Injured birds are notoriously difficult to treat and it is usually kinder to put badly injured birds out of their misery. However, if there is no obvious sign of injury, a bit of tender care can restore the birds to fitness.
The most frequent garden casualty is the bird that flies into a window pane and knocks itself out. Such accidents are associated particularly with large picture windows, especially when there is a window on each side of a room and the bird thinks it can fly right through. Although the crash can create plenty of noise and scatter a lot of feathers, the birds are not usually badly hurt and they can normally be nursed back to health in a short time. It is certainly better to try this than to leave the birds on the ground for a passing predatory cat.
Put the casualty in a shoe box or similar container with some soft bedding. Put the lid on, and keep it in a quiet place until you hear the bird moving. If you then take it outside it will probably fly away. You can even nurse the bird on your lap if you have no suitable box. Half an hour’s rest is often enough for the bird to make a full recovery.
Reluctance to fly may indicate a damaged wing, but the bird may still recover. Put it in a cage for a few days and feed it with mealworms or with a seed mixture designed for wild birds. If it is still no better, you can try taking it to your local vet, but the bird will probably have to be destroyed.
Prevention is always better than cure and you can greatly reduce the risk of collisions by sticking cut-outs of hawks on large windows. This will keep the small birds away from the windows.
Michael Chinery
Its first excursion cut short by a collision with a window, this young blackbird quickly recovered with a bit of warmth.
Fledglings leaving their nests for the first time often fall to the ground and look lost. It is tempting to give them a hand, but the kindest thing is to leave them alone because their parents are probably gathering food for them nearby. If you keep your cat indoors, the young birds will be relatively safe in your garden, and the parent birds will probably return to help their babies to safety and encourage them to fly.