Fledgling California Towhee (1 Viewer)

[SetMeFree]

Hello! I'm new here...I have a question...

I have a pair of California Towhee living in my backyard in southern California. They have been going crazy the last two days, and I realized it is because they have a baby on the ground. My cat actually brought the baby to me yesterday morning as a gift! Luckily, it was unharmed, just scared half to death. I got it away from him and picked it up gently in a dishcloth and put it back outside with its parents. I did some googling and found out that the bird is in the fledgling period where it will walk around on the ground although it cannot fly. (I'm sure you all know that already, but I didn't!)

I was wondering if someone could inform me how long these birds remain on the ground without the ability to fly? Is it more than a few days? I am really concerned for the baby's safety. I am keeping my cats indoors but I don't know how long the rest of my family will allow it, and they are sneaky devils There are also lots of other cats that come into our yard. I don't want the little one to be eaten

I haven't seen the baby this morning but the parents are hopping around on the ground together with food in their mouths, so I'm hoping the baby is in the bushes nearby.

Any information would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Gretchen]

I'm not an expert, but I believe its just a few days. Baby birds develop quite quickly, and as you can guess they need to get off the ground pretty fast as that is a dangerous period.

Hope all goes well with your towhees!

 

[SetMeFree]

Thank you for your response. Unfortunately it was not fast enough A cat caught the baby and killed it this morning I'm extremely upset and saddened, especially for the parents who have been working so hard to protect it the best they could. They were really no match for cats which are not native predators. I know this is part of "nature", but as a human I feel responsible, since humans are the ones to bring cats into the Towhee's natural environment. I've really grown attached to the pair of them, and I hope that next time around they pick somewhere to have their babies that is more protected. I'm so sorry little birdy, I did everything I could (I literally asked my neighbors not to let their cats outside for a few days...and trust me, we don't have the greatest relationship)

I'm considering putting one of those fake owls on my roof. I LOVE birds, but I love them alive, not dead.