Baby bird re-nested
Photo by Janelle Patterson
Steven Beaver, 30, of Marietta, returns a fledgling bird to protected greenery away from the road in front of his home Tuesday.
“I got home and saw him in the road and it was hot, his eyes were closed and he seemed to be barely breathing,” Beaver explained Wednesday. “So I got some gloves (after) quickly googling what to do when you find a bird, and put him in a tree away from the road.”
Beaver followed the guidance echoed on avian conservation websites and published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
According to the service, fledglings, baby birds which have grown to the point at which they are too large for their nest and need room to move around, flap their wings and learn to fly, are the birds most often found on the ground by passersby.
The guidance from the service in this scenario is if they can hop and flutter about on their own, leave them alone.
Nestlings, young birds not yet bearing feathers may have been blown from a nest and without assistance will probably die.
The guidance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is to return the nestling to its nest for its parents to care for.
For more information visit https://www.fws.gov/midwest/news/foundbabybird.html