Expert: Roger Lederer - 5/31/2010

Question
I found 2 baby birds under my deck next to a nest that must have fallen out of a nearby bush. The one baby bird was hopping around while the other was moving a little but mainly stayed in place.  They both were chirping.  The parents were able to get the hopping baby bird to a bush for protection but was no able to get the other baby bird to move very much.  It was starting to get dark as the night was coming and I put the baby bird back into the nest and into the bush where it was before if fell.  The baby bird eventually stopped chirping and the parents stopped coming back to the baby bird.  The baby bird fell out of the nest again and I didn't want I to stay by itself all night without the parents in sight and not having protection. I took the bay bird in and wanted to know the proper care and also if I were to go out in the morning and put the baby bird where it was last night if the parents would come back for it.  The baby bird I have is smaller than the other baby bird so I also don't no if their from the same nest but if the they were its parents are cardinals.  It could be a robin if the baby bird is not related to the other baby bird. Right now I have the baby bird in a shoe box with a heating pad on low underneath show box.  The baby bird has feathers but does not look like a fledgling bird.

Answer
Frow what you describe, these are fledglings. They did not fall out of the nest, they jumped. They jump to the ground before they can fly and the parents will take care of them on the ground. The best thing to do is release the baby bird where you found it and let the parents take care of it.Do not put it back into the nest. I know you mean well, but nature knows better than we do about how to take care of birds. Thanks for your concern.