Please take a look worried

18 years ago

Hi guys, I saw this guy sitting on the fence post a little while ago. Looks like something wrong with his beak. I saw the father bird (on the nestcam) feed the mother, didn't see anything wrong with him. The mother was sitting next to the "beak" bird. Could it be a fledgling from last year? I'm confused. I'm going to keep watching the cam to see if I can get a look at the father if he comes into the nestbox to feed mother. I hate when stuff happens.

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Comments (15)

mullipuff
18 years ago
Anita - I know you're a pretty experienced birder, so the following question is not meant to sound stupid - are you 100% sure that what you're seeing isn't a bug at a weird angle, or even a bit of insect stuck to his beak? That's what the picture looks like to me. I know it's not unheard of to have a sibling helping to feed babies. Hope the answer is as simple as that...
chickadeedeedee
18 years ago
He might have crashed into a window and fractured the beak or at the very least broken the tip off. Have you seen him eat?

If he isn't able to eat you may need to wait until he's weak enough that he can be caught and taken to an avian vet and perhaps help him. If he goes into a nest box you may be able to trap him earlier that way and get him to an avian vet for a proper evaluation of his condition.

Good luck.
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anita55
Original Author
18 years ago
WEll, by watching the nestcam and the bluebird box at the same time I have established that this is not the father bird. The father bird has been into the nestbox and his beak looks fine.

I watched the other bird for awhile and he was singing but I didn't see his beak open and I didn't see him eat. I will try to keep an eye on him to see if he can eat. I haven't seen him go into the nestbox but I have to think that he is related to mom by the way they were sitting close to each other. If he needs help I sure hope I can figure out a way to do whatever he needs. It would be really nice if it were a piece of food stuck there, but they do rub their beaks to clean them and I am thinking that he is injured. Thanks for the replies. I'll let you know if I have anything else.
anita55
Original Author
18 years ago
Ok I've been sitting outside for an hour or so, seen dad and mom go in and out of the nestbox. No sign of the "other" bird. Could be it was dad with an ugly bug in his beak? the thing that threw me is that he was like that for quite a long time. Went from fence post to tree and back again, singing - I never saw him go into the nestbox. But until I see him again I'm going to assume that I panicked when i shoudln't have. Thanks for talking me down!

Anita
renee_2006
18 years ago
Maybe it was a new male trying to entice your mama BB with a big juicy bug to go off with him.
mullipuff
18 years ago
Anita - the thing that made me think "bug" is because my Momma will fly around and sit for what seems like centuries with a huge mouth full of bugs. She even has whole conversations with Mr. Blue while her mouth is full. Guess the old adage about talking with your mouth full doesn't hold in the Bluebird world - LOL. I really hope that's what you saw. Sounds like maybe it was. Keeping my fingers crossed!
dzyg
18 years ago
Anita, I too think it looks like he has a bug in his mouth. Hopefully that is all it is. If something looks odd to me I always grab the binoculars and take a closer look, I have three of them at varoius windows in the house.

Donna
bluebars
18 years ago
Hopefully, it was an insect. How old are the nestlings in the nestbox? As they get old enough to move about, often the parents will call to them, with food, teasing them to look out, or even to fledge. They will do a lot of vocalizations at the same time. Sometimes they are danger calls (hawk, crow, etc.) so if a hawk is about, they don't want to feed the young at that time, and give away their location. It's not easy being a bird! They must depend on one another, and they must also teach the young to communicate this way.
Bluebars
chickadeedeedee
18 years ago
Thank goodness it was only a test of the Emergency Bluebird Broadcast System. Had this been an actual emergency you would have been instructed to contact the nearest avian veterinarian or knowledgeable rehabber for further instructions.

Perhaps now would be a good time to follow through and find out who could and would help you in your area had this been an actual emergency and have them on speed dial in case needed in the future? LOL!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming. :-)
anita55
Original Author
18 years ago
Ah I have a list of rehabbers in EVERYONE's area in my list of favorites! And we have a vet who specializes in wildlife in the next town, 15 minutes away, and one who specialize in birds just a little farther. It's one of the perks of living so close to New York City. So I am prepared but I still think he looked odd, not like bug in the beak, but weird. Anyway for now I'm still keeping an eye on the situation. The babies are 3 days old, so nobody's trying to coax them out yet. And my goodness, you should SEE the things they are feeding those babies. Huge flying things are being delivered to the nestbox. Even my husband was astonished at the size of the insects they are bringing to the babies.
chickadeedeedee
18 years ago
That's awesome, Anita! Good to be prepared for an emergency. :-)

I enlarged the photo you posted and although fuzzy I thought at least the end of the beak was damaged. Hope it was a bug holding on and nothing more. Seems the birdy is in good hands either way.

C3D
dzyg
18 years ago
Yeah Anita, mine were feeding crickets to the babies at 3 days old too, they did beat them up a bit then but by day 10 or so they just took them in without beating them up. Here is mom today with a cricket.....

Donna
anita55
Original Author
18 years ago
These are photos I took today. He is singing but I haven't seen him eat or even hunt. I called a bird hospital and the woman was so nice but she said that beak problems sometimes just keep coming back even if we were able to fix it. I am going to call a couple of rehabbers and see what they think. I was thinking if I could lure him to some waxworms so i can just SEE if he is able to eat. That would make me feel better at least.

He is so beautiful.
renee_2006
18 years ago
Anita, I magnified your pics up to 400% and I still think its a bug in the male's beak.
anita55
Original Author
18 years ago
Please see my newer post called You are not going to believe this but... for an update

Please take a look worried

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