Expert: Bluebird Bob Walshaw - 6/11/2010

Question
dear Bob....we had a blue bird nest in our boat trailer and could not return it to the original location. I have been feeding bird every 15 to 20 minutes by hand for about a week now and he/she is growing by the day. My question.....how can I train this baby bird to get fod for itself....any tricks? The bird is still very little but is beginning to crawl out of its basket. Can I use cut pieces of earthworms or meal worms when eyes are totally open....maybe it will be interested? I've educated so many little boys in my neighborhood and enlisted their help with the raising of this small bird. They all promise NO MORE beebee guns. i think this little bird has had such an impact and has educated them all. I would really like to learn how to follow through and teach it to find its own meals so it will have a chance in the wild. Please help. Thank you, Donna in Charleston, SC

Answer
I hate to discourage you, but what you are doing is illegal and almost always is doomed to fail. The bird will bond to you, never learn to forage or to recognize predators, and will be a failure in the wild. If it did survive and breed it would weaken the species. This is why predators are so important. They get the sick,the slow and the dumb, and help to keep the species strong. One pair of Bluebirds can raise as many as 15 or more young in a season, and if they all survived we would be up to our hips in Bluebirds. And if you do persist in feeding it, do not feed earthworms - they are full of soil and will make it sick. Your best bet is to contact birding and wildlife organizations and turn the bird over to a bird rehabilitator. And if you do wish to have Bluebird houses and to learn more about Bluebirds, send your mailing address to me at walshaw1@cox.net, and I will send you my free 20 page Bluebird book.