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View Full Version : EMERGENCY! Found wild bird outside, need advice on what to do!



theratlady
07-09-2015, 06:05 AM
So, I haven't been on in a very long time, but a bird emergency just came up, and this was the only site I could think of. Hopefully you guys have some advice on how to care for wild birds, or if someone knows of another forum that could help?

At about 10:30pm tonight, I was about to take my dog out for a walk, when I noticed something on the road. I took my dog back inside, came back out and found this little brown bird sitting in the middle of the road, breathing heavily, with his eyes closed. He doesn't appear to be injured in any way, there's no blood or feathers missing, and his wings seem fine. His feet seem fine too, although I don't want to handle him too much to check. :/


I used rubber gloves and put it in a little cardboard box, and it barely struggle when I moved it. Since then it's just sat in the box, breathing hard, not moving other than opening its eyes every now and then.

I filled a little bottle cap with water, but it hasn't touched it. It was also almost 40 degrees Celsius (104 Farenheit) all day, so I'm worried that the little guy is just overheated.

I know I probably shouldn't have brought it inside, I was just worried about it getting run over or eaten by something.

Do you guys have any advice? Anything at all is appreciated!

theratlady
07-09-2015, 07:09 AM
Okay, so I called by-law and the lady told me that technically I should bring him in, but that if he isn't an endangered species, they'll just put him down. D: I've but some ripped up tissue in the box, as well as a shallow dish with some water in case he needs it. Tomorrow morning I'm going to call the local wildlife rehab center, because their website says they accept songbirds as long as they aren't hatchlings. Here's a video of him:


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PlaxMacaws
07-09-2015, 08:58 AM
Hi Charlotte... All that you've done for the little guy seems to accord with the prevalent recommendations. The rehab center is probably your best bet. I hope that he/she has not been too badly affected by the heat and/or the disruption and/or any impact that may have occurred. Unfortunately, my guess is that he/she may have little chance of survival, and obviously will have no chance of survival if they opt to euthanize. It's a grim fate and seems quite unfair :(

Your video is not accessible... it appears to be a YouTube issue. You might go back to YouTube and see if there's an obvious problem that can be corrected.

Here are some instructional materials on how to proceed when a baby bird is found on the ground (the pdf is a flow chart):

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I'm sorry that I don't have better suggestions for you. Please let us know how things work out for the little one.

spiritbird
07-09-2015, 12:35 PM
Most important thing to do is keep the bird warm until you get to a wildlife rehab person. You can see if the bird is suffering from being cold because its skin will have a purplish color to it, rather than it's normal pink. Even if you can't see if it's cold, make sure you have a heating pad underneath the shoe box or inside it. It needs to stay very warm to prevent pneumonia. If you see that the bird is breathing deeply or shaking, it is in shock. Keep it in a quiet and warm place.

This bird needs to go to a wildlife rehab center as soon as possible. If you do not know where they are call your local
Department of Natural Resources. You may need to step in and feed the bird until you get it to the center.
Robins, Starlings and other insectivores: tinned cat or dog food, preferably beef for robins; small pieces of earthworm can also be offered on the end of a toothpick - or mushy cat food moistened with water. Small bird have rapid metabolism and their natural diet is hard to replicate. Just do the best you can to save the bird. You can give a little water in a dropper. Best of luck to you.

theratlady
07-09-2015, 02:27 PM
So, I'm not quite sure what happened.... this morning I woke up to the sound of fluttering coming from the inside of the box. I quickly checked on him, and he was in there, sitting up, eyes wide open, looking around, looking like a perfectly healthy (if a little dazed) bird. I took the box outside and he didn't do anything, so I kind of helped him up onto the edge of the box (with gloves), and then he just took off! He flew all the way across my yard with no problem.

So now I'm kind of worried that I just traumatized this perfectly healthy bird, although I still think it's odd that it was sitting out in the open, literally in the middle of the road, in an area with a lot of cats and dogs. And why he didn't move when I walked up to him, or struggle much when he was touched...

Regardless, he seems to be better now, which is great seeing as I half expected him to be dead this morning.

PlaxMacaws
07-09-2015, 02:50 PM
So, I'm not quite sure what happened.... this morning I woke up to the sound of fluttering coming from the inside of the box. I quickly checked on him, and he was in there, sitting up, eyes wide open, looking around, looking like a perfectly healthy (if a little dazed) bird. I took the box outside and he didn't do anything, so I kind of helped him up onto the edge of the box (with gloves), and then he just took off! He flew all the way across my yard with no problem.

So now I'm kind of worried that I just traumatized this perfectly healthy bird, although I still think it's odd that it was sitting out in the open, literally in the middle of the road, in an area with a lot of cats and dogs. And why he didn't move when I walked up to him, or struggle much when he was touched...

Regardless, he seems to be better now, which is great seeing as I half expected him to be dead this morning.Hey, that's wonderful! Based upon your description I also thought the little one might not be alive once you awakened. It really appears from your initial report of the rapid breathing and lack of energy/will to get away from you that he/she may have been in serious physical distress. The little fledgling may well have been overtaken by the heat of the day or otherwise in shock.

So that's indeed very good news! I'm quite relieved to hear it :D

spiritbird
07-09-2015, 08:40 PM
Bird must have had a trauma and recovered overnight. This is not unusual. good job!

theratlady
07-10-2015, 02:35 AM
I'm just glad he was okay. :) I've never really cared for a bird before, so I was just kind of making it up as I went along. xD

Thanks for the support guys! I was kind of panicking.

Mare
07-10-2015, 09:22 PM
You did good, Charlotte :). In your video the bird looked like a fledgling, to me. I've seen plenty of them where I live and the newbies aren't afraid of much, they can get over heated and need time to rest. This is a very vulnerable time in their lives. Around my house..it's the cats that are their biggest threat. The parents will still feed and take care with them and teach them what to eat. I'm happy to know it had a safe place to stay while recovering from a busy day :)

Lady
07-10-2015, 11:11 PM
:th_yah: how wonderful that the little guy is on his way! Great job Charlotte!