How to feed young wild birds and ensure their survival through to adulthood then becomes key and is a challenge not to be taken lightly.
Even with the best information and intentions, before feeding young birds you should be aware that there is still a good chance they won't survive. Injuries from their fall, stress or just plain bad luck can all have an effect on a young bird. In addition, it may have fallen out of the nest not through bad luck but because it is weak or diseased and may not make it anyway.
Sometimes, as cold hearted as it sounds, you are best to leave the bird exactly where you find it. In many cases the bird may have fallen accidentally and may look in danger but it is quite likely one of thr adult parent birds is watching from a nearby bush or tree.
As soon as you touch the baby bird it will be disowned by it's parents and no more maternal care by it's parents will be offered so if you do pick up a baby bird for whatever reason, you will have to care for it from then on. On the flip side, if you leave the baby bird alone the parent may well come down and feed the bird or help it back up to a safe roost. Fallen baby birds are, after all, quite common and wild birds have evolved and developed solutions over the years.
But let's assume that for some reason you feel you have to rescue the baby bird. How are you going to care for and feed the young wild bird?
The bird should be kept in a surrogate nest - such as a shoe box - with paper towel around the edges and along the bottom of the box to absorb any mess and to make the baby bird feel comfortable. Any mess should be renoved immediately and cleanliness is vitally important to your success as a surrogate parent. Try to do your best not to upset the bird - keep it warm and in semi-darkness unless you are trying to feed the bird and keep noise and commotion to an absolute minimum around the box.
Next, the feeding.
The easiest utensil to use for feeding birds is a teaspoon, which you have modified by deliberately bending up the sudes using a vice and/or pliers to create a sort of "shute" or tube down which food can be poured.
Foods to try for young birds, depending on the species, are bread crumbs, cooked egg yolk, finely-ground cooked meat or one of the professional rearing foods available from larger pet stores. All foods should be moist and easy to swallow and baby birds should be fed regularly - every 30 minutes or so inititally extending to once every 30 - 60 minutes as the bird grows.
There are many that think birds will become dependent on the feed you provide resulting in a diminished ability for the birds to find their own food. Other experts think that our feathered friends are much more resilient and will discover new sources of food if the feeder repeatedly is empty and they can't support themselves or their young.
As reported in Bird Watcher's Digest, researchers Margaret Brittingham and Stanley Temple found that black-capped chickadees take, on average, only 20-25% of their winter food requirements from feeders. But, they also demonstrated a significant correlation between an individual bird's ability to survive the winter and the use of bird feeders.
It was found that birds that use feeders had a month to month survival rate of 95% compared to 87% of wild birds that did not use wild bird feeders. For winter (as opposed to month-to-month), 69% of the feeder using birds survived the winter where only 37% of wild non-feeder using birds survived the winter.
If more wild birds survive the winter when we feed them, what are the implications? In simple terms, it means that without our help, a higher number of birds fail to survive the winter. If we help, more birds will survive. Curiously, even though our food supply will decrease the winter death rate, our avian friends will not completely rely on us. If your bird feeders are consistently empty, these amazing animals will almost always take flight to find another source of food on their own. You will also notice that in the spring, when food abounds, the birds are not as active at the feeders as they are in the winter when food is harder to find.
We can only suspect that different birds, like people, have different levels of dependence. But, the bottom line is that birds will adapt. If one fails to continue a consistent feeding program, the birds will adapt and search for food.
I recommend that if you start a bird feeding program, stay consistent. It is best if you fill the feeders at the same time every day or whatever interval you need and ensure that the feeders do not stay empty for extended periods. For really great public information about bird feeding, go to http://www.americanbirding.org/
Also, if you plan to go on vacation or holiday, plan for your absence. In your short-term (1-4 days) absence from home, a good practice is to completely stock your feeder and also place some on the earth and around vegetation in the general area of your feeding stations. If you are going to be gone for an extended time, ask your friends, neighbors, or relatives to check and fill your feeders on a consistent basis.
As for winter feeding, it is more serious. Some bird populations may not migrate to areas of higher food availability if there is a reliable source near their summer habitats. Thus, if you feed birds on a consistent basis over the spring and summer, it is important that you are extremely consistent in the winter, when some species may rely on your food to survive.
To make a long story short, it is better for survival rates if you feed wild birds in your yard. But if you decide to feed them, it is ideal if you are consistent in your feeding.
Both Richard Adams & Mike Kershaw are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Richard Adams has sinced written about articles on various topics from Travel and Leisure, Quit Smoking and Computers and The Internet. Find out more about attracting wild birds into your garden and feeding them at Richard's new website . Richard Adams's top article generates over 1830000 views. to your Favourites.
Mike Kershaw has sinced written about articles on various topics from Family Travel, Bird Flu and Pets. Mike Kershaw has a graduate degree in biological sciences and is an expert in attracting and retaining to your backyard. Mike is a wild bird enthusiast an. Mike Kershaw's top article generates over 1900 views. to your Favourites.