fledglings??

[sterlingcooper]

Hello,

On Thursday evening a fledgling great tit kept flying into our window,
we put the bird in a nearby bush and left it thinking the parents would be nearby, It was still there when we checked it at about 10.30 pm. we decided to bring it inside as it was dark and the temperature had dropped (we had hail the next day!) After warming and trying to feed it the bird was a lot more lively and we put it in a basket and placed it inside a tea towel made into a nest, we placed it in a quiet room and it was asleep when I went to bed, In the morning however it had died.

The garden has been full of birds the last few days and a fledgling black bird was out on the grass all day Saturday, but was visited by its parents often and we were not concerned for the bird as we were the Great tit. we put out extra food (Raisins and cut apple) which the parents feed to the young bird all evening. after dark we looked out to see if the bird was still out on the grass, it wasn't and we assumed it had taken off with the parents.

It was not until later this evening as i was going to the potting shed (after a day of heavy rain) did I come across the fledgling black bird which I guess had died in the night. We have questioned as the whether we should have brought the bird inside as it was a lot stronger than the great tit and we feel it would have survived inside than out all night in the rain.

some questions I want to ask are do fledgling birds return to the nest at night or do they rest on the ground?

also why would a Bird being fed right up to dark not survive the night?

feel a little guilty as was going to get a torch and look to see if the bird had gone last night, but decided it was fine.

[werdnal]

Welcome to the forum.

It is always a difficult call on whether to intervene or not. To be honest in both these cases, I would have left the birds outside and let nature take its course. You rescued the great tit to stop it being injured flying into your window - it may have already caused itself some internal damage so it would have died anyway. If it was still outside late in the evening, I would have left it there.

We had a blackbird fledgling in the tree outside our kitchen window late one evening last week. It was still there after dark when I went to shut our chickens in, and still there when I got up the following morning. Parents eventually returned and it disappeared so assume they all lived happily ever after.

The blackbird you found on the ground was still being fed by parents. Sadly if it didn't follow them away and was later found dead, that was nature. It was either sick or weak and they abandoned it, or it fledged from the nest too early.

I have been guilty of "rescuing" young birds, but only if they were in iminent danger - I posted here earlier this week about a blackbird fledgling I rescued from our pond. If they are likely to be run over, caught by cats or dogs etc, I feel it is good to pick them up and put out of harms way. If they are injured, I would take them in and get professional advice from a wildlife centre. However, if they are just out and about doing what fledglings do, with parents nearby, best to leave well alone.

They do sometimes return to their nest for safety and warmth, but in a lot of cases, young birds do "fledge" before they can fly accurately or strongly enough to reach their nests again, so have to take their chances with their roosting spot overnight.

It is very difficult, being an animal lover, to take this stance, but sometimes the parent birds know something is wrong with their youngster, and will abandon it to concentrate on their viable fledglings, rather than waste time and energy feeding a youngster that will probably not survive anyway.

As a new member here, please be warned that this type of post can provoke some very strong replies from people who do not feel it appropriate for anyone to take it upon themselves to "help" wildlife, however well intended your actions were. Please do not be offended if this thread gets a little out of hand, and don't let it put you off becoming a regular poster here!

[Pipa]

well if the birds were injured i can understand the feeling/need to want to help..

but in my opinion just because it's going to be a chilly night and there is fledglings about, i dont think its wise to go collecting them and bringing them indoors if they otherwise appear fit and healthy.. what will you do with it in the morning time..the parents might think its gone and not bother coming back to it

Also the sheer stress of being grabbed and bundled into your house will cause stress to the bird and likely kill it anyway

i think unless the bird is injured it's best to leave well alone sorry to hear about the little blue tit, its very hard, nature is very hard on our hearts at times and makes me too very sad when things happen

dont feel guilty, blackbird fledglings in particular spend alot of time on the ground(in shrubs etc) when they leave the nest before they can even fly,, a couple weeks,