Distressed bird in garden advice...

[SavageHoutkop]

I have a baby? bird sitting on the 'lawn' by the kitchen door. It seems distressed (heavy breathing), it's not fussed about my presence (or if it is, it isn't flying away or anything). It's a small brownish one; but doesn't seem to be a sparrow (beak looks wrong), or blackbird.

Do I leave it out in the hope that its parents (if indeed it is a baby bird!) know it's there - surely it's a bit early for babies?

I've sprinkled some food nearby; and could put some water out too. It is sitting in the sun, but would be warmer inside....

Our back garden is completely enclosed and we don't have cats or other predators that I've seen.

 

[SavageHoutkop]

Update: bird has gone! Hopefully all OK; and just a temporary "feeling a bit cold"?
It was probably our resident dunnock, but I've never seen it that 'circular'! Or that immobile....

 

[661-Pete]

If it's vaguely sparrow-like but has a longer, narrower beak, it's probably a dunnock. Won't be a young 'un, as you say wrong time of year.

Not a lot you can do. Probably at the end of its days. I would leave it alone.

[edit]Ah! Crossed post with you. Seems we guessed alike.

 

[SavageHoutkop]

There is now a very active dunnock hopping about eating the food on the grass.
Hopefully it just had some decaf coffee this morning instead of the normal full-strength espresso!

We normally only have one about (at a time anyway) so hopefully it's the same little critter....

 

[661-Pete]

Dunnock - unlike sparrows, to which they are not closely related - are not gregarious: if one male invades another's territory they may fight. Rather like robins. So you usually see them singly or a pair at most.

 

[accountantpete]

I once had a collared dove do something similar - found it in a very confused state and was able to pick it up.

Made it comfy and it was right as rain 10mins later.

It might have had a close call with a cat which had stressed it out for a while.

 

[cisamcgu]

Knowing how stupid birds can be, I would wager it had flown straight into a window

 

[upsidedown]

Knowing how stupid birds can be, I would wager it had flown straight into a window

Yep, we've had it a couple of times, doesn't half make a noise.

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

Sounds fine now it's gone. Otherwise it might of ended up as kitty food if there are any cats around.

 

[SavageHoutkop]

Further update - currently it seems we have two dunnocks in the garden simultaneously, and one definitely seems rounder and fluffier than the other; so I presume that's the one I saw this morning... Perhaps breeding season is kicking off

 

[ColinJ]

Knowing how stupid birds can be, I would wager it had flown straight into a window

If a bird noticed a hard, shiny, transparent covering over an opening that it wanted to fly through but decided to go for it anyway, then I'd call it 'stupid'; since window panes don't exist in nature, however, I think we can forgive birds for not being programmed to avoid them!

 

[asterix]

Bird strike risk is a very good reason not to clean your windows too much.

 

[SavageHoutkop]

Bird strike risk is a very good reason not to clean your windows too much.

I like that idea!!!

 

[Arch]

A pigeon once flew low over my mother's head as she was gardening, and hit the garage wall. It wandered about, looking concussed, and she spotted a ring on it's leg, presumably a homing pigeon. On the advice of the RSPCA she gave it water, but no food, and covered it with our old guinea pig wire run, to keep cats off. Next morning it looked much perkier, and when she lifted the wire cage, it walked back the spot it had hit the ground, turned round a couple of times and took oof - this time avoiding the garage. She said it looked just like it was recalibrating it's brain or something.

 

[Fnaar]

A pigeon once flew low over my mother's head as she was gardening, and hit the garage wall. It wandered about, looking concussed, and she spotted a ring on it's leg, presumably a homing pigeon. On the advice of the RSPCA she gave it water, but no food, and covered it with our old guinea pig wire run, to keep cats off. Next morning it looked much perkier, and when she lifted the wire cage, it walked back the spot it had hit the ground, turned round a couple of times and took oof - this time avoiding the garage. She said it looked just like it was recalibrating it's brain or something.

Is that what it said when it hit the garage?