Found a swallow on the ground that couldn't fly. Need help ASAP!? (1 Viewer)

[aelyanariah]

o Thank you all for your answers and help. He made it through the night, and this morning I discovered a few things.... for starters, he is a she. She laid an egg over night and seems to be doing well. We went out and bought her a very nice little bird house and moved her and her egg to it. I'm hoping she'll be able to find her mate (she isn't that far from where I found her.) I'm still not quite sure what was wrong with her last night, but she's no longer lethargic and seems to be acting like a normal, happy swallow. o


I know this may not be the exact right place to post this, but I'm desparate, and it seemed to have the most people...

I live in Anchorage, Alaska, and was walking my dog about an hour ago. On the way home I heard something flutter on the ground and looked down to find a swallow splayed all out. I knelt down to see if he was alive, and he was, so I touched him to try and get him to fly, since he was in the road. He hopped a little, but that's all, so I picked him up. He seemed a bit afraid of me at first, but soon cuddled right up in my hair and fell asleep. When I got home I made a little nest for him out of live and dead grass and a few old goose feathers we happened to have. I then picked him up on my finger to see if he'd been hit by a car or something. He sat on my finger just like a pet would and eventually fell back asleep, so I put him in his nest. He kept trying to hop back to me, which makes me think he must be very young and not yet afraid of humans. I'm guessing he's a nestling who fell out of the nest, but he's got all of his feathers and he looks full grown already, which I'd think is a bit early for this time of year.

We have pets, so I cannot keep him inside, but he is in our motorhome, which is kind of warm. We also have a small parrot, so I gave him some of his food and a little water. I am also going to try to catch him a few moths or mosquitoes when I'm done typing this.

Anyway, it's too late here for me to take him to any animal place, and I was just wondering if you could answer a few things for me:

1) Could he be a nestling, even though he looks full grown?

2) What would be the best thing I can do to make him comfortable?

3) What could be wrong with him if he is full grown? He doesn't seem to have any visible injuries and he moves just fine.

4) What would be the best to feed him, aside from live bugs?

 

[humminbird]

There are several places where you can learn what should be done, but I would probably start by trying to put him back in a tree or bush close to where you found him. At this time of the year, many young birds are just learning to fly. Just like we do not jump up and walk immediately, birds have to learn to fly and this guys mom is probably having a fit because he is gone.

You might try checking http://www.akwildbirdrehab.org/ or http://www.southeasternoutdoors.com/wildlife/rehabilitators/alaska-rehabilitators.html for some help.

 

[mark.dathorne]

A couple of years ago I found a young blackbird that had fallen out of its nest ... rescuing him from the pavement where a cat would soon have found him, I took it to my garden next door.
Soon after the parents of this bird were frantically calling and flying around to locate it so I put it outside where it was safe from cats ... the parents soon found and fed the bird for two days and then it was gone.
It would be very hard to provide the same care artificially so please try to follow suit and locate the bird somewhere safe near the place you found it.

 

[marie b]

Swallows can't fly up from the ground -- if you think he's full grown and should be ready to fly, put him up on a tree branch in a warm place.

 

[James Thomas]

Check the feathering for ticks. If an adult, an infestation would stop it from flying.

 

[Joern Lehmhus]

Swallows can't fly up from the ground .

So how do they gather the soil and clay needed for their nests?

 

[James Thomas]

So how do they gather the soil and clay needed for their nests?

They can also carry coconuts.

 

[Joern Lehmhus]

They can also carry coconuts.

Only since the invention of Nylon thread.....

 

[marie b]

So how do they gather the soil and clay needed for their nests?

Hi,
Thanks Joern. I was too quick in applying pointers I had picked up on bird rehabilitation with regard to swifts, and had actually been able to apply to a Palm Swift found near my home. Of course there are swallows that can fly up off the flat ground. I can't locate my original reference just now, but came across this in "Care of the Wild" by Jordan and Hughes, ..."...some birds thought to be casualties are merely birds that have inadvertently become grounded and cannot take off from flat ground. The swift is such a bird, with swallows and martins also suffering from the same problem to some extent. Such a grounded bird may need only a boost into the air in order to be on its way."

I must be more careful and not so swift to comment!!:-C

Regards,
Marie

 

[Joern Lehmhus]

Hi,
Thanks Joern. I was too quick in applying pointers I had picked up on bird rehabilitation with regard to swifts, and had actually been able to apply to a Palm Swift found near my home. Of course there are swallows that can fly up off the flat ground. I can't locate my original reference just now, but came across this in "Care of the Wild" by Jordan and Hughes, ..."...some birds thought to be casualties are merely birds that have inadvertently become grounded and cannot take off from flat ground. The swift is such a bird, with swallows and martins also suffering from the same problem to some extent. Such a grounded bird may need only a boost into the air in order to be on its way."

I must be more careful and not so swift to comment!!:-C

Regards,
Marie

Hi Marie , I was wondering about that, if you were thinking of swifts? Because none of the swallow and martin species I have seen on the ground (Barn Swallow, Sand Martin, House Martin, Redrumped swallow etc) had any difficulties there (OK, they probably wouldn´t win a running contest against a Skylark )- and i also didn´t know references to healthy swallows having real difficulties on the ground, but some concerning swifts with starting difficulties on the ground (And i have never seen a healthy swift land on the ground- would be difficult with those wings and feet).

So now i wonder: can a healthy swift which has accidentally landed on the ground, get airborne again???

Does anybody know that?

 

[nickderry]

Hi Marie , I was wondering about that, if you were thinking of swifts? Because none of the swallow and martin species I have seen on the ground (Barn Swallow, Sand Martin, House Martin, Redrumped swallow etc) had any difficulties there (OK, they probably wouldn´t win a running contest against a Skylark )- and i also didn´t know references to healthy swallows having real difficulties on the ground, but some concerning swifts with starting difficulties on the ground (And i have never seen a healthy swift land on the ground- would be difficult with those wings and feet).

So now i wonder: can a healthy swift which has accidentally landed on the ground, get airborne again???

Does anybody know that?

Don't have any references but some memory serves me that swifts' legs have no strength to push them into the air and can only get airborne by dropping into a space that allows them to gather lift.

 

[catmadden]

I have seen many different kinds of swallows getting soil and clays from cliff sides and slopes. I have never seen one stand on the ground but have seen them fly over low and pick up grasses and even hair.

 

[catmadden]

I have seen many different kinds of swallows getting soil and clays from cliff sides and slopes. I have never seen one stand on the ground but have seen them fly over low and pick up grasses and even hair.

 

[catmadden]

So how do they gather the soil and clay needed for their nests?

I have seen many different kinds of swallows getting soil and clays from cliff sides and slopes. I have never seen one stand on the ground but have seen them fly over low and pick up grasses and even hair.


Don't know how this git posted mutiple times, must need more coffee!