Mother (bird) knows best - so gardeners step back!

11/06/2008

 We’ve all seen them chirping their hearts out, looking dishevelled and frightened, with mother bird nowhere to be seen, abandoned in the big, bad world. But you might be wrong to try and help; the RSPB is urging people to leave baby birds alone as they make their maiden voyage - and warn that they could be doing more harm than good by intervening.

 

Val Osborne, Head of Wildlife Enquiries at the RSPB said: “It can be painful to watch as chicks hatch and fend for themselves for the first time but you MUST let nature take its course. They will be chirping like crazy and look and sound quite distressed, but this is all part of the natural process of a young bird learning to fly, feed and survive on its own.”

 

The breeding season is coming to a close for most birds and gardens are full of fluffy, tattered looking young birds, which means that, at this time of the year, the RSPB receives numerous calls each day from gardeners. They are understandably worried about predators and the weather, but the simple answer is to leave the fledglings to their own devices. Human intervention may lead to the adults abandoning their chicks and you could literally kill them with kindness.The parents may also be reluctant to nest in your garden again.

 

For more information on young birds visit the website linked below.