IT’S BABY BIRD TIME!

It’s that time of year when baby birds abound.  It’s also the time of year when wildlife rehabs get inundated with baby birds that have fallen out of their nests.  What’s the best thing to do if you find a grounded baby?  PUT IT BACK IN THE NEST!  Touching the baby bird will not make the mother reject it any more than a human mother would reject her baby if it fell in something stinky.  If you can’t reach the nest you can fashion a substitute nest out of a butter tub, etc. lined with something soft.  You can then secure the pseudo-nest in the same tree as the original nest so that “mom” can find junior.  Baby birds require special diets & baby songbirds need to be fed about every 15 minutes from dawn to dusk. Mother bird is the best one to do this.  This is a baby Great Horned Owl that was brought to Badger Run after falling out of its nest. WE DID NOT WANT IT!! That is to say, the best place for the little guy was back in his own nest.  A big thank you goes to Chris Vennum, a UNLV grad student up here working with raptors (& an excellent tree climber!), for putting this fuzzball back where he belongs! Please remember, back in the nest with mom and dad is by far the BEST place for babies!