Page 342 - Hand rearing birds second

332 Hand-Rearing Birds

In cold weather the death of a male while the female is incubating or brooding may lead to the
death of the young, because the female could certainly provide food for the young but not also
keep them warm.
Young found on the ground that are cold, injured, dehydrated, caught by a cat or dog, or emaci-
ated should be presented for human care. If the condition can be corrected quickly (e.g. cold or
dehydrated), the nest location is known and reachable, and the parents are obviously still present,
the young can often be replaced in the nest within a day or two. If other young are known to be in
the nest and the chick can be replaced in or near the nest at fledging age, a delayed reunion with
the natural parents remains a possibility even after treatment for a more severe condition, such as
a broken bone or wound.
Long-term human care due to the loss of the whole nest or even the nest tree may at times be
avoided by placing the nestlings in a replacement nest, such as a basket or an open-topped wooden
box with drainage holes. The young need to be old enough to thermoregulate and vocalize and thus
be found by the parents. Nest boxes for kestrels can also be put up. Kestrels are the most likely to
require intervention due to inappropriate nesting sites, such as in an old barn about to be torn
down. If, however, the nest or nest tree is lost due to larger scale destruction at a logging site or new
development or mowed field, intervention may be necessary. Even though both parents are still
present, continuous disturbance or lack of a nearby tree or other appropriate nest site may pre-
clude the return of the nestlings.
Healthy fledglings of any species found on the ground should be left alone or perhaps put nearby,
somewhere safe from domestic predators. Though essentially full grown, they cannot yet fly. Their
parents will continue to feed them wherever they are.
Some birds may come in through regulatory agency action when, occasionally, due to extremely
aggressive parents nesting close to human activity, governmental authorities authorize taking
eggs or young from the nest, sometimes even killing the parents. This seems to happen most often
with Red-shouldered Hawks. This should obviously be an absolute last resort and working with
the public on how to avoid injury to themselves and the birds is critical, before authorities are
asked to intervene.

Record Keeping

Detailed information on the location where the bird was found should be recorded. This will serve
as a guide for suitable habitat for release and also will place the bird back with its relatives, which
may still recognize the young bird.
Wildlife regulatory agencies have minimum standards for record keeping that require tracking
of individual animals undergoing rehabilitation. Check with your regulating agencies for further
information. As a minimum, the following information should be kept: species, age, location
found, reason brought into care, medical problems, final disposition, and release location. Each
nestling in care can be given a unique log number and its leg banded with temporary materials in
order to track its growth. To avoid placing sticky tape directly on the bird’s leg, the lower tarsus can
be wrapped first with a layer of nonsticky elastic bandaging material, and then with a white cloth
tape on which the log number can be written with permanent marker. There are also plastic poul-
try bands available in different colors or with distinct numbers or blanks on which numbers can be
written. Care should be taken, however, that the hard edges of such bands will not cut into the
bird’s skin when the nestling is back on its hocks or will not trap inquisitive beaks while preening.