Ask Lafeber

Fledgling death

I observed a baby bird in front of our house for a few days as it could not fly. I could not see his mother anywhere and thought there might be something wrong so he let me pick him up and I took him to the vet. The vet advised he was a fledgling and he has been thrown out of the nest to learn to fly. The vet told me to take him back where I found him which I did. The next day I walked past that area and saw him dead on the ground. I think a cat may have attacked him or he might have died from shock? I feel terrible. I picked him up and buried him in our garden. I don’t think I will ever interfere with nature again.

Hi,

I’m so sorry you had this experience, but really it sounds like the parents had abandoned it for some reason. It’s true that birds go through a fledgling stage where they are learning to fly, and at times they may end up on the ground. The parents are always nearby watching it and feeding it. Sometimes the bird needs to be rescued. If it is in danger from a predator – usually domestic cats, or if the parents have abandoned it. If you can watch from somewhere and not be too close, the parents will reveal themselves. If no parents are around, something may have happened to them or possibly there is something wrong with the chick. It doesn’t hurt to handle the chick, and if you can’t see a nest, you can try putting it in a basket as high as possible. If parents still do not show up, something is wrong. Even when taken away, the parents tend to stick around for a day or two. If he was there for a few days and you never saw parents, something went wrong, and the chick probably would have died even if you didn’t pick it up.  I’ll give you the link to a great webinar we did that shows you how to help wildlife:

Thanks for trying to help the little guy!

Brenda