1. What is the right thing to do when young birds are found?

People who find eggs or young birds in their yard should place them back in the nest if it is visible. If the nest cannot be found, leave the eggs alone since the parent bird may probably be attempting to renest it. A completely feathered young bird may have left the nest on its own and may still be under parental care. It would help to place it on top of a shrub away from predators. It is illegal and difficult to raise young wild birds.

2. What is the primary benefit of bird watching?

Probably the most important purpose of bird watching is to bring people closer to nature through bird awareness. It also facilitates better relationships in families and communities brought about by the shared common interest

3. What can be considered the most natural of birdhouses?

This would most likely be the gourd house. It can be made by cutting a hole in a gourd, cleaning out the pulp and drilling a small hole in the bottom for drainage. It can be attached to a branch and fastened to a top quarter of a pole when required.

4. How do you treat injured birds?

The most sensible thing to do is to wrap a towel around the bird and place it in a cardboard box or a large paper bag and put in a warm, quiet place. Get the bird as fast as possible to a veterinarian or an authorized wildlife rehabilitator. Do not attempt to offer first aid since the lack of proper training may do more harm than good.

5. What is the best way to learn more about bird watching?

This can be done by joining a local bird watching club or going for a walk with other bird watchers. Other ways would be to subscribe to a magazine devoted to the topic, order videos on bird watching or get a good bird book, preferably more than one. Most importantly, start noticing the birds around and look at the actual birds. This is the most effective way of learning.

6. Why does a bird watcher need a notebook?

It is where birding field notes are written. It makes possible the recording of what was seen. In essence, it is what forces the bird watcher to really “see”, since it would require careful observation to come up with the correct description and identification.

7. What is the logic behind feeding birds in fall?

Wild birds scout for their winter food sources in fall. This means that they are also deciding which backyards they will occupy in winter. It is a way of letting the birds know that they are much welcome in a place for their temporary needs.

8. Does human monitoring disturb a bird’s nest?

Careful and sensible monitoring will not harm the birds and can provide volumes of knowledge about them. The myth about birds smelling human scent and parent birds abandoning it are simply that – a myth.

9. What could be the reason why baby birds die in their nest?

It is possible that parents may abandon the nest due to a traumatic event such as extensive investigation of the nest by a predator, infestation of insects or the usurpation of the nest box by a competing specie. This abandonment would leave the young to starve in the nest. Even the loss of one parent decreases the survival rate of the young as the remaining parent may not cope up with the increasing feeding rate. Other possible reasons are genetic disorder and chemical poisoning which are both difficult to determine.

10. How can large birds be discouraged from raiding bird feeders?

A feeder that closes if an animal gets on it that is above a certain weight is one option. Although it effectively discourages larger birds as well as squirrels and raccoons, it is relatively costlier than other bird feeder types.