Abandoned Baby House Sparrows (1 Viewer)

Your suggestions helped me this past week.

Wabby,
I'm the woman from Reading, PA who found the baby bird in one of my gardens on Memorial Day. It's been doing well since then and has surprised itself a few times when it has gotten airborne for a few seconds of wing flapping. I took your suggestion last week of mixing cat kibble soaked in water, canned dog food (beef), (which I think was yours) hard boiled egg yolk, and I added peanut nuggets, a soft high energy food pellet made with suet and roasted peanuts which I was able to mixed easily with the other ingredients to make a tasty meal (at least to my little bird). I feed it with a blunted toothpick (your very good idea) and make a new batch every other day because of the egg and the mixture sitting at room temperature during the day. I sit the bird at the window screen most of the day so it can hear and see the other birds. I'm worried about its lack of fear of humans and animals. I have two dogs, a six pound chihuahua and 95 pound golden retriever, both of whom adore this little bird. The little dog especially keeps checking on the bird to make sure it's safe. And no, to all of you who are thinking this, Jack does not want to secretly eat it. The bird has no startle reflex which makes me think that it won't have a chance if I let if go once it can fly and take care of itself. If it is in fact a house sparrow and I can lawfully keep it, I may have to for its safety. If it is any other type of bird, I guess I'll have to contact a bird sanctuary. I have a few days yet before anything definite must be done. I'd like to post a picture here but can't seem to figure out how to do it. Anyway, Wabby, I enjoy reading your posts and find them most helpful. On behalf of the four little birds that you took into your home and cared for, thank you, you've done a fine job! Regina

Dear RNEMTP:
You'll have your hands full for a few weeks, but I think it's worth it. The nestlings eat from dawn to dusk every 30 - 60 minutes. I've been raising a single nestling for 10 days now. Prepare yourself for big changes every day. It was and is a big task and it's made for some difficulties with my daily schedule but would I have changed anything? In a word, no!

Had to take to Wildlife rescue

Ended up having to take the bird to the local wildlife rescue area, as I work 12 hour shifts and my husband works 24 hour shifts. He was going to take the bird to the firehouse, but then he was afraid if he were out on runs for several hours without being able to return to teh station, no one would feed the bird. And I work in a hospital so there is no way I could bring it here on the ICU! I mean I would do it but my boss might not like it!

Anyways, went ahead and took it to teh Wildlife center, and they were happy to take him, and since I donate money to them every year they are glad. I told them i could come back and get him tomorrow and keep for two days, but they said no, once they take it in they cant let me have him back.

Bummer! I know we could have raised it, and it was eating very well and seemed pretty strong. At least they will send me a post card letting me know what happens.

Lesley

Yeah my fear with my birds is that they may become too desensatized to human contact. One thing that gives me faith that they will be okay is that after I'm done feeding them they do not hesitate to retreat back into the surrounding trees. Although they have no problem leaping onto me while I'm feeding them they move away or fly away if you reach out to handle them. They seem to instinctively feel safe in high trees and only come to the deck to eat until they're full. They are now starting to take food off of the plastic spoon or dish themselves when they become impatient which is a good behavior if they are to learn to feed themselves.

It sounds like what you're feeding them is very appropriate and should nourish them plenty. Good work and I'm so happy to hear that I've been able to give some sort of help.

I just wanted to add that its funny that sometimes like just now a fifth house finch about the same age shows up on the deck while im feeding my four. I think its just funny how I have to double check the count of the birds im feeding and wonder where this fifth one comes from. I've seen many of them around from time to time and I guess they get curious as to why these four are so happy eating what I've got and why they are calling me daddy lol.

Some more pics

I took these today. It's getting harder to take pictures now, the birds are becoming easily frightened by things like the camera. They also are becoming less trusting when I feed them unless they're very hungry. I'm having to feed them less number of times a day now and I dont think it will be much longer before they are completely on their own.

WabbyTwax,
What are the odds that my little bird is also a house finch! Realized on Wednesday that she looks just like your birds. I'm mean exactly like them. That's why I have no doubt that she's a house finch. But I have a question for you. Are all of yours female? Or have some of them started to get the red on their heads and breast area that the males have?

