Connecticut Audubon Society

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YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

About Connecticut's birdlife, bird habitats, environment

Have a situation involving a sick, injured or orphaned mammal, bird, reptile or amphibian?
Click here to visit the CT DEP's "Common Wildlife Problems" web page.

If you have found a baby bird out of its nest, click here.

If you have questions and/or photos related to birds, bird habitats,
other wildlife or the environment,
please click here to send us an e-mail.
We try our best to respond to all inquiries within 7 business days.

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to publish your question and the answer on our website, and to publish your photo.
Unless you tell us otherwise, we will not publish your name with your question.
If you send us a photo, please tell us if we should credit you as the photographer.

Q: (06-03-09) There is a bird nesting in the newspaper slot of my mailbox. I can't see if there are eggs yet but a bird has flown out a couple of times when I have gotten the mail. Should I leave the nest undisturbed until winter or should I do something else?
A: Sounds like a Carolina Wren. They are very tolerant of people and often nest in garages, mailboxes, etc. I would leave it as is and clean it out in the late summer.

Q: (05-27-09): Hi, I'm new to birding and have been lucky enough to have had a pair of bluebirds nest in our yard. I have noticed they haven't visited the house for many days. There are 5 eggs, 2 of which are broken. What should we do? The pair still come into the yard to feast on meal worms I set out. They seem to be frequently scared off by Mama Robin! She gobbles up the worms twice as fast as the bluebirds! After they gather as many mealys as possible they fly off out of the yard-I'm sure they have set up a home elsewhere. Do I remove the nest and hope for another pair to move in? Thanks for your time.

A: The best thing you can do would be to clean out the nest. Hopefully the pair will rebuild. There is still plenty of time.

Q: (05-11-09) FYI, I believe a Golden Eagle just grabbed a female wood duck in my yard here in South Windsor. We stepped out and scared it off to save the wood duck. I thought someone should know.

A: Golden Eagles are very rare, but not unheard of, in Connecticut. Have you exhausted other raptor possibilities, such as larger hawks and falcons? Golden Eagles are huge birds with wingspreads of nearly seven feet. Other raptors that may prey on ducks include Goshawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, and Peregrine Falcon. Any of these would be more likely than Golden Eagle. Check them out and see what you think.

Q: (05-04-09) Recently I noticed that there are no chipmunks at my workplace in New Canaan, CT and my home in South Salem, NY. Usually we have many running around in both places and I would think they would be out by this time of year. Have you or any other people noticed the disappearance of the chipmunk?

A: Yours is the second report I have received this week concerning a lack of chipmunks thus far this year. Although it may be somewhat early for chipmunks this year, I suspect that their population may be on a cyclical crash after reaching a point last year when chipmunks seemed to be at an all-time high. They seemed to be absolutely everywhere. Not being an authority on mammal cycles, this is just an educated guess, but it seems reasonable after several years of increasing chipmunk numbers that they may have crashed due to natural conditions. I will check with my friend, who is a mammal biologist with CT DEP.

Q: (04-17-09) This is the first year I have blue birds visiting my bird feeders. However, I have found 3 adult blue birds dead in my yard with no sign of predator involvement. What could be the cause? Thanks for your time.

A: I can only guess that the persistent cold weather has reduced the insect availability and perhaps the birds perished due to the lack of food resources, but this is only a guess.

Q: (04-13-09) I have birds making a nest under my air conditioner and I was wondering what I should do. I don't want the AC to disturb them and I don't know if I should block out further attempts now or wait to next year. They are small brown birds possibly sparrows.

A: Now would be the time to remove the nest, before any eggs are laid and the young hatch. Be sure to fill the gap with screening of some type, so they don't re-nest there. They will find another location.

Q: When should I start feeding birds and what is the best seed?
A: Recent research has shown that since birds do not use feeders as their sole means of support, it is acceptable to feed birds whenever you like and as often as you like. For instance, we used to think that it was not a good idea to feed birds throughout the summer or to stop a feeding program in winter to go on vacation. We now know that both are perfectly fine. As far as the best seed is concerned, by using a high-quality mix containing sunflower, white proso millet, safflower and peanut hearts, you may be spending a bit more, but will be wasting far less seed than with the discount mixes. Don't forget to hang a suet cake and provide some water as well. To purchase the best quality bird seed at great prices, contact our Center at Fairfield's Nature Store, at 203-259-6305, ext. 109 (or click here for their web page), our Birdcraft Museum in Fairfield's Nature Store, at 203-259-0416 (or click here for their web page), or our Center at Glastonbury, at 860-633-8402 (or click here for their web page).

