Dead Baby Bird?

[GardenFaery]

Buried tiny dead baby bird found in middle of path today - really sad - still hairless. blind, tiny etc - also baffled, as was near Willow Tree, but there are no nests in it?
Awful lot of fighting over territories by tit type birds - not sure what type of bird this was? (Sorry don't know a lot about birds) - could one of birds, ransacked others' nest?

Could be cat but seems unlikely because of lurcher patrol and he never bothers birds
Although as we were out walking most of time today maybe cat nipped in when saw his chance...

Some people say leave the bird, in case the mother is watching? Have heard they kill the others if human scent etc? but really NO birds around, no nests, nothing at all and I thought better to bury it so doesn't attract cats and other predators? Did I do the right thing? I buried in one of dugged beds..

[Dynamo]

There's not a lot you can do about it. There's a myriad of reasons why it could be there. Maybe a cat got it, maybe a cuckoo chick kicked it out, maybe a magpie raided the nest and dropped the booty. Who knows?

You did right to bury it methinks.

[Two_Sheds]

I would have composted it, but that's just me

[GardenFaery]

I was thinking of doing that but because of the thing about not putting meat-eating animals poo in the compost, so some reason I thought the same for dead animals - but I guess that doesn't make sense lol

[hamamelis]

By the way, most birds have almost no sense of smell; it's an urban (rural?) myth that they'll abandon their babies if you touch them. It's possible that if they actually see you put it back they might freak out, but still unlikely.

Leave babies with feathers alone unless they have an obvious injury; they can leave the nest themselves when they still look very young sometimes; parents will be around, and continue to feed early fledgers. Bald, tiny babies have probably fallen or been taken out and will not survive on the floor. They are often injured, either from the fall, or from whatever took them out, so they don't have a great chance whatever you do, but putting tinies back is their best bet. Well... not if they're dead, obviously.

If they're very cold but still alive, it might be worth putting them somewhere warm (like the airing cupboard) for half an hour before putting them back, as the parents are likely to not come straight back after they're put back in, and they can die from a chill very fast. Birds can't count very well, so won't notice that one missed a feed then magically reappeared.

I used to work in a wildlife park, we got a lot of calls about baby birdies... I've helped rear a few that were brought in as well, with varying degrees of success.

I'd hazard a guess that a magpie dropped your dead one; they're big on nest raiding, and often seem to drop their food when they argue.

[GardenFaery]

I'd hazard a guess that a magpie dropped your dead one; they're big on nest raiding, and often seem to drop their food when they argue.[/QUOTE]

I think so too - as, because of the magic lurcher factor and a few trees arounnd, we have a cat-free zone, so garden is frequently a battleground of various kinds of birds over territory etc?

[pauco]

Adults will not tolerate sick or injured young in the nest, they will just throw them out. Sounds harsh, but it's natures way. Time in a nest full of youngsters is a harsh world.


paul.

[GardenFaery]

After this, I came out to go to work the next day - or day after that, can't remember and there was an even tinier dead baby bird, only about 2cms even on the bonnet of my car?! Is someone up there taking the p*** now or what?! LOL