Hi. Sorry if this posts twice! Had a problem with the first attempt! Just wondered if anyone can help: I have a thrush in the garden who appears to have a damaged wing and be unable to fly, though i can’t see any other injuries and it appears to be perfectly happy. It has been happily hopping around the garden for a few days. We have put some water out and we don’t own a cat and only occasionally have them wander through the garden. The children especially are very concerned about it, it doesn’t appear to be in any distress but they are worried about a cat getting it. Is there anything we can do for the bird, or anyone we should call to help it? Or is best just left alone? Many thanks.
Hello NCambs and welcome to the community forum. General advice is initially to leave the bird alone but keep an eye on it from distance, preferably from inside the house, especially as you say it doesn't look in any particular distress. Occasionally birds can stun themselves or have a temporary injury where they just need a little time to recover before they eventually fly off. I understand the children being concerned about neighbourhood cats but best thing for now is watch and wait as any intervention at the moment could cause the bird undue stress; from what you say, it appears to be happy pottering around the garden. If it continues to be unable to fly you can always seek help via THIS LINK where you enter your location and state what species it is (garden bird) to ask for some advice should you think the bird needs professional assistance.
As long as the bird is hopping around without looking in any distress I would continue to observe from a distance. Birds will often carry out an activity called sunning where they spread one or both wings out and can lay down at an odd angle slightly lop-sided on their side which gives the impression that they may be injured. Take a look HERE