BOISE, Idaho — Tuesday's windy weather brought a unique situation to my house. My wife and I ended up with a baby bird inside. We kept it in the bathtub with towels overnight and brought it to Marion Garner at the Ruth Melichar Bird Center.
- Mother birds often reject a fledgling after it has been touched by humans.
- The Melichar Bird Center said that if you find a fledgling outside following a windstorm and they're hopping around, it is in the bird's best interest to leave them as they are because the parents and nest are not far away.
- Our situation was unique as our visitor made its way in to our house.
- If you would like to donate to the Ruth Melichar Bird Center, you can do so here.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
"Basically the birds come in, we assess them," explains Marion Garner of the Ruth Melichar Bird Center, "and then they go into one of the rooms to be cared for."
After Tuesday evening's windy weather, my wife and I discovered a baby bird inside our house. Knowing that mother birds often reject a fledgling after being touched by humans, we brought the baby to the Ruth Melichar Bird Center where they welcomed it with open arms and hearts.
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"Your guys' situation, it was different because he was in the house so you couldn't find the nest, you don't know where he came from, so coming into here is going to be his best bet," she said.
"Good, so we did everything right then?" I asked.
"You did," she confirmed.
Following any storm, the center typically sees an increase of birds brought in for rehabilitation. After Tuesday's storm, ours was the sixth bird brought in. We learned that our visitor is a House Finch and they learn to fly from the ground up.
"They're on the ground for about 3 to 5 days before they take flight," Marion explained.
"Oh so he might be close to flying... he'll make it I'm assuming," I wondered.
"He'll make it, yeah, he's gaping, when they open their mouth they're gaping and ready to eat."
