So, I have a large yard with many trees that many wild animals call “home”. However, one mama bird built her nest on our electrical box outside and was raising her newly hatched eggs there (3). They’re about 3 weeks old now and look to have all their feathers and everything. However, last night, my family decided to flood the yard as a means of watering everything. It’s something we do monthly but this time, I was afraid the baby birds would fall out of their nest and drown. So, I checked up on them from a distance and saw no activity. I got closer and stood on a tall aircon box and saw one bird. Afraid the others had fallen, I tried to peek a bit more...this startled the baby, and he attempted to fly off. Realizing how stupid of a mistake I made, I jumped down to gather the bird and place him back in his nest. I lost my footing and severely sprained my ankle in the process (that’s Mother Nature punishing me). I was able to get the bird back in the nest and I heard them chirping like usual this morning (the nest is near my window) but when i went outside today, I noticed that all of them were gone. The nest is completely empty and there are no signs of blood or any bodies. My dogs don’t go to that side of the yard, and were with me a majority of the day, so I don’t think they got to them. For birds so young, could they have already flown the nest?
I realize what an idiot I am. I tried to help and ended up making it worse and traumatized those poor babies. I really hope they’re ok. I didn’t realize they could almost fly until the one flew out of the nest and glided some distance away. I think my sprain really is punishment for trying to intervene on nature and I’m so sorry I did what I did. A few days earlier, a baby bird was on the ground and looked injured. I had to take it to a rehabilitation clinic when I realized the mother wasn’t coming back. So...I guess I was afraid the same thing was gonna happen. Regardless, I messed up. But is there a chance these babies are ok? I’m sure they’re starlings.
I realize what an idiot I am. I tried to help and ended up making it worse and traumatized those poor babies. I really hope they’re ok. I didn’t realize they could almost fly until the one flew out of the nest and glided some distance away. I think my sprain really is punishment for trying to intervene on nature and I’m so sorry I did what I did. A few days earlier, a baby bird was on the ground and looked injured. I had to take it to a rehabilitation clinic when I realized the mother wasn’t coming back. So...I guess I was afraid the same thing was gonna happen. Regardless, I messed up. But is there a chance these babies are ok? I’m sure they’re starlings.
It sounds as though they were close to leaving the nest so chances are they are tucked under some bushes or tall grasses where the parent birds will continue to feed them a bit. As you saw no destruction in the nest, I'm going with that they fledged. Maybe a day or two earlier than planned but keep your eyes out for movement under bushes. I think you can give yourself a break and I'm sorry about your ankle.