what to do with this wee thing....?

[mranderson]

hi there,

hopefully someone here can help me. i found this baby bird on our lawn this afternoon. he'd been there at least an hour and there's a lot of cats around so i moved him into some bushes for cover. 10 mins later i saw one of the neighbours cats running home with him in its mouth so i chased it and he dropped the bird.

i took him in and put him on a blanket in a box and left a little dish of water. he seems alright but i've no idea really. i'll take him to a vet tomorrow but any advice would be appreciated.

cheers,

g.

[Jonners]

Hello mranderson and welcome to WAB. You have rescued a young swift there, and rather than repeat what was said earlier today, have a look through this thread... Please help identify this bird

[mranderson]

thanks for the quick response. tried taking him out to release him but he couldn't fly, so i put him on a branch which he promptly fell off.

had a look at his wings and one is missing a few feathers (or is broken) so i'll take him to the vet tomorrow.

thanks again for the help.

[Picidae]

Unfortunately the cat may well have caused fatal injury to the wee fella. If it's still alive in the morning, get him to a vets ASAP for some antibiotics and a check over. (The back of his neck looks like it's been in the cat's mouth). If the wing is not broken (the vet will tell you) it should be Ok to release as indicated on the other thread once it's had a stat dose of Anti Bs.

If you find anymore, don't put them under a bush, toss them upwards into the air so they can get some height to lift off from. Lots of young Swifts are still making their maiden flights (late arrivals/breeders) - taking off is generally 'easy' for most species, it's the landing that's hard - or in the case of Swifts NOT landing!

[Vixen]

please don't give swifts water, if I remember right they get all the fluid from there food and giving them water can kill them.

[animartco]

Hi MRAnderson,
I hope the poor thing was still alive and you got it to the vets OK. Next time you find a swift, check the wings are OK- (well you did that, and in this case they weren't) then as Picadae suggested toss it high into the air in a clear area where it can't bump into anything. Swifts are unable to take off from the ground and have very week legs so can't even climb to gain height. Any baby swift that muffs its first flight and lands on the ground is doomed unless 'launched' by a passer by.
You could do it a further favour by removing any of the horrendous crab like parasites which tend to infest swifts. They are enormous and easy to spot and pick off by hand.

[ElwoodsGirl]

Gorgeous little thing ... hope it makes it

[mranderson]

Hi there,

Thanks to everyone who gave their advice.

Took him to the vet who checked him over and said the wing wasn't broken but was in shock. She emailed the RSPB who came later that day and took him away to be cared for.

So thanks everyone, the wee fella's going to be OK.

Cheers.

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by mranderson

Hi there,

She emailed the RSPB who came later that day and took him away to be cared for.

So thanks everyone, the wee fella's going to be OK.

Cheers.

Glad you got it to the vets but when did the RSPB start taking birds into care? Perhaps you mean the RSPCA?

[cara pace]

I think perhaps the RSPB have contacted one of their recognised Swift carers. The RSPB are taking great interest in Common Swifts at the moment.

There is a link to their listed carers and a survey too on this webpage... The RSPB: Help us help swifts

Swifts should also be released from a height, but not thrown as this can cause them injury.
http://www.swift-conservation.org/Ha...on%20Swift.pdf

If you find out how the little Swift is, MrAnderson, let us know