Weird....A bird in the house

[Guest Guest]

Tuesday night, Cavey opened the door to our wood burning stove to light a fire, and a bird flew out! It flew around the house, tried to nest/hide in a potted plant, flew into the pantry, etc. Cavey opened the door, and thought he got the bird out of the house. He started a fire, and about two hours later, our dog was nosing around by the wood stove, very interested in something. Finally, Cavey got a flashlight, and found the little bird was nestled in the corner of the stove inset. He again opened the door, and finally chased it out. The bird wouldn't leave, and sat on the stairwell instead of flying away.

 

I hope it's nothing, but since we don't have a local wildlife dept, I called the Health Dept. They want to come out and take a look. So....another prep might be to place a screen over your chimneys or stove pipes.

[Mother]

Mare, As a past wild life Rehabilitator of over 27 years, I can tell you that every thing you said was normal for a bird in that situation.

 

Birds quite often get into a chimney that is not screened. Being scared (remember you look like a giant to him) he would both fly around the house and try to hide if he could. In the process of flying around and bumping into things they often get injured, especially air sack injuries making it difficult for them to breathe. When you finally managed to get him out of the house there were several reasons he might only set. One, he was injured, two he was scared, tired and totally stressed out, and three it was dark. Most birds would rather hunker down and stay put when it's dark.

 

If the situation every arises again, the best way to capture a bird is to darken the room if it is night, then let the bird settle in some spot. Gently toss a light cloth, towel, shirt or whatever over the bird and gently scoop it into the material to take outside and release. They can also often be caught by putting a basket or box upside down on top of them, then sliding something stiff like cardboard under it all and gently turning the whole thing over being careful to keep the top covered the whole time with the cardboard. Then just release the bird. If a bird doesn't leave immediately just let him set quietly. Often times it's the next morning before they feel comfortable about taking off again.

 

A small, non-raptor (hawk type) bird is normally not dangerous though the cardinals, blue jays and the like can give a pretty good nip if they desire. Most animals and birds will try to defend themselves if you directly threaten them or try to handle them. Wouldn't you if a giant hand was coming towards YOU????

 

 

[Guest Guest]

Thank Mother, that was good advice.

 

A man from Wildlife called me and asked me to describe the bird. He said basically the same thing about why the bird was there, as it is nesting time out here. I told him we live on a lake, which was my cause for concern. He said that the only birds they are looking at are the big Crows, Ravens, and other predatory birds. He did give me his cell number and said if it comes back to call him and he will come out and capture it and test it.

 

Sorry, much adoo about nothing.

[Linda]

i don't think this was a lot of do about nothing as it lead to some good information

[Mother]

Theyd's right. I have given hundreds of talks on wildlife and there's always a need to pass on information about them. The more we know about the world we live in, the better off we and "they" will be.

 

I'm glad that things are turning out well but you were right to be concerned.