• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Donald Knowler

Dancing on the Edge of the World

  • Home
  • About
  • On The Wing
  • Tasmania’s Endemic Birds
  • New Nature Writing
  • Blog
  • Contact

A bird in the hand

November 2, 2019 Don Knowler

Many years ago when I found a young bird which had fallen from a nest I was confronted by the dilemma many of us face at this time of year – what to do with the little bundle of feathers, flesh and bone lying at our feet.
In my case the bird happened to be a kestrel in my native Britain and it crossed my mind to keep it, and perhaps use it for a fledgling interest in falconry I had at the time.
I was young then, in my teens, and no doubt influenced by a classic British film of the Swinging Sixties, Ken Loach’s Kes in which a young lad cushions the reality of a poor, grim life in Britain’s industrial north by raising a kestrel as a pet.
Thankfully, I saw common sense. The falcon belonged in the wild and I merely placed the chirping fledgling on a tree stump, hoping its parents would come to feed it. Which they did.
In the light of that experience, it might sound a little uncaring to tell neighbours bringing nestlings, or the slightly older fledglings, to my door that the best advice I can give is just to take the birds back to the place they were found.
With all the frenetic, frenzied bird activity in spring and early summer, it’s good to know that a new generation of our feathered friends are in the making in our gardens. Sometimes, though, these young birds can look like they are in trouble, especially if they are found on the ground.
At these times it’s important not to panic, especially if children are involved. Decisions must be made in a cool, calculated manner to decide if the birds are genuinely in trouble and their parents are not in control.
It’s a common misconception birds will reject young if touched by humans. Birds recognise their offspring by call rather than smell. The nestling seemingly bereft of parents most likely has fallen or been blown out of the nest so it will not have travelled far. So it’s advisable to search nearby trees and shrubs for the nest and simply pop the chick back in it. If the nest can’t be found, an ice cream container lined with grass can be wedged in a tree. If the nestling is placed there, the parents will find it.
If the chick is mostly feathered and it can perch on a finger and hop around it is a fledgling and is either ready to leave the nest or is a couple of days away from doing so. In this case, it should be placed it the shelter of a leafy shrub. Mum and dad will answer its calls and continue to feed it.
If you suspect that the bird on the ground might be injured, or mum and dad do not return, pop the fledgling into a well-ventilated container and contact the rescue service operated by the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary on 0447 264 625. Volunteers will collect it if you can’t drop it off.

On The Wing

Primary Sidebar

PUBLISHED BOOKS

The Shy Mountain

shy mountain

Silent and brooding, the Shy Mountain does not have to speak her name. We know she’s there, watching … [Read More...]

The Falconer of Central Park

Although written more than 30 years ago, The Falconer of Central Park has remained popular ever … [Read More...]

Riding the Devil’s Highway

Tasmania might be known internationally as the home of the Hollywood cartoon character, Taz, based … [Read More...]

Dancing on the Edge of the World

Dancing on the edge of the World by Donald Knowler

Dancing on the Edge of the World is a collection of essays that had their genesis in the “On the … [Read More...]

Search the archives

Recent Posts

  • Children in nature’s wonderland
  • Tide turns for threatened albatrosses
  • Yellowthroats highlight the north-south divide
  • A welcome sight emerges from the heat haze
  • Hunt is on for swift resolution
  • ‘Devil bird’ sets its sights on Tasmania
  • Love flies high on St Valentine’s Day
  • ‘City wrens’ claim common ground
  • Reed all about it, coots rule
  • Magpie ‘minder’ keeps sparrows at bay

© Donald Knowler . All rights reserved.