recover right away. Sometimes all it takes is a brief period of body heat and the bird finds its wings again. If not, and the bird still seems stunned, you can bring it inside.

Provide a warm, quiet, dark place. A hot water bottle is great for little birds … be sure to place a towel or other insulation between the bottle and the bird, so there is no chance of scalding. If you use a heating pad, leave it under the box you are using, with insulating material between, and not in the box itself. If a bird is stunned, there is no real need to provide food or water right away, though using a jar lid with a little water in it probably won’t hurt the bird. If you do provide water, observe carefully to be sure the little one does not flounder into the jar lid and soak itself. Wetting down an already hypothermic bird would not be a good thing.

If you feel a strong need to provide food, try to determine what type of bird you have rescued. Different species have different needs: there are birds that eat mostly seed, birds that eat mostly bugs, birds that eat mostly fruit, and everything in between. Use a good guide book, such as the Audubon Guides, Sibley Guide, or a decent online identification site, to at least ascertain the general type of bird. You don’t need to know it’s a Song Sparrow, for example … just knowing it’s a Sparrow will be helpful.

If you’ve found a seed eater, feeding is easy … a small dish of appropriately sized wild bird seed will suffice. Bug eaters do okay on soaked or ground and soaked dry cat or dog food temporarily. Fruit eaters will welcome dried berries or raisins. Many birds, of course, eat a combination. Remember that you are only temporarily providing food for the bird, and don’t be surprised or disappointed if the bird doesn’t want to eat in captivity at all.

Once the bird is acting normal again, if you see that it can stand, perch, and move its wings normally, return it to the location where it was found and release it. Birds are territorial … they need their home surroundings, their flocks, the songs of their local species population, to properly survive. Animals from the wild should always, when possible, be released in their home territory after rehabilitation.

Remember that this is a wild animal. One of the most stressful things we can do to a little wild bird like this is to keep it captive. Release the bird as soon as you feel confident that it has recovered.

If there is any doubt, or if you feel that you might have to keep the bird more than overnight, hit the internet and search for wildlife rehabilitators in your state. Find the nearest person who is licensed to care for migratory birds, and turn the bird over to them. Be sure to let them know where and when you found the bird, and the circumstances surrounding the rescue. Getting a bird that does not fully recover quickly into the hands of a skilled, trained individual may make the difference between survival and loss.

Not only will the bird need professional care to have the best chance of recovery … it is illegal in the U.S., and other countries, to keep a wild bird unless you have a federal migratory bird permit to do so. All wild songbirds are protected species in the United States except for European Starlings, English (House) Sparrows, and Pigeons. Other types of birds are also protected, and different classes of birds have different laws governing their rescue and care.

If you’ve rescued a little bird in distress, thank you! You may have made the difference between life and death for that little fellow. If you have a bird in your possession and are uncertain of whether it should be released, seek the advice of a professional, your local wildlife rehabber. This will give the bird its best chance of returning to its normal life … thanks to you and the help network available to you.

A Few Additional Tips

Keep wild birds away from human contact if possible, and protect them from household pets. The proximity of humans is very stressful, and the less a bird is stressed, the more likely it is to recover.
Raptors (hawks, falcons, owls, etc) are dangerous predators. Do not handle them with bare hands, and do not try to keep an injured raptor even overnight. Their beaks deliver nasty bites, and their talons are extremely sharp and strong.
Large, sharp-billed birds such as herons, or sharp-billed water birds such as loons, instinctively use their beaks as spears for protection. They should not be handled if at all avoidable, and be sure to keep your face and eyes out of harm’s way if you encounter one of these birds.
Wild birds can sometimes carry disease in their droppings, and on their bodies … be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after handling them.

Some Links of Interest

Books:

Websites:

Whatbird.com bird identification site
AllAboutBirds.com Cornell’s identification and information site
The U.S. Migratory Bird Act
Wildlife Rehabilitator Search Engine (Note, this is not necessarily a complete listing, it is provided here in case your search for wildlife rehabbers in your own state does not give satisfactory results)

Share and Enjoy:

My Starlings Talking

Gayze — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:43:36 +0000

I’ve mentioned Stars and Stripes, our European Starlings, many times in my blog posts. I’ve also mentioned that they talk … and yet, my readers have had nothing but my word to go on as to the truth of that.

