Expert: Julia Booth - 1/14/2009

Question
QUESTION: I am in Nova Scotia. My cat brought home a blue jay. It seems fine in all ways other than it cannot stand. Its eyes are bright.Its wings seem fine as it flaps them.Its feet grab hold of my fingers. It moves its head from side to side.It has not made a noise though. Can you help with a suggestion at lesat. The nearest wildlife place is more than an hour away and we are in the middle of a storm.

ANSWER: I don't have a list of wildlife rehabbers outside of the United States. But it sounds like the bird will probably be fine. If it's not limp or lethargic, and its eyes are blank and glassy, it will probably be okay. Sometimes birds get stunned, by another animal or by flying into a window or something similarly traumatic.

I would wait until the storm is over and then try letting it go.

Let it perch on your fingers and pump your hand a few times to encourage it to flap its wings. See if it takes off.

Good luck,

Julia

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for answering so swiftly but I have bad news. Although we tried to hold it to stand and he pushed with his feet, and he flapped his wings, he became more and more lethargic as the day went on. He does not squak and that makes me wonder and it appears as if he is panting. It is now 6"25 p.m. and I would bet he does not make it anothe hour. Had it not been for this storm Iwould have driven the hour to take him to the nearest rehab but unfortunately that couldnt happen.
Thank you again.

Answer
It might have suffered internal injuries that you can't see. Panting can mean it's in shock or it's severely dehydrated. The danger of trying to give it water is that you can cause the bird to drown. You can try putting water in a shallow spoon, near its mouth, and seeing if it attempts to drink. If its in shock from internal bleeding, then there's nothing you can do.

If you aren't able to save it, you shouldn't feel bad. You did the best you could and the circumstances were obviously out of your control. Those birds typically live about 2 years in the wild.

Julia