It’s baby bird season and operators on our 5441 6200 Hotline have to determine whether the chicks are nestlings or fledglings. They also have to ascertain whether the young bird needs rescuing, or would removal just be a kidnapping of the poor chick from its parents?
It is a fallacy that birds will not accept their young back if humans have handled them. The birds don’t care. They just want their baby back! They don’t even mind if you make a nest out of a hanging basket or an icecream container, with holes in the bottom, and hang it in a tree nearby.
Birds with very little feathering need to be installed in a nest and hung up in a tree as soon as possible. If fledglings are put up in a larger container like a bucket it has to have holes in the bottom and be three quarters filled with nesting material, with a sturdy branch into the container so parents can access. These birds have to be observed from a distance over the next couple of hours to check on the return of the parents.
Fledgling magpies should be left on the ground unless in immediate danger from predators, or showing signs of illness such as mouth open breathing (gaping), or twine wrapped around their legs. It is natural for fledgling magpies to be on the ground. That is how they learn to forage for their food. They need to learn how to eat all those lawn grubs from our grass. Poisons use has become another problem altogether!
Often people think that there are no parents around but usually parents return within a short time. Fledgling magpies will be left for a few hours, but if the parents haven’t met with mishap they will appear late afternoon to give their fledglings a feed before nightfall.
Family life is very important for our bird species, so we really don’t want to break this up by kidnapping the chicks unnecessarily.
Donna Brennan Wildlife Volunteers Assoc Inc (WILVOS) PO Box 4805 Sunshine Coast Mail Centre Q 4560 PH 5441 6200 www.wilvos.org.au