I don't think you can tell if they are female or male (without a blood test) until they are full adults. Something in their diet plus hormones is what causes the males' plumage to change to the crimson color. I am no professional but this leads me to assume that they wont change until they are able to mate. Also I learned that these birds can mate year round although this mainly applies to territories where the weather permits them.

I have my suspicions which ones of mine may be male and female. I think that 3 of them may be male while the fourth (coicidentally the one I called "Jack") may be a female. I just get that feeling and also was the fastest maturing bird. Studies show that in different regions of the United States the females mature faster while in other areas the males mature faster. This is fascinating information considering they're all the same species. The eastern established colonies of these birds also have different numbers and types of blood parasites that are common (and not harmful) in wild birds. The eastern population of these House Finches are practically becoming they're own species and some argue already are. The difference in blood parasites is also thought to possibly be the reason the eastern populations of the House Finches have become easily infected with a particular eye disease.

As you can see I've done a bit of reading up and just wanted to share the information as useless as it probably is. I love wildlife and birds especially. I had two conures, one of which I raised from a fledgling. We gave them to my mother-in-law as a gift and also because I wasn't able to provide them the attention and care they needed at the time we gave them up. I miss them dearly now and its sad that when I visit they have forgotten me and are threatened by me being a large male human. But they are doing so well and are so happy it makes me happy and it was nice to have some birds around even if it was a short time. The House Finches have really taken to the skies around here and love flying around the neighborhood which I feel is a very safe environment for them and all birds.

Another interesting story I can share; I had a bird feeder that I kept and maintained in my front yard. This allowed me to easily see many species of small birds from the comfort of my porch. I had to take it down though because there are many doves that inhabit the area and started frequenting the feeder too often. I was actually okay with the doves feeding here. The reason I decided to take the feeder down was because theres a red-tailed hawk that lives very close by and made easy prey of one of the doves that were feeding in my yard. Other birds I see often in my neighborhood are Cardinals (pairs), gold finches, house sparrows, brown headed cowbirds (saw one the other day chasing a false mommy house finch), grackles, blue jays, swallows and some sort of blue swift. I got a picture of the red-tailed hawk perched on my deck one day but it was raining out and was through my glass door so it turned out horribly. I was worried that it may go for my House Finches but luckily they instinctively like staying high in trees now.

Also there are a large number of mockingbirds in my neighborhood. 3 years ago I don't remember seeing one and now they're everywhere.

Well today I only saw 3 of the birds so I think the most mature one has finally moved on. The other three are all eating seed that I leave out on the deck but I am still feeding them 2 - 3 times a day. They're coming to be fed less each day which is a good sign that they're finding food on their own. Just now while feeding them I noticed one had what seemed like berry juice which was purple/red all over and around its beak. This is a great sign that they're figuring out what different things to eat on their own. I have given thought to stop feeding them completely but I'll keep playing it by ear. I think they'll move on when they're ready. The fact that they are becoming more and more cautious around me each day and taking longer to come near me to eat gives me the impression that they are almost ready to move on.

Hi enjoyed reading this thread. Well done!.
I'm no expert but ive got lots of sparrows in my garden and the birds in your photos look like Dunnocks to me

undautri said:

Hi enjoyed reading this thread. Well done!.
I'm no expert but ive got lots of sparrows in my garden and the birds in your photos look like Dunnocks to me

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Hi Undautri,

They are House Finches as WabbyTwax figured out. They don't have Dunnocks in the US.

Great job on raising your fanily, WabbyTwax - a lovely story.

Graham

Wabby, today I called several wildlife rehabilitators. All were either filled to capacity or directing me to another number. I was calling in circles! So, today I took my little bird to the backyard where it immediately flew to several spots. I fed it just before I took it outside. I put the basket where it stayed for the first 8 days out on the deck. I'm hoping when it gets hungry it returns to eat like your four did. I'll let you know. I'm worried because I don't think it can fend for itself just yet. We do have lots of food sources immediately around our house, as well as my four bird feeders. I'm hoping it meets up with other house finches and can quickly imitate their behavior. Your most mature bird most likely was the female. House finches lay one egg a day with clutches of three or four. The males often succumb to mites because they are less hardy than the females. The mother lays the female eggs first to give the males more time in their eggs for protection. Not sure how she knows which are the female eggs. One of the other three may be a female. They also don't go very far from their original hatching site so it's possible they will stay near home for a long long time. You've done a great job!

