Petcare Made Simple

How To Deal With Baby Birds When Bird Watching

Has there been a time that as you go on with your usual bird watching activity you come across a baby bird and do not know what to do about it? You are faced with a rather difficult situation, so to speak. Baby birds can really be helpless creatures, especially if there are possible predators around.

So that you will know what to do the next time instances like these occur, here are the some good tips to follow:

1. If you see the birdies in nests, most probably, they are not orphans. That means they may not need your help or attention. Their parents could have just left them there to hunt for their food. It is best that you just admire the birds and do it from a distance. Do not touch the birds or do anything that may scare them.

2. If the birdies are out of the nest, chances are they are sick. In fact, it might be the parent or the siblings that took the particular bird out. The weakest birdie of the group is usually left alone to die. You can try taking care of the birdie yourself. But usually they have internal body problems that are beyond cure.

3. Small birds require food at regular intervals. If you are bird watching and saw a nest full of young ones, observe their eating habits. Their mother would most probably be away for a maximum of 30 minutes. The nestlings need to feed every 30 minutes within their 12 waking hours for 10 days or more.

4. Young birds have their own timetable to learn. It is the mother’s responsibility to teach their birdies how to fly and how to hunt for their own food. And this is the main reason young birds need to be close to their mothers all the time. And they have to continuously do so until after they can fly and eat on their own. Humans cannot teach that to a bird, no matter how controlled the conditions are. So, do not attempt to take one nestling and rear it yourself. It might live, but it would not grow up normally like the others.

These are the four things that you have to remember when you encounter baby birds. No matter how cute and vulnerable they may seem, it is almost always right to leave them alone, unless of course, there is an immediate threat to their safety.