Urgent CROW baby help required!

[GillZB]

we have a crow family we have been watching and feeding for almost a year - the couple will come down to feed within 6ft of us and will coaw and wait for us at the same time every day - they even come to the lawn when we stand at the window and will bow and make greeting noises - we think they have come to rely on us for food if not for friendship! the couple nested and have hatched 3 babies a month ago and now to our panic at about 7pm the boldest baby has got out of the nest and is 20 ft away and cant get back. hes about 50ft from the ground and the mother has now bedded down in the nest with the other 2 young and dad has gone to the roost. please can you tell me what chance baby has alone in a semi-leaved oak tree - his first night out of the nest - we are planning to walk over to the tree every couple of hours to see if he has fallen - but we are on a housing estate and the oak tree is close to a dog walkers route where the dogs run wild and there are plenty of puddy tats! PLEASE PLEASE can anyone tell us if the baby could survive the night alone - he can flap and jump but is very downy looking. what can we do - should we keep a night vigil or is he capable of hanging onto the branch or too exhausted? we are frantic with worry - we are very attached to these friends of ours - please help Gill and Paul xxxx

[Cowgirl]

Oh dear, I'm sorry I can't really help, hopefully a few night owl experts will see your post & be able to advise. I don't thiink there is a lot you can do if he's so high up, if he falls to the ground I would be tempted to put him in a box overnight & release him near the nest in the morning for the parents to feed. Good luck & keep us posted.

[Hedgehoggy]

Hi GillZB, and welcome to WAB. Just to reassure you, baby crows fledge their nest 28-35 days after hatching, and the remaining two babies will undoubtedly follow suit within the next day or two. The fledglings are unable to fly when they fledge their nests and will branch hop down to the ground where they are looked after by their attentive parents until they’re able to fly properly. A lot of their time is spent on the ground learning to find food and they can usually hop up into bushes and dense trees to get away from predators.

Crows are very intelligent birds, and I’m sure your new family will do just fine - especially as the parents have a helping hand from yourselves and don’t have to travel far to find food for their new brood

[GillZB]

thankyou for the advice - my boyfriend has just gone out with torch to look for baby in case he has fallen. over the past few days there has been much flapping and testing of wings but none have ventured this far out - and what a time to do it! thought babies fledged in the morning - what is our crow baby doing it this late for? I really hope he can last the night perched in that branch but my heart goes out to him- or her - cold and alone for the first time. the parent birds are very vigilant - but they didnt feed tonight as they usually do - perhaps baby's agitation had upset them. We have been feeding them on fillet steak, beef fat, lamb, bread, fruit, ham, sausage, chicken - so we assume the babies are well fed - they have many stashes in local gutters and roof tiles - we arent very popular in the neighbourhood! thankyou for your kind advice and support - Gill and Paul x

[Hedgehoggy]

He'll be absolutely fine roosting on the branch overnight, this is what they do. He wouldn't have fledged the nest if he didn't feel ready, and his protective parents are nearby keeping a watchful eye. Rest assured this is perfectly natural behaviour for a corvid fledgling, so try not to worry so much, and just enjoy the antics of your new family

[GillZB]

Thankyou Hedgehoggy - i can go to my own roost now in peace! I'll be up at first light though checking him out - im sure our neighbours think we are real weirdos - the drawbacks of binos on a housing estate! I'll let you know how they get on - many thanks for your help - Gill x

[Picidae]

Totally agree with the others Gill. Dont worry! ''Branching'' as it's known, is a natural occurrence with some species of birds. They can't actually fly properly but take wingborn hops onto branches surrounding the nest site. The adults will feed them where they are. Depending on how 'brave' they are, distance from nest can vary. It's perfectly safe (from ground predators and from 'falling') where it is.

[GillZB]

Good news! baby crow made it through his first night out of the nest! he has hopped to lower branches and mam and dad are feeding him - I also saw through the binos lots of cover in trees quite close when he does get on the ground - mam and dad obviously chose the nest site well - I should have trusted to the natural intelligence of these birds!
Thankyou Picidae - I havent heard of 'branching' - but Im relieved I know now! I wont worry about the other 2 when their time comes! Mam and dad are now having breakfast - fillet steak and beef fat - while I stand and guard it from the gulls while they go off to stash! we do let the gulls have some - and the starlings as obviously they all have hungry beaks to feed! what a happy time this is in the beak world!!!

[Norman007]

Originally Posted by GillZB

we have a crow family we have been watching and feeding for almost a year - the couple will come down to feed within 6ft of us and will coaw and wait for us at the same time every day - they even come to the lawn when we stand at the window and will bow and make greeting noises - we think they have come to rely on us for food if not for friendship! the couple nested and have hatched 3 babies a month ago and now to our panic at about 7pm the boldest baby has got out of the nest and is 20 ft away and cant get back. hes about 50ft from the ground and the mother has now bedded down in the nest with the other 2 young and dad has gone to the roost. please can you tell me what chance baby has alone in a semi-leaved oak tree - his first night out of the nest - we are planning to walk over to the tree every couple of hours to see if he has fallen - but we are on a housing estate and the oak tree is close to a dog walkers route where the dogs run wild and there are plenty of puddy tats! PLEASE PLEASE can anyone tell us if the baby could survive the night alone - he can flap and jump but is very downy looking. what can we do - should we keep a night vigil or is he capable of hanging onto the branch or too exhausted? we are frantic with worry - we are very attached to these friends of ours - please help Gill and Paul xxxx

Hi Gill

When I was standing on the green in front of my house for all the world to see in my pjs, "Guarding my mince" from the pigeons, while my daddy crow went and stashed his fist lot, I thought I must be the only one in the world!! and bless you, I found this site and you, like you I have a family of crows, although babies have not come down yet, I feel like an expectant father, although I am a woman. had I not read you post and that happened to me, which I now know will, I would of been out there with my tent, I live with my husband and 2 cats who just think at 53, it is normal for me to do these things, in fact I think my cats think their basket belongs to , foxes hedgehogs birds or whatever else I rescue, just wanted to say good luck off now with my binos Janet xx

[louisedd]

Hi there

I am a British writer, and I was really interested by your posts about your relationship with wild birds.

I am writing a novel presently in which two birds star! One is an African Grey Parrot, and the other is a poor old lowly crow who unlike the parrot in his gilt cage is out the back as a decoy in a crow trap. I want to show how clever the crow is, and I'd like to have a scene in which a woman befriends either the decoy crow or if you think it more likely, a baby crow.

Could you describe to me how this might happen? She feeds the crow in the cage daily. What might she look for, or how might she make contact?

Would a 'relationship' only be made if the bird were fed from young?

Thanks so much for your help!

best

Louise Dean

www.louisedean.com,