Whatbird.com

Hi there! Wondering if you can help me. I am a very amatuer birdy girl. Today I watched a little golden crowned kinglet perched on my lilac tree. It seemed a bit dizzy; at one point, it swung upside down and then fell right off the branch onto the ground. It lay there for 10 minutes not moving, so I went out to see if I could help it somehow. When I approached, it flitted to a low branch and stared at me as if to say, "What?" I went back inside and saw that it had flown away. Phew.

 What is the right thing to do when a bird falls to the ground and doesn't recover? It was a chilly windy day here in Ontario; 6 degrees and rainy. I was going to pop it in a shoebox with holes in the top and give it time to recover...is that the right thing to do? I didn't want my barn cats to eat it!

 

Thanks so much for your help!

Kimber

the bird was probably exausted from migrating.  as you stated, it recovered after some time and thats what usually happens.  if you have cats that would eat it, its best to move it where they can't get it, like you did.  but, i would not have put it in a box unless you had located and intended to bring it to a wildlife rehab person. in any case when you find an injured or inactive bird, the wildlife rehab person is always the best and the only safe option.  there are very few stories of regular people finding a bird and nursing it back to where it can be released.  the stories usually end with, "it did ok for a few days, then quit eating and died".