skip to main content

Baby birds falling out of their nests

15 years ago

It's bird and butterfly season here in San Diego. In the movie The Earth the baby birds that were learning to fly fell out of the nests into piles of leaves. Mine splat on the cement and it is very sad and worse for the mom birds. I put a large 16" flower pot filled with bark and newspapers in a main falling area and hopefully they'll use it . Maybe others can watch out for the little guys. Already a nest hanging under my gazebo in a pot of succulants already has been abandoned and two nice eggs untouched have been there well over a week. Mom has made her new place in a higher pot of succulants.

Sort by:Oldest

Comment (1)

feather_z9_ncacoast
15 years ago
The birds in the movie are Wood Ducks: they are *supposed* to jump from their nest holes in the forest and land in the leaves.

The birds you have may be falling out or being *kicked* out for various reasons:

1). A Brown-headed Cowbird may have laid an egg in that nest and the *much* larger baby is booting out the smaller ones which belong to the host species. Brown-headed Cowbirds are 'nest parasites' and never build their own nests, but instead will parasitize the nests of everything from finches to bluebirds.

2). Occasionally, a parent bird's inexperience leads it to build a rather flimsy nest and the babies fall out too soon.

2)b).When it's time for a fledgling to leave the nest, however, it may plop down on the ground and find a low bush in which to hide while its parents teach them the fine arts of foraging and flying, all the while continuing to feed until such time as the baby is flying well.

3). Some predator might be knocking them out of the nest prematurely.

4). Some other *bird* might be knocking the babies out in order to usurp control of the nest. Look for House Sparrows and European Starlings, which seem to be the bigger culprits, but occasionally, Violet-Green Swallows will engage in this behavior as well.

A way to circumvent #'s 3 & 4 is to provide extra nesting boxes spaced far enough apart so as to not encourage encroachment on the others' territories. In the case of the swallows, they are partial colony nesters (Violet-greens), but will also build several 'dummy' nests to ward off competitors (which is also the case with House Wrens).

Trying to stop the nest parasitizm as seen in Brown-headed Cowbirds is detrimental all the way around.

It would be helpful to know which species of birds you are personally dealing with. . .
Related Discussions
Birds nest - complete with real birds!
Q
Comments (6)
OMG, Evelyn! If you knew how many baby mockingbirds I hand fed while working at Audubon, you'd die! People would bring in baby birds all day long, and you couldn't convince them to leave them alone, so my job was to take care of them and get them prepared to be released back into the wild later on. One of the reasons we do not encourage people "rescuing" the baby birds is that there comes a time when the bird has imprinted so strongly on the parent bird, it will not take food from a person. You can cram it down their throats, but it will just sit in the crop area and not be digested. So removing them from the parent's care is often a death sentence. Now if a whole nest comes down (like during a storm) sometimes there is no recourse but to rescue them and try to feed them. And I know techniques have improved GREATLY from the days I was involved in bird rescue. So the odds might be better now. But lordy, lordy...I must have handraised at least 200 baby mockingbirds in a couple years time. Not to mention jays, grackles, thrashers, titmice, and maybe 1,000 mourning doves! (My least favorite baby birds of all time.) Anyway, your picture is a trip down memory lane for sure. Saintp, the length of time it takes an egg to hatch varies from species to species, but usually it is not very long. A week or ten days, often. I'll see if I can find out about bluejays. I don't remember. Maybe I never even knew. But the info is probably out there somewhere. Will get back to you later. Marcia
...See More
HELP, Baby Hummingbird keeps falling out of nest.
Q
Comments (2)
The nest may be infested with mites, or something. If the baby doesn't want to be there, something about the nest is not good. There is a rehab facility in Walnut Creek, The Lindsay Museum, phone number 925-935-1978, located at 1931 First Ave. I don't know whether you live in that area. This URL has addresses and phone numbers for various rehab facilities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. http://www.parentspress.com/wildliferehab.html If you live in another area, you can call your local animal control for rehab referral. Lorna
...See More
Need Advice on Nesting Birds
Q
Comments (38)
I'm still trying to get an answer as to why "non-native" birds are "trash", while humans get a free pass. Would anyone like to answer? As far as feeders go, the most signifant reason people have feeders in their yards, birders or non-birders, is for their own entertainment. I could care less how many different types of birds people "get to see" in their yards! Animals do not exist on this earth for the purpose of human entertainment. They are here for their own reasons. As far as rehabbing indivisual birds goes, I have rehabbed several birds who flew into my window and were knocked unconcsious. I do it to help out an animal that needs medical care, which I would do for any aniaml or person I saw injured, not because I want to preserve the existance of some taxonomical abstraction. Sorry but your words sound very callous and cold-hearted. You may not be specifically saying you want Starlings torutured, but your attitude towards them is what has spurned the latest craze I see in the conservation movement, which is this focus on the blaming and killing of other animals in the name of saving "native species" rather than habitiat preservation and drastically reduced consumption of resources. I don't believe it's the place of humans, the most non-native and destructive of them all, to determine which animals live and which ones die, while we do everything to ensure the life of every human is as long and pain-free as possible. It's just plain hypocritical and unethical.
...See More
Baby birds falling out of nest
Q
Comments (2)
It is quite odd. Is this nest a Carolina Wren nest or a House Wren nest? House Wrens will toss other House Wren's young, but as Lisa said, they are not open nesters, so that would be unusual. If the babies were older, I'd guess nest parasites or heat could cause them to jump too early, but from your description it sounds as if they're too young for that. If a House Sparrow wanted that spot, I suppose they would toss out young from the nest. Try to keep an eye on it and let us know if you see anything. If you do see any House Sparrows near the nest, try hanging a strip of mylar above the nest to keep them away.
...See More

