One of my two pairs fledged their babies a couple of days ago, but it looks as though they are being harassed by neighboring birds! One has died ,now two are are the ground. On top of that, the temps here are absolutely crazy!! 104-106!!! I have another pair that has 4 nestlings, 1 week old, I certainly am worried about them.
Is it considered a successful fledge if they leave the nest but die later? (Yes, they were due to fledge.)
So sorry the martins (and you!) are having a rough time of it - so many are struggling with the drought and heat.
If a martin nestling leaves the nest on its own and flies, that's a successful fledge. Usually this takes place at 26 days or older. If it dies in a day or two, it is still a successful fledge, just one with a sadly short survival period. That's why martins have 4-6 eggs - so that one or two will survive to return next year as subadult birds.
Any birds on the ground aren't considered successful fledges, and should be put back into gourd or compartment, or in a fallout shelter with a roof for shade.
Louise, thanks for your reply. Just after I posted, I went out and (right or wrong) put him back in the nest. He was unhappy with me, but I thought he might have a better chance. I am lucky enough to be around (almost) all the time to keep watch and hopefully ward off any dangers........
I woke up to two fledgling birds on the ground. They are barely able to fly (a few inches off the ground). Not knowing who they belonged to, we put them on the balcony of two other birds which seem to be the same age (very little yellow on the sides of the beak).
About an hour later, one of those birds was back on the ground and exhausted. I caught a baby grass hopper but it had no desire to eat it. I brought it in and gave it a few drops of a weak sugar solution, which it drank but it just wants to sleep.
My daughter caught a tiny little wasp-looking creature which we tried to feed it, but no success. Finally, deciding it would fare better with its own kind than us, we put it on an unoccupied balcony hoping some one will take care of it, but a male bird keeps harassing it. I fear it will be killed by him.
I don't know what to do at this point. Any advice?
Martin Colony History: The 1972 St. Agnes flood wiped out all the Martins in my area. One day, in 1997-98, 5 or 6 Martins landed on the power wires crossing my back yard. I had no house for them. They kept coming back day after day. We got a martin house a few weeks later & they have been coming back every year since. I average 12-15 pair per year.
markjohn wrote:I woke up to two fledgling birds on the ground. They are barely able to fly (a few inches off the ground). Not knowing who they belonged to, we put them on the balcony of two other birds which seem to be the same age (very little yellow on the sides of the beak).
About an hour later, one of those birds was back on the ground and exhausted. I caught a baby grass hopper but it had no desire to eat it. I brought it in and gave it a few drops of a weak sugar solution, which it drank but it just wants to sleep.
My daughter caught a tiny little wasp-looking creature which we tried to feed it, but no success. Finally, deciding it would fare better with its own kind than us, we put it on an unoccupied balcony hoping some one will take care of it, but a male bird keeps harassing it. I fear it will be killed by him.
I don't know what to do at this point. Any advice?
Wish I'd known the homemade solution for dehydrated birds...I was lacking salt!
Also, this is an older bird, so I don't know that the dog/cat food trick would apply here.
Yes, Louise. Thank you for your suggestion. I did look for a local wildlife chapter, but at their website, there is only mention of taking care of the four-legged variety, and calling their number, I only get an outgoing message. I'll call again and leave a message...perhaps they'll return my call with a referral.
So far, activity on the house has slowed down drastically (no doubt because of the heat), so no harassing is going on, but at the same time, no feeding of the bird is taking place either. It really needs experienced human intervention at this point.
I'll keep looking for a rehab in Comal County, Texas (hint, hint)...
,now two are are the ground. On top of that, the temps here are absolutely crazy!! 104-106!!! I have another pair that has 4 nestlings, 1 week old, I certainly am worried about them.