Hi all!
There's a nest of black birds (common grackles, I believe) in a tree right in front of my house.
This afternoon, I found one of the babies on the ground... It was quite a few meters away from the tree -- it walked all the way to the parking lot. It can't seem to fly at all (it wasn't even trying), and there are cats in the neighborhood, so my father and I decided to return it to the nest.
The bird appeared really calm and had no fear of us. It wasn't lethargic, though - it looked around actively and chirped a bit. Upon looking at it more closely, however, I noticed there were tiny red bugs allllll over it.
We got a ladder and returned it to the (otherwise empty) nest, which was full of tiny bugs as well. My father said it is natural for there to be bugs in the nest and it is not a problem.. But... I think they look a lot like red/blood mites.
I'm leaving them alone for now. The mother bird seems to still be visiting the nest. But I really feel like that bird needs a bath... Oh, I heard mothballs help keep insects away from nests. Would putting one in there help, or that just plain stupid? Should I try to help or leave them alone? Anyway, I'm just looking for some advice/information.
Thanks a lot. There isn't much wildlife around here (99% of the birds are just these grackles), so forgive me if this encounter sounds petty.
I'll upload some photos I took:
Came out rather blurry, but you can faintly see the tiiiny red bugs.
There's a nest of black birds (common grackles, I believe) in a tree right in front of my house.
This afternoon, I found one of the babies on the ground... It was quite a few meters away from the tree -- it walked all the way to the parking lot. It can't seem to fly at all (it wasn't even trying), and there are cats in the neighborhood, so my father and I decided to return it to the nest.
The bird appeared really calm and had no fear of us. It wasn't lethargic, though - it looked around actively and chirped a bit. Upon looking at it more closely, however, I noticed there were tiny red bugs allllll over it.
We got a ladder and returned it to the (otherwise empty) nest, which was full of tiny bugs as well. My father said it is natural for there to be bugs in the nest and it is not a problem.. But... I think they look a lot like red/blood mites. I'm leaving them alone for now. The mother bird seems to still be visiting the nest. But I really feel like that bird needs a bath... Oh, I heard mothballs help keep insects away from nests. Would putting one in there help, or that just plain stupid? Should I try to help or leave them alone? Anyway, I'm just looking for some advice/information.
Thanks a lot. There isn't much wildlife around here (99% of the birds are just these grackles), so forgive me if this encounter sounds petty.
I'll upload some photos I took:
Came out rather blurry, but you can faintly see the tiiiny red bugs.
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