Related Stories

GARDENING FOR BIRDS What to Know About Birds Nesting in Your Yard

By Mitchell Parker

Learn how to observe, record data and help ornithologists with NestWatch’s citizen science project understand bird trends

GARDENING FOR BUTTERFLIES Bring on the Birds: Natural Habitat Ideas for Gardens of All Sizes

Provide nesting, watering and perching spots inspired by the Costa Rican jungle and watch the birds flock on over

GARDENING FOR BUTTERFLIES A Quick-Start Guide to Bird-Watching for Fun and Learning

By Alison Hodgson

Set out some seed and grab your field guide. Bird-watching is an easy, entertaining and educational activity for the whole family

GARDENING GUIDES Make Your Garden a Haven for Backyard Birds

By Lauren Dunec Hoang

Create a bird-friendly habitat in your yard with food, water and shelter

GARDENING GUIDES Backyard Birds: Healthy Home Habitats for Northern Flickers

By Habitat Network

These colorful woodpeckers found across the U.S. and Canada love berries, seeds and ants and often nest in deep burrows in trees

GARDENING FOR BIRDS Backyard Birds: Meet Some Clever and Curious Jays

By Habitat Network

Boisterous jays provide plenty of backyard bird-watching in winter. Here’s how to identify all the varieties and welcome them into your yard

GARDENING GUIDES Backyard Birds: Go Owling in October

By Habitat Network

These stealthy nocturnal hunters fill North American skies with their quiet wings and distinct calls

GARDENING GUIDES Plant Black Cherry Trees for the Birds and Bees

By Pollination Press LLC

Plant Prunus serotina in the Central and Eastern U.S. for spring flowers, interesting bark and beautiful fall color

GARDENING GUIDES Backyard Birds: Invite Entertaining Hummingbirds Into Your Garden

By Habitat Network

Hummingbirds — unique to the Americas — zip through open landscapes seasonally or year-round. Here’s how to attract them

GARDENING FOR BIRDS Wild Birds Transform a Woman’s Garden and Life

By Mary Jo Bowling

How Sharon Sorenson created a wildlife haven and became the Bird Lady of Southern Indiana

Sponsored

MCR ROMERO WORK LLC

Innovative & Creative General Contractors Servicing Franklin County

More Discussions

A MORE SPECIFIC QUESTION, PLEASE

0

What bird is this?

2

Did you know Hummingbird-flower mites?

0

where is everybody?

0