How to pick up a rescued juvenile.... (1 Viewer)

Hi all,

Hope this is the right place for this question, it isn't strictly about birding but hoping for some guidance from the experts!

I had to rescue a juvenile great tit from a cat today - i basically scooped it up really gently and put it in a box, so it was ok (took it to the vets), but it made me wonder about the correct way to hold a really small, young bird...

I've done a small amount of ringing (many, many years ago) but never had to hold a juvenile - would you hold them in the same way as an adult passerine?

I guess it doesn't matter too much in this case -it was easy to get to and i didn't need to hold it for long to process or anything, but it made me curious and i'd like to make sure I'm not risking injury if it happens again (well....in addition to the cat of course....)

Hi Mich

The only times I've had to do this was when fledglings got in the house. I sort of copied what I'd seen on rescue programmes on the telly, and got a towel to cover them. Then scooped them up inside the towel.

Maybe others will come by with other techniques.

Surely your ringing experience covered this both in training and in practice? Not being a ringer I've picked up a variety of birds dependant on the circumstances, sometimes very softly and gently but other times quickly, confidently and firmly when dealing with adult male Mute swans.

Thanks both!

PYRTLE, the ringing training may well have covered it in theory, it was decades ago though and i only went a few times, so i honestly can't remember.

Hopefully the towel technique will be enough (well, if I'm hoping for things, I'll go with it not happening again!)

Thanks for the info!

Mich_11 said:

Hopefully the towel technique will be enough (well, if I'm hoping for things, I'll go with it not happening again!)

Click to expand...

There's also ways of handling the cat ...