I’ve had a pair of these beautiful birds nesting/breeding in a tree in our front yard. We had a massive hail storm two days ago. One chick fell to its death yesterday sometime, one during the night and a third fell this afternoon–and lived. We found him when we got home. The parents have not been seen or heard from since the storm. He was terrified and couldn’t stand when approached. We put him in a box with a towel and some water and he soon calmed down. I called our wildlife department and they told me to leave him in a protected place near the nest. This is the problem…there is no protected place near the nest. The neighbors have a fairly vicious dog that frequently roams. There are also a couple of male toms that would enjoy killing this lovely bird. He’s quite large but unable to fly. I was afraid a leg was broken, but he finally stood up and took a few steps. The game officer said to feed him with minnows. We’re doing that…but I think mama is still feeding regurg. He figured it out pretty quickly, even trying to catch ones we put in the water dish, but the live fish he’s eaten are regurged within minutes…one still flopping. He did manage a couple of dead ones. He is still pooping and seems fairly calm. I was going to leave him in the box on top of the car (so if the parents came back, they could find him/her, but there is a storm coming and wind is going to blow the box off. I ended up putting the box in the trunk of the car and braced it halfway up. The bird can still stand and stretch, but is protected from the wind and rain—and hopefully, the animals, a little at least. I’ve been checking on him and he’s finally set back down. Is this a good thing? Or will the poor thing be dead by morning. I told my animal loving niece that we might not be doing the poor thing any favors. (She fed the minnows—using hemostats so she wouldn’t lose a finger. She’s even made grandad bring her back over so she could check on it about 10:30). Would it be better off dead at this stage? There nearest rescue/rehab is about an hour from here and he will go there if they will take him. There is a private “habitat” much closer and I plan on talking with them tomorrow. From what I’ve been able to find out, these are fairly rare birds, especially in Kansas. Is it better to try to save him or let him go peacefully?
I know this was really long…thanks for reading and for any real advice.
Yellow and gold seem to be interchangable. Thanks for the info about the food…I thought about the blender, but he’s been eating the minnows. Do you think canned tuna would work? I just checked on him and he’s up again and watches me closely, but doesn’t seem too upset. I hate that he’s hidden if ma or pa heron is around and looking for him.
I’ve got a fully clawed, 22 lb. cat inside that I took out to “look” at the bird. He took one look and tried to use my back as a ramp to get back inside. The bird, standing with it’s head up is 15-18″ or so tall. His beak is probably about 4″ long. His talons are long, but still very soft. We changed boxes to give ma and pa better visibility and he clung to the towel. He let me touch and loosen them without freaking. (we did use a towel over his head…it helped.)
I can’t find a picture of a juvenile or much info on them and I don’t know where to look. He has what look like very thick hairs standing randomly willy-nilly on his head…I assume this will one day be the crown.
That’s the one! We just had our 30 min. check in…he’s not happy, but he’s dealing with it…lol
And thank you again for your help!
Posted in Bird Nest Boxes
Tagged animals, beautiful birds, Bird, box, car, chick, couple, fish, fly, front yard, game officer, hail storm, heron, Kansas, lovely bird, Mama, neighbors, nest, niece, night, night heron, parents, place, storm, thing, water, water dish, wildlife department, wind and rain
