How to reunite chicks & parent birds

Tawny Frogmouth chick with parents

WIRES was called when a young tawny chick was found sitting on the ground, with its caring mum sitting on it, keeping
it warm. Such a vulnerable position was not good, so the chick was rescued by WIRES carer William whilst a substitute nest was erected.

The first substitute nest did not suit the tawny so a bit of ingenuity was called for. In the wild, tawnies normally pick a nest site
high in a fairly open large tree and their n nests are a minimal flattish structure of sticks. WIRES carer Jane noticed a plastic seedling tray belonging to the member of the public, and this was the basis of the new nest. It was lined with sticks then leaves so it wasn’t quite so deep.

A suitable tree was found that was sheltered by other trees but still easy for the tawnies to fly to.
When the substitute nest was securely tied in the new position, the tawny chick was placed in it. All this was watched
by the caring parents. Even though it was daylight, a time when tawnies don’t usually fly, the mother bird made her
way in stages over to the new nest and sat on her baby. They were checked the next day and mother bird was with her
chick while the father roosted nearby.

Happy ending for all

Red-browed Firertail finch   A Red-browed Firertail finch nest complete with 3 chicks fell from a thick leafy tree during a wild storm. WIRES was called and as the chicks were close to being able to fly I though it would be best to try to reunite them with their parents leaving the chicks in their nest. Problem being how to get the nest safely back in the tree. I placed the three chicks in a small basket and using some gutter guard cut to the same size as the nest I wrapped it around the nest, clipped it together and attached a small piece at the back, leaving the front open for the parents to enter. Using a ladder the nest was placed back in the tree at the same height as it had fallen from, it was tied on securely and the chicks were then placed back in the nest. as soon as the chicks started chirping the parents came back to tend to their offspring.

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