All that has changed! I’ve finally, after quite a few months of trying to figure out a way to record them, come to a solution. You see, if they see any kind of recording device, they clam right up. Likewise with becoming upset at the sight of the camera. However, for the past several days, I’ve been acclimating them to the presence of a micro cassette recorder placed on top of their cage. Today, finally, they resumed their normal chatter with it running.

Please excuse the background noise and less than pristine quality of these clips. I’ve got a cable on the way that will allow me to patch the cassette recorder directly into the microphone jack on my computer. However, Stars was so chatty this morning that I couldn’t resist doing this the hard way … by just holding the mic to the speaker on the recorder.

These clips are in the form of .wav files, so any computer that can play standard sound files should be able to hear them. Clicking the link for each file should open it in a new browser tab or window for you.

And now, without further ado, I present to you Stars Nastasi, the talking Starling! (His clutch mate also talks, by the way, but Stars seems to be the more vocal of the duo).

1. laugh.wav (632K) — We start out with a short clip of Stars laughing. I can’t hear this silly chuckle without laughing myself. It’s as addictive as a yawn!

2. (whoshere)_Mommy.wav (451K) — You hear me ask, “Who’s here?” and Stars responds, “Mommy!”

3. whosaprettybird(short).wav (433K) — Their favorite phrase is “Who’s a pretty bird?”

4. whosaprettybird(clear).wav (1447K) — Stars wolf-whistles then whistles a little song. Then he says “Who’s a baby”, and then, really clearly, “Who’s a pretty bird?” I respond and then he says, more quietly, “Who’s a bay-bird” (baby-bird contraction).

5. pretty_baby_conversation.wav (1331K) — Stars says “You’re a pretty baby” and I respond with the same. Then I repeat that just as he says “Bird.” And then he asks, “Who is a baby” and then “Who’s a pray-bee?” (their combination of “pretty” and “baby”).

6. kisses_here-kitty_whistles.wav (513K) — My favorite. You’ll hear Stars mew-mew, then do some kisses (part of calling the cat). He then says, “Here, Kitty!” and wolf-whistles.

Share and Enjoy:

Help for Lost Pets: FindToto.com

Gayze — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:48:42 +0000

There’s nothing quite so upsetting, in quite the same way, for both animal communicators, and the clients who are hurting, than having a pet go missing. It is such a difficult process, in fact, that many communicators won’t accept “location work” at all, and I myself am taking a hiatus from accepting new missing animal clients. The emotional devastation of not knowing where your pet is, or if he is okay, is overwhelming … and it can also overpower the communicator who is trying to make the connection.

When new people call me now, with a missing pet, I offer (at no charge) to send information to the pet, including encouragement and instruction on how to help himself be found. Two-way connections are much more difficult, however, and it is these I’ve been taking a break from for some time. (This, please note, is not the fault of the animals or their humans, but a failing of my own which I’m hoping is temporary.)

I also offer other advice, practical applications that can help a person locate a missing pet. One of the best of these in recent years has been FindToto.com.

FindToto is a service that calls listed phone numbers in the area where the pet was last seen. A recorded message describes the pet and the situation, and gives a number to call if the pet is seen. Their success record is quite impressive, and I’ve become more and more convinced that this service is one every person missing a pet should at least consider.

There is a fee for FindToto. Their rates vary depending on how many calls the client wishes to be made, beginning at $70.00 for the basic package of 250 calls, raising in increments all the way up to 10,000 numbers for $875.00. The FindToto website includes a lengthy section of success stories to help potential customers decide if the service is for them.

There are many things a person can do, including hiring the assistance of an animal communicator, while searching for a missing pet. The vast majority of those things involve getting the information out. The more people who know about your animal, the greater the chance of someone seeing and recognizing him.

FindToto is an innovative way of doing just that. Not everyone has the financial means to hire the service, but I believe everyone searching for a lost pet should at least consider it.

Links and Information to help in the search for missing pets:

Share and Enjoy: