Baby Robins in our backyard.
We have had several kinds of birds come to our yard and nest, including Blue Jays, Robins, Chickadees, Mourning Doves, etc. Just a few days ago, we made a huge mistake. Moses saw what we guessed was a crow. It looked like it was still a nestling, and we thought that it had fallen out of it's nest, so we decided to pick it up and see if we could help it. After contacting experts, we were surprised by what we learned.
These Carolina Chickadees fledged the day after this photo was taken.
All birds are different, but most birds that you will find in your yard, will leave the nest about two weeks after they hatch. They are fully feathered and will be able to flap, hop, and try to fly short distances. They will stay on the ground for 2-5 days. During this time, the parents keep close watch over the fledglings because it still can't take care of itself or fly. The parents also continue to feed the baby, help it to recognize predators, and teach it to fly.
If you find a baby bird you should leave it on the ground or you could keep it from learning it's basic survival skills. If you are convinced it is too young to be out of the nest and you know where the nest is, carefully place it back in the nest.
This is the baby bird that we found. Moses was able to walk right up to it and pick it up. It would not eat from us and was able to hop and fly short distances. We placed it back where we found it after we realized our mistake. His parents were able to continue caring for him.
Moses putting the baby back where it was
Here is a video we took of the Chickadees that hatched in one of our birdhouses. We got to see them the day they hatched. We also got to see them take their final flight from the nest. We watched one of them learning to make its way around in some brush!!!
By Ethan
