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Jack daw not flying/fledged?

Suli
09/06/2022 16:07

Hi, I've had jack daws nesting in the side of my building and a couple days go (08/06/22) i noticed a wee fledglingHatching chick. It's in a perfectly safe flat roof section and theres some shelter from the rain. It's parents were around lots when it first appeared but are only there sometimes now. I was just wondering when it should start to fly? Should I start training it myself? I fed it some apple and cat food although I read it might discourage them from flying.  I'm not too worried about it at the moment as it seems healthy and in energetic spirits. 

  • 0 09/06/2022 17:03
    Hi Suli, from what you say the jackdaw parents are around sometimes so I suggest you watch from a distance and let the parents continue to feed it; from the jackdaws I've seen in our last woodland garden they are very attentive parental birds so I'm sure they will know where they chick is and continue to feed it. The danger of feeding it or "training" it, despite your good intentions, is that the bird can imprint on you and then it is difficult for the bird to survive on its own in the wild so I would let nature takes its course - the parents should hear their chick calling for food. You say it has fledged so it should be able to fly quite soon unless it fell out of the nesting area, in either case, the parent birds should be feeding it. Just monitor from a distance and as long as the bird isn't in imminent danger (too young to fledge and in danger of predation being out in the open), please let nature take its course.
  • 0 11/06/2022 12:36
    Update: A couple nights ago I went to check on it and provide it some better shelter but to my surprise, I couldn't see it anywhere! It was late and it was dark so I had my head torch on and had a look over the flat roof section in case it might have fallen into the other enclosed section where the drains are but couldn't see it there either! Instead, what I found was a dead bird in the gutterCry. You can imagine how i was heartbroken at this point, and I decided to look back at the cctv to see what caused it. However, what I saw from the cctv was that it was messing about in the gutter on the edge of the roof and then clumsily fell off! So I went back and got a closer look in the drain section and lo and behold, there it is sitting tucked right in the corner. I got ladders down there and put it in a box and took it back up to the flat roof again. It didn't seem injured at all. Day 3 now and its still not flying but is looking healthy and is trying.
  • 0 11/06/2022 13:29 in reply to Suli
    Suli said:
    Day 3 now and its still not flying but is looking healthy and is trying.

    Fingers crossed it will fledge properly very soon;   what type of bird did you find dead in the gutter, was it another jackdaw?    Sounds like they fell or tumbled out of the nest too early.       

  • 0 12/06/2022 12:16 in reply to HAZY
    The other jackdaw is dead as well now. I wish I'd just listened to my common sense which was to feed it and take it in during the wet storms. At least it would have lived albeit learn to fly a bit later. Every time I go against my common sense and follow the experts the animal I'm looking after dies. Won't be happening again.
  • 0 12/06/2022 14:52

    I'm really sorry to hear that the birds died Suli and understand how upsetting it can be and it is human instinct to want to pick a bird up and bring it inside to look after but it is not always in the birds best interest and nature sometimes has to take its course however harsh that appears. Yesterday I found a juvenile blue tit on its back, feet in the air which looked like it might have been suffering from severe concussion; I gently picked it up and placed it in a planter box on the patio area and retreated immediately indoors to give the bird every chance to recover without stressing it; it would have been tempting to bring it inside but I followed the general guidance rule and let nature take its course; they don't always make it but that's nature but after over one hour it began to open its eyes and get its bearings and it then flew off to the nearby trees. Unless severely injured, wild birds should always be left outside as we don't know for certain if parent birds are still tending to these young birds and if you have to intervene then it is always advisable to find a rehabber who has the knowledge and experience to care for and rehabilitate the bird so it doesn't imprint and is able to be released back into the wild. I know you had the best of intentions but the advice given would not have changed,