We saved a fledgling Song Sparrow

[totoro]

We have these wood beams outside our back door that is a sitting area. For some reason the Gila Woodpeckers love the wood, soft and little bugs in it.
The woodpeckers build their nests in it.
When the Woodpeckers are not in them the Song Sparrows take them over.

The fledglings are just about to fly off, but not quite ready.
2 nights ago one fell out, it is about 10 feet up. Annie tried to get it.
I grabbed it from her, it was dark and I could not tell where it came from.

We put it in a little box with tissue and some other soft stuff.
In the morning I opened the box and it hopped out onto my finger and just sat there.
It was so cute.

It took off trying so hard to fly.

I put it on a little racket of the girls and set it over by our bird feeder.
Immediately the Momma came over and fed it.

It had the corner of our wall with bushes to hide in plus the feeder right there with Momma and Daddy.
All day I watched them feed "her".

She could not fly high enough to get up anywhere.

By 7pm I finally was able to track which nest/hole the parents lived in.
husband and I got out the ladder, the parents were settling in for the night.

I put on gloves and caught her, the poor things heart was pounding, which scared me.

I did it fast, got her up there, heard some yelling, I waited underneath just in case they kicked her out.

Nothing... then the momma flew out to get some food.

This morning everything looks good!
I kept going outside last night to check.

I did this 2 years ago with 3 baby swallows that got stuck in a hole, we had a swallow box and it had an old nest, we re-homed them and the parents were fine as were the babies!

I am so happy!!!

 

[nvts]

That's so wonderful! You're even looking out for Mother Nature's babies!

Reminds me of a story: My brother and his friends were hanging out at the point one night and one of them was using a walking stick and hitting the bushes while they were walking. Something fell out of the bush, but it was really dark out. Well, they caught the bird, brought it home to my parents house, put it in a shoebox and put it in the garage for the night.

My mom got up the next morning and bro told her about the bird.

She goes down to the garage, opens the box and a bat flies out and is dive-bombing her! She threw open the garage door and took off down the driveway like, well, "a bat out of hell"!

Moral of the story: Don't trust a 17 year old stoner with hature and rescues!

Beth

 

[Abbey]

How cute!!
Abbey

 

[ThreeShadows]

Thank you, Toto, I love song sparrows. I didn't know you had them out West.
There are three newborn chipping sparrows in our holly bush. I watched the nest closely for cowbird eggs. They are parasitic, don't raise their own young. These babies made it to a new life. They look so fragile I am afraid to breathe on them.

 

[totoro]

Three shadows
They are one of our birds here in the SW.
I watch them through our window and had the hardest time figuring out which one it was until i spotted the stripes and the spot on it's chest.
We live by one of the few wet land here.
I looked it up and I guess they reside in most of AZ.

Love the song birds!!!
I am thinking of doing the backyard bird count next year. I read on the Audubon Society that Tucson has one of the largest migratory routes.
I talked to a little lady in one of our birding parks and she told me it is amazing to do it here!

 

[Wiped Out]

You did good!

 

[susiestar]

How cool! I was always taught that if you handled or interfered with a baby bird or fledgling that the parents would never accept it back. I guess you proved that wrong.

 

[totoro]

You know Susie I was taught the same thing.
SO each time I have had to save them, I did it quickly and with gloves on.

But the time with the Swallows I relocated them into a whole new box with an old nest. So I think the drive to take care of their young outweighs that theory? With some birds.


It was a Swallow box that I relocated them in... they had been in a electrical box that got left open by a technician, the eggs hatched and the parents were getting in anytime the box would blow open! The babies had made it quite a while... The parents were dive bombing us and I finally figured it out, but it still took me 2 days to catch them, 3 of them!

I have pictures of there progression into flight!
So far this little Sparrow is doing fine!

I have seen this done with Eagles in Idaho as well when a nest blows over.