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Birding/house finch baby dead in nest

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Expert: - 7/15/2010


Question
Hi Roger,
Please help!  Over the past several months, we have been watching three house finch families in our back yard.  All babies have happily "flown the coop"!  Yesterday our most recent family had lots of activity (about 6-8 family members chirping and flying about the nest) as two babies flew away.  But this morning, very sadly, I see there is a dead baby left in the nest.  What should I do?  Will the parents come to take it away or should I take out the nest and clean up the area?  There is another empty nest area where two families lived.  It's a bit of a mess too, should I leave it alone?  Thanks!  Sincerely, Vicki Miko

Answer
You can take the baby out of the nest. The parents will not remove it. Leave the empty nests alone; sometimes they are reused, if not this year, maybe next. Mortality of young birds is VERY high, which most people don't realize. Thanks for your concern.

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Roger Lederer

Expertise

Any and all about WILD birds - the science of ornithology. Information about birdwatching, ecology, conservation, migration, behavior, banding, rehabilitation, feeding, songs, binoculars, identification, and careers in ornithology. No questions about pet or caged birds, please.

Experience

Have a PhD and over forty years as a professional ornithologist - research, teaching, author, speaker, webmaster of Ornithology.com . Have written thirty scientific papers, three bird field guides, a textbook in ecology and two recent books entitled "Amazing Birds" and "Birds of New England". Have traveled to over 90 countries watching birds.

Education/Credentials
PhD in Zoology/Ornithology; Emeritus Professor of Biological Sciences; former Dean of the College of Natural Sciences at California State University, Chico

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