Bird Stuck On My Balcony

[Typhoon John]

I've had this before with a racing pigeon which I managed to catch using a towel.

Today I've got a young Magpie stuck on my balcony jumping/flying into the glass sides. It's clearly quite distressed and defecating a lot, I can even hear it breathing heavily.

I've tried again with the towel technique but firstly I'm struggling to catch it as it's so fast. Then even once I've got the towel over it, it's flapping so much it's managing to free itself before I can pick it up. Only thing I can think of is using a bigger towel, but I've only got one and I need it for myself!

Any ideas would be appreciated.

[Backtrack]

Use a net.

[Snowangel-MK]

Try putting a box or plastic crate over it, it should calm down then !

[Backtrack]

I was about to suggest luring it in a box with food, but it's probably too distressed to eat. Hmm tough one.

Edited July 26, 2011 by Backtrack

[Snowangel-MK]

You need to get it calm and immobilised as soon as you can or the stress will kill it - try the towel again closely followed by a box or something to stop it escaping !

http://www.wild-bird-watching.com/Injured-Bird.html

Edited July 26, 2011 by MKsnowangel

[Lancashire Lass]

Try using a large cardboard box or one of those white plastic storage ones to try and throw over the bird and then once the bird is inside slide a large piece of cardboard underneath and hold in place until you can safely release the bird.

[Crepuscular Ray]

Once you've got it safely under the box, phone the RSPCA for advice on what to do next.

Edited July 26, 2011 by crepuscular ray

[bobbydog]

borrow a cat

[Typhoon John]

Thanks for all the advice.

I cleared some of the clutter on the balcony and put some food out and left it for a while as I think in the end I was just making it more distressed.

It eventually noticed the food which seemed to calm it down. Watching it, it seemed to be looking around at where it was instead of panicking. It had another failed attempt to escape and hit the glass and then, after another look around, seemed to work it out and flew up to the railing and towards the nearby trees.

So a happy ending.

[ZONE 51]

good work JF! ive had a few experiences like that so i know how you feel! but none on balconys though! its better in a garden and a lot safer. actually while im here il say about a small fluffy dog i come across years ago,one night i found it was walking around like it was drunk! didn't have a clue what it was at first actually :lol:, in the end i took it in and found out it was a small long haired or should i say over haired dog with over grown toe nails, i called RSPC out and they took it in, i found out a few days later its been returned to its owner, it had escaped from a garden, and it was found to have over grown toe nails making it hard to walk and also the long hair/coat was to shaggy for it and could not see out of its eyes, no joke this was real :lol: , in the end it had all a make over and was happy, and for the owners..well they did not say thankyou to the person that found their dog.

Edited July 27, 2011 by ElectricSnowStorm

[Snowangel-MK]

Thanks for all the advice.

So a happy ending.

My house/garden seems to be a magnet for injured birds and hedgehogs, luckily we have a veterinary hospital up the road who are happy to treat the casualties free of charge. At the moment I'm looking after a hoglet who has been on antibiotics for the last couple of weeks to clear up a nasty infection, his leg has been so badly damaged by wire or a strimmer (possibly from the allotments behind us) that he's gone in today for an amputation then I will take over again with the post op after-care !

Here he is....the name is Spikey !!

Hopefully he will get a happy ending too and will be able to live a semi wild life with three legs...once he recovers