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Nests and Baby Birds

If you see a young, but fully fledged, bird on the ground, the chances are that it will have left the nest naturally and will be in that in-between stage of fluttering and not quite flying. With most garden birds, this is quite natural, and such birds should be left alone as their parent(s) will be nearby taking care of them and continuing to feed them. There are exceptions, baby doves that take a premature tumble from the nest being one, and these birds will not toddle off into the bushes after mum or dad as will, for example, the fledgling blackbird.

If you think that the bird is too young to have left the nest, or you think that it may be in danger, find a container such as a flower pot, fill it with soft hay or dry leaves and lodge it high up in some nearby shrubs or trees. When it gets hungry, it will call for its parents who will probably be on the lookout for it nearby.

This method works particularly well for house martins, except, of course, that they build their nests attached to the outside walls of houses. Often, in the summer, the mud of a house martin's nest dries out, causing it to collapse and the babies to plummet to the ground. If they are uninjured, it is quite possible to return them to a makeshift nest, as described above, with some holes punched in the bottom for drainage. Then, if you can find someone with some DIY skills, get them to fix this new nest to the wall, maybe under the eaves, as near as possible to the original nest site. It may require an hour or so of your time, but the pleasure of seeing the parents returning to feed the hungry little mouths popping over the top of their new home is reward enough.

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Wildlife the charity has treated this year includes: Ducks, Swans, Other Water Birds, Raptors, Owls, Game Birds, Corvids, Pigeons, Doves, Garden Birds, Hedgehogs, Badgers, Squirrels, Otters, Foxes, Deer, Bats, Rabbits and many other species.