HiI was on a morning walk and saw this little bird face down in the middle of the path with his wings out (so camouflaged in the leaves he could easily have been stepped on). Picked him up and for a couple of minutes he seemed happy to sleep cupped in hand as per the photograph. I set him down off the main path in case a fledgling and waiting for parents. However, after placing down he just lay down with eyes closed and seemed unable to stand or move. I picked him up again with intention of trying to save him but this time he lay on side in hand and within maybe 10 minutes he had very sadly died. I am extremely cautious of interfering with nature and fledglings but the reason I didn't think he was a healthy fledgling is because of how I initially found him, because he wasn't hopping around and couldn't even seem to stand - he mainly sat and at one point his legs curled up to chest and he was sat in ball. Also because he wasn't trying to feed. After researching, I think he is a juvenile goldcrest- is this correct? Any ideas why he would be face down on path and why he quickly went from the photograph to not being able to stand to dying? What could have been wrong with him? Could anything have been done differently?Thanks in advance.
I know this will sound harsh and that you were well meaning in your intentions, but you should not have picked the youngster up. There could be something wrong with the youngster, and it is natures way of keeping the strong bloodlines going and reducing the risk of a species dying out through weaker bloodlines.
Nature has its own way of supporting, or sorting out, the strong vs the weak, and there is a chance the parents will be looking for their missing youngster to bring food to it.
It is difficult to say what bird it is, though in my limited experience it looks too large for a goldcrest. It might be a young goldfinch, but that is purely a very wild guess.I'm sure someone more experienced will give a more accurate identification.
Two final points, it could be suffering from
After handling the youngster, you should have thoroughly washed your hands and anything else, like clothing, that came into contact to reduce the risk of further spreading of any infections.
Mike
Flickr: Peak Rambler