abandoned nestlings?

[cresshead101]

today me and my dad were out for a walk,and we found a baby thrush on the ground.it had full feathers,and it looked pretty helpless out in the open.when we tried to pick it up,it ran off into a bush.i know that quite often baby bird's mothers are nearby,so we left it .later,in the evening,it was still there,but by the time we had gone home to get a box and stuff to catch it in it had gone.now i feel quite guilty for leaving it,what is the proper thing to do if a baby bird falls out a nest?hope it hasn't been eaten....

[eeyore]

if the mother is nearby it is defintely better to leave it - every year wildlife hospitals are inundated with "rescued" babies 99% of which would have been better left where they are.

I would only try to catch one if it was in a seriously dangerous place - such as on a road - and then i would wear gloves and only move it a short distance to a place where the parents can find it.

[Lincs Yellowbelly]

Totally agree with Eeyore best off leaving baby birds well alone. Blackbirds and other thrush species always look pretty helpless when they first leave the nest.

[Vixen]

Originally Posted by cresshead101

today me and my dad were out for a walk,and we found a baby thrush on the ground.it had full feathers,and it looked pretty helpless out in the open.when we tried to pick it up,it ran off into a bush.i know that quite often baby bird's mothers are nearby,so we left it .later,in the evening,it was still there,but by the time we had gone home to get a box and stuff to catch it in it had gone.now i feel quite guilty for leaving it,what is the proper thing to do if a baby bird falls out a nest?hope it hasn't been eaten....

if it was fully feather then it has'nt fallen out of the nest, it had fledged.

If it is in no imediate danger, leave it be.

[Kayleigh]

last year the dog next door caught and killed a baby blackbird and left another on the lawn uninjured. We (my hubby) climbed the fence passed the baby over to me and we put it under my bay tree. The mother came back soon after and found it. The bird stayed in our garden about a week. Blackbirds and thrush feed their young on the ground for a while, we have had birds in the garden up to two weeks before they fly off. Its best to leave well alone unless they are in danger like eeyore said.