Q: I found a baby bird in my yard. What should I do?
A: This is by far our most common summertime call, and the answer is almost always the same. Leave it alone or put it back near the nest, if you can find it. If you cannot find the nest and the young bird is exposed to possible danger, carefully move it into some sheltering shrubbery nearby. Contrary to poplar belief, birds have little or no ability to smell and will never know if you pick up the youngster to place it into its nest or move it a few feet to a safer location. Adult birds are great parents and almost never abandon their young. They do, however, regularly leave them for short foraging periods that become more frequent as the young get larger. This is when most people encounter them and call us. Young birds often leave the nest long before they can fly. They hop around on the ground calling for their parents that return regularly to feed them. It is almost never a good idea to "adopt" a foundling. The result usually spells certain death for the young bird due to improper diet, or imprinting and loss of natural instincts. Leaving the baby bird alone is the best solution for everybody.

Q: A pigeon has arrived in my yard that is very friendly and apparently can't fly. It is banded. What should I do?
A: This bird is probably lost from a local (or sometimes very distant) pigeon club. Racing homing pigeons is a very popular pastime in the Northeast, and several clubs in our area get their birds together every weekend during the warm months, truck them out to Ohio, and release them for the race home, where club members have gathered for the event. It is very well-coordinated with sealed timers at the coop entrance, and in some cases, electronic scanners that monitor and identify birds as they enter the coop. The birds are well-bred for flying, are hand-reared and often quite tame. It is not unusual for a bird or two to run low on energy on the home flight, especially if they encounter poor weather. In such cases, the bird usually ends up on someone's doorstep without enough energy to carry on, looking for some food. You can identify these birds right away, as they are usually banded on both legs and appear quite tame. Based on the letter code on the bands, we sometimes can identify the pigeon's owner, but past experience has shown us that most owners want nothing further to do with birds that can't make it. We now advise people to offer the bird food (cracked corn, bird seed, cracker crumbs, etc.) and water for a day or so, then release it somewhere where there are lots of other pigeons, like a town park or near a highway overpass, in the hope that it will return to its own coop and not your backyard again. Therefore it is important not to keep it around for more than a day or so to prevent it imprinting on your yard as its new home coop.

Q: I live near a wooded area and have a small field nearby. My neighbors and I have seen what we think is a coyote several times in our backyards. As we both have small children and dogs, should we take steps to protect ourselves, and who can we call on to help?
A: You may be correct. The eastern coyote is on the increase all across the Northeast, and is well established in Connecticut. It has been widely reported that coyotes attack dogs and cats as well as domestic livestock. Although this has undoubtedly occurred, it is certainly not common. Eastern coyotes eat a diverse number of plants, animals and insects. From grasshoppers to fallen fruit, winter-killed deer, mice, squirrels and woodchucks, coyotes are opportunists willing to take advantage of nearly any available food source. They are also highly intelligent canines that habituate fairly quickly to people where they are not persecuted. Thus, these animals are not afraid to expose themselves to view and sometimes even seem curious about human affairs. Like all wild animals, it is unwise to approach, feed or try to touch coyotes. You should be aware that coyotes are in your area, but do not be alarmed. Small pets should not be left alone unprotected or unsupervised anyway, coyotes or no. If you are having persistent coyote or other wildlife problems of one sort or another, click here to visit the CT DEP's "Wildlife" website section.

If you have questions and/or photos related to birds, bird habitats,
other wildlife or the environment,
please click here to send us an e-mail.
We try our best to respond to all inquiries within 7 working days.

By sending us a question and/or photo, you are also giving us permission
to publish your question and the answer on our website, and to publish your photo.
Unless you tell us otherwise, we will not publish your name with your question.
If you send us a photo, please tell us if we should credit you as the photographer.