Expert: Roger Lederer - 5/30/2010

Question
I am hoping for closure here more than anything else.  My daughter and I found a baby sparrow in a driveway in our neighborhood. It was hopping around a little bit and chirping, but not able to fly. We left it alone and came home to read about its needs.  I read that the bird was probably in the process of learning to fly and could be put back on a low branch to give it help.  It was not downy looking anymore--just small and trying unsuccessfully to fly.  We did this and about five minutes later a much larger bird (tan, smooth, not plump at all--looked like a larger version of a mourning dove)landed on the branch and the baby bird was gone.  Was it eaten?  Should we have minded our own business?  Thank you in advance for your response. We were worried about the many cats and dogs in the neighborhood (we've even seen foxes, raccoons, etc.)

Answer
The bird is a fledgling, meaning it left the nest but was unable to fly. This is absolutely normal. The parents feed it for another 10 days or so until it can. You should not have put it on a low branch - this is no help. Best thing to do is leave it alone and let the parents care for it. When you try to help it, you scared the parents away temporarily. The baby bird simply jumped off the branch onto the ground and hid itself, as it normally does, because of possible predators. I know you meant well, but it's almost always best to let nature do what nature does.