Starling chick found dead in fold of sunlounger.

[Marb67]

Well I am absolutely mortified. I came down this morning to find a starling chick dead, hung by it’s neck in the fold of the sun lounger chair that was folded shut. How it got itself in there is a mystery but just wanted to warn people it can happen.

Pretty much riuned my day as very depressed about it as well as angry at myself

[Scarlet]

Perhaps he was dead before he got there Marb...another bird may have dropped it after stealing him from the nest, weak anyway, poorly for some other reason. Loads die in the early days . Chin up, no point beating yourself up over it, we can't keep everything safe.
I think open water butts are one of the main hazards, I've also stopped using pea netting. One year I couldn't find a turkey while putting them to bed and she had go tangled in some. I didn't find her until the following morning the net was so tight I had trouble cutting it off her. Luckily she was unharmed but I won't ever use that stuff again.

[Nicos]

Same here about the netting...blackbirds, hedgehogs, toads......once one of my chooks...fleece or fine net curtains for me from now on -I can imagine how you must feel marb, but as Scarlet says, maybe another predator dropped it in there accidentally?
More than likely not your fault x

[Marb67]

No it had def hung itself as all feathers from neck were gone, neck red raw. It was stuck fast. Gutted.

[Nicos]

Aww....very sad.

[Marb67]

I appreciate the comments. Just very sensitive to things, especially all creatures. I can't even leave a stray worm on a footpath without rescuing it from possible death. Just in my nature.

[self-contained]

That's very sad.

My Mum used to put netting across her ponds in Autumn, to stop leaves dropping in the water. Then, one morning, she found an owl that had got tangled up in the netting overnight and drowned. She was devastated. It's been almost twenty years and it still upsets her to think about it now. She hasn't netted her ponds since.

[Scarlet]

When my boys were about 10, on of them lost his kite in the garden it got tangled in the over head wires on the lane opposite.... to high up to rescue. The next morning we found an owl tangled up in it, to high to reach, even with ladders. We used ladders and a few others means to get hold of it , cut him free and after a day in a quiet box near the Aga with some meal worms set him free under a tree. I'm sure he stayed for a few years.
Accidents happen.

[Stan79]

I had this thread in mind last night when i rescued a baby toad from one of my potato bags... no idea how it got in there. All part of life's cycle... One starling gone but a toad saved!

[pwlynch]

That's a shame about the starling chick.Several years ago I netted some peas and several birds got caught and died,I felt terrible . I got a Walk in Wonderwall which is excellent and no birds have been caught in the fine mesh.A cat got caught a few weeks ago and eventually got away and it must have got such a scare that it's never been back.Im glad as it has eaten quite a few birds over the years.I was going to get netting for my pond in the autumn for the leaves but will use something different now ,maybe enviro mesh .The amount of leaves I've got out of the pond has made me very ashamed and I'm determined not to let it happen again.

[Snowwhyte]

I found a juvenile black bird dead in our water trough today. I was pretty gutted. I have a large, shallow container in the garden which I rinse and refill with water every day. I make sure it is never empty since there is so little water around for the birds and animals. It is a difficult time for wildlife.

[Scarlet]

I’ve got little trays of water dotted around the garden. There’s no water anywhere for birds and small animals. I know Hedgehog’s are using them in the evening.

[DannyK]

I found a juvenile black bird dead in our water trough today. I was pretty gutted. I have a large, shallow container in the garden which I rinse and refill with water every day. I make sure it is never empty since there is so little water around for the birds and animals. It is a difficult time for wildlife.

Put a brick or two in it so small birds can have something to stand on.