normally i skip these....

[thebeard]

i normally skip threads with 'help found a baby bird' as its so common this time of year and Picidae has put a great guide on the top of the forum

however today i was one of those people to find some baby birds. We were playing football at the local park and my friend went to collect the ball whuich had gone off towards a large leylandi hedge and spiked fence. he shouted me over as he had seen some live chicks.

there on the ground in a circle were 5 little chicks, with little in the way of feathers but with open eyes. having seen a couple of distressed greenfinch around previously, and looking at their bills i decided they must be this species.

we weren't sure what to do and a call to the rspca led to the suggestion of putting them in a box near the base of the tree, or just leaving them. this seemed sensible but a box out in the open would be silly, as we wouldnt have been able to put it under the trees due to the fencing being in the way. Instead i reached through the fence, dug out a nest shape in the ivy covering the ground under the leylandii and carefully placed the 5 chicks in here.

i saw the adults in the area afterwards and we moved a little further away. I just hope the chicks get on ok. its a little weird seeing as many as 5 on the ground, but i guess the windy weather must have thrown them out. i hope i did the right thing.

just remember to follow advice from rspca/rspb (or here!) and never take them home!

cheers