BTW, WabbyTwax, is your user name a tribute to Elmer Fudd?

Graham

Yes it is bitter as a matter of fact. I've been using this as a screen name etc for 10+ years on the internet. I've always got a laugh out of how elmer fudd says "Wabbit Twacks" which used to be how I spelled it but after using that for a while people started calling me Wabby for short so I began spelling it this way.

Regarding the sex of the egg statement; Perhaps the temperature (well incubated or not as much) can determine the sex as it can in other creatures such as reptiles.

just read this thread and its brill..from the photos (as been said and you discovered..not the house sparrow)
looks like a happy ending for the birds...and for you..
great stuff...

WabbyTwax said:

Regarding the sex of the egg statement; Perhaps the temperature (well incubated or not as much) can determine the sex as it can in other creatures such as reptiles.

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Makes sense to me Wabby. Well, we've weathered these afternoon thunderstorms in the Reading area, but not sure about the little bird I let fly away today. Because of the severe storms, I had to bring the basket inside that it spent a good deal of time in so for several hours it didn't have marker to look for. I've got the basket outside now and I keep going out to look for it with the food in my hand but so far no such luck. It must be getting awfully hungry by now....My family keeps telling me it'll be okay but they didn't spend hours looking after it.

House Finch?

Finally, some pictures of my bird which I think is a house finch. Is it, Wabby, if you had to guess? I'll send more pics in the next post.

Here are a few more pics. I think these more clearly show that she's a house finch. She's back in my custody after a harrowing day for her (and me) outside in the severe thunderstorms that we had in the Reading area. I'll post more about it tomorrow, but for now I'll say that she's nowhere near ready to become an outside bird and I have no idea how to help her become one.

I would say with 100% certainty that it is indeed a House Finch. Regardless of the laws against having posession of them I commend you on sharing the same compassion as I did. These laws are in place for great reasons but I grew up around animals and have to follow my heart in some matters. Now that I see them flying around outdoors and doing so well I know I've done the right thing for the birds and I can move on knowing they ended up happy and in a great neighborhood. If it were a House Sparrow I would have let them go too although some people suggested I don't. People say nature didn't intend on them being here, but nature created us as well so in some aribtrary way it was an introduction that happened by nature even if it was human nature. Things have a way of working themselves out, species do go extinct but new ones are appearing every year around the world. In the long term of it all as short of a period of time that humans have been here plenty of species have come and gone without our help. I probably sparked a debate so I'll be quiet! =P

Im so happy you found your bird. Unfortunately I am afraid the bird would not have been fine at all. Even after they've first learned to fly they heavily depend on their mother and father to be fed. I also have seen firsthand that its a good couple weeks from that first flight until they can start finding their own food and I'm still feeding them twice a day to supplement. I think its possible I could stop even attempting to feed them at all and they may get by but I worry so much that I will keep checking on them at least once a day to see if they want some food from me. The one has moved on and I'm sure the others will also when they are ready. I know how relieved you must have been to find your bird after it was raining etc. I know when I found mind on the ground unable to fly in the rain a couple weeks ago I was elated to know they were okay. The next day though was nice out and they were back outside flying around. I would say wait one more week before letting your bird be free outside to give it enough time to get better at flying (especially when it rains). They need to develop their feathers a bit more before they can do that. If you don't mind a little mess I do suggest to let it fly around the house if they want for a bit after you feed them to give it some practice and stretch its wings. It looks like by the pictures that you've been doing so. I also wouldn't worry about it becoming too attached to you if you want to teach it to perch on your finger so you can retrieve it when its time to go back in the enclosure. I've done this myself as well as talking to them which I just couldnt help myself from doing. But as I've seen they've instinctively grown to avoid me now that they're outside and thats a great thing. I have noticed them chasing other birds of their species around. Today two of them were following around an adult male on the rooftops.

Oh also if you haven't already. I do believe its very important to introduce bird seed to it (finch food from the store). Even if you don't see it eating it at least it can try it when its ready. At first you might just see it playing with the bits of bird seed between its beak but not eating it. But they will figure it out.