Ok, This Question Is for the Birds UPDATE ADDED

Updated on April 01, 2016
E.B. asks from Virginia Beach, VA
5 answers

or, more accurately, about birds. I know nothing about birds. And in the scope of things, this is a pretty insignificant question, but it's bugging me. I can't find info online.

There's a bird who has made a nest on a ladder that is hanging horizontally on the back of our garage. The bird is a little brownish-gray dove-like bird (I think it's a Hawaiian ground dove), quite small, just a little bigger than the typical sparrow. We noticed one morning that the momma left and we carefully peered into the nest (without touching it of course). It's not too far off the ground and we can see into it (dh can, and I can if I stand on tiptoe).

We expected to see eggs, but instead we saw 3, maybe 4, little tiny balls of feathery stuff. They are breathing, and they are really tiny. This has been going on for more than a week. The momma sits on them as though they were eggs. We can see her, and we never see the babies with their mouths open. They don't really move, but it looks as though they are breathing steadily. We cannot see their heads. They're just like little vibrating fluff balls.

So my question is, do some bird babies hatch too early? I always assumed that the second the babies broke out of their eggs they are stretching their heads and beaks, and the momma will be feeding them. But she's just sitting on them just like they're still in eggs. Are the babies in some kind of birdie NICU? Should I set out any food for the mother?

This is really bugging my dh too, but not for the same reason. He needs to use the ladder but he can't because right now it's a bird nursery.

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So What Happened?

Thank you for all the helpful info! I guess I never thought about the mother bird sitting on the babies and that being ok, and that the babies wouldn't be squawking from the beginning. I was able to peek in the nest today and there are two babies, and they're bigger today. They have actual heads (couldn't see their heads before), but their eyes aren't open. They look fine and the mother is constantly tending to the nest, so all is well.

I didn't mention that the nest is in a very safe place, near where our BBQ grill is, where we go frequently. I think that's because we have a mongoose family that lives in the hedge and rocks in our back yard, and they are horrible predators to birds. But they're timid around people, so no mongoose is going to trouble these little birdies. The mongoose babies are adorable and they tumble about like puppies, and roll around trying to nip at each other.

So, all seems good in bird-nursery land. I'm just leaving them alone and enjoying a peek now and then.

More Answers

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R.B.

answers from San Francisco on

They haven't hatched too early, this is how birds are raised. The eggs hatch, and the babies that emerge look embryonic, pink, featherless, and then the mother sits on them to keep them warm, and feeds them as they grow and develop feathers etc. The mother is feeding them, you just don't see her do it.

My finches just had babies, and they have just gone through the process you are describing. Today they finally look like finches, instead of silly-looking balls of fluff.

Sure, put food out for the mother. If the mother wants it she will eat it.

5 moms found this helpful
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H.W.

answers from Portland on

E., I would contact the Hawaiian Audubon Society.
http://www.hawaiiaudubon.org/

I use our local Audubon Society for when we've had birds and natural critters in distress. They are good at giving resource information and advice. (Julie S was right, I grew up in Honolulu but didn't stay long enough to learn as much about the wildlife. My bird knowledge is savvy for my own area of the Pacific Northwest.)

Also, mother birds will protect their young by nesting directly on them at times and keeping them out of sight,esp. if the nest is as exposed as you suggest. I do think the experts, though, are the best to advise you so that you can resolve this with some peace of mind and you can ask what to do next time. Good luck!

4 moms found this helpful

J.S.

answers from St. Louis on

Nervy girl will know the answer. She seems to know everything about birds and lived in Hawaii for some time as a child.

4 moms found this helpful
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M.G.

answers from Portland on

I had a small bird set up a nest in one of my planters. I had no idea of course and poured water on the nest watering my flowers. It was then I saw the little fluff balls. I felt awful but thankfully they all survived. The mom just sat on them too.

We just kept our bird feeder full of seed.

The dad was always nearby in a tree.

They do feed them - it's probably just so tiny you can't see them.

I can't remember how long they stayed in nest (a couple of weeks?) so you may have a little wait for the ladder :)

3 moms found this helpful

D.B.

answers from Boston on

First of all, there's a myth about not touching baby birds. While there's no need for you to get "involved", the myth really has to do with sickly babies who are booted out of the nest by the mother. Nature tells her not to waste time/energy/food on a bird that will not survive. Well-meaning humans put these weakling birds back in the nest, and the mother boots them out again...leading to the "I touched it, now she won't" story. The truth is, healthy babies who somehow fall out, can be put back in successfully, although there is a risk of attack by parent birds who see humans too close.

That said, she's probably feeding them and you don''t know it. She's "sitting on them" to keep them warm, and that's fine. If they are alive, and if she is continuing to come back to the nest, they are fine. And, frankly, if they are all not fine for the same reason (some disease or something), there is nothing you can do about it. Frustrating but the reality of nature.

Yes, they are tiny - but tiny birds have tinier babies. We had a wren build a nest inside an open feeder of ours, and I couldn't believe the size of the eggs! Seems impossible that anything could survive that - but they do!

Since you don't know what the mama bird eats, it doesn't make sense for you to put food out. And what food? Some birds are seed eaters (finches, cardinals, etc. - but within that group, some come to feeders and some are ground feeders) but others are meat eaters (woodpeckers, robins, etc., that eat worms and insects). You live in a lush area in a tropical latitude, so there are abundant food sources available in both categories.

I'd leave them alone, set up a Go Pro camera from a distance if you are seriously wanting to see more, and hope for the best.

3 moms found this helpful
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