Expert: Julia Booth - 7/21/2008

Question
We found a birds nest a few weeks ago under a couple of cushions propped on one of our lawn chairs. We've tried to stay off of our front porch the whole time and checked them once in a while. A few times we saw the mother on the nest and she would just look at us. Now, the 4 little, pink speckled eggs hatched, the birds are approx 4 days old, we've not heard them chirp at all and have not seen the mother at all.  They are all still alive moving a little and I saw a couple open their eyes. We're afraid to touch them but don't think they've been fed or watered & we don't want them to die. Plus it's SO HOT!! We want to move the cushions so they can get air but we don't want them to fall out. Please let us know what we should do!!!  Thank you and God bless!

Answer
I know this probably isn't the answer you're hoping for. But the best thing you can do is nothing. The mother took the location into consideration when she laid the eggs and the babies are safe there. You won't hear them much for the first week. They mostly just wait with their mouth's open. After about ten days, then they will start to get noisy. At about 14, they will fly away.

Baby birds get all the moisture they need from their food. I am extremely doubtful that the parents have abandoned them. They are also normal residents of the climate you are in, meaning that they are used to the heat already and can survive in it.

Thanks for your concern. You're not the first to ask this, and you definitely won't be the last.

Julia