How can I help a mama bird?

[hollysmom]

Any bird experts here?

A mama mockingbird has built a nest in my juniper bush and the babies have been born. Keeping the kids out of it has been a real challenge, but mama and daddy bird seem to be taking good care of them, but I hate that she has to abandon her babies to go kill something and drag it home. Can't imagine having to leave Robin or Holly to get food - further than walking to the kitchen.

Is there any food that I could put on the roof overhang above the bush that she could find and give the babies? Will post pics if I can get a clear shot.

SSM

[Grace]

How fun to watch a bird nest!! I love that. Here is some info I found about a mockingbird's diet. It looks like they want bugs at this time of year, so I doubt there is much you can provide for them. It's normal though for her to abandon the nest temporarily to look for food, so unless you're worried about something happening to the nest while she's gone (kids knocking into it or something), I wouldn't worry. It's just nature! :D Enjoy watching the miracles of nature, and I can't wait to see pictures!!

During fall and winter, the mockingbird diet consists primarily of wild fruit including holly, blackberry, pokeberry, sumac, poison ivy, Virginia creeper, and prickly pear. A propensity for devouring grapes and other cultivated fruit has at times earned it the enmity of growers. Throughout the year, but especially in the breeding season, insects and other arthropods are taken on the ground in areas of short grass, such as suburban lawns, or bare earth.

[Dfen911]

It's nature. If you make it easy for her she'll teach her babies the easy way. Then when they fly off on their own, they may well perish because they weren't taught proper hunting skills.

Do not put your mind set into them. They are not small people, they don't rationalize they don't get mad because they have to go look for food. They don't feel guilty for leaving their young. It's part of their life cycle.

[Beth]

Susan, that is what they are programmed to do. We had baby bluebirds in our backyard at the last house and when we read up on them, we learned that they babies have to be fed every 20 minutes. Talk about a tough parenting job!

Keeping predators away (especially cats near the ground) as best you can, making sure the bushes don't get trimmed, balls thrown into the bushes and such is the main thing to do.

We had a feeder across the yard when the bluebirds were nesting (they can have 3 broods in a year). We figured that was one of the reasons they found us, so we tried to have seed and suet for them (there are suet cakes with berries and even bugs). The only thing we did differently was break down and buy some mealworms at Wild Birds. They loved them, but so did the other birds.

Keep in mind that putting out a lot of food if you hadn't before might attract predators and competition for food as well as make the birds a bit conditioned for easy food finds. Do you get racoons down there? They are a big predator for baby birds -- snakes too. Any food that you do put out, put it away from the nest area. Mommy and Daddy bird want to get out of that nest and fly around looking for it and don't want other critters, birds or otherwise, coming closer to their nest.

[Hammster]

Keeping predators away (especially cats near the ground) as best you can, making sure the bushes don't get trimmed, balls thrown into the bushes and such is the main thing to do.

Keep in mind that putting out a lot of food if you hadn't before might attract predators and competition for food as well as make the birds a bit conditioned for easy food finds. Do you get racoons down there? They are a big predator for baby birds -- snakes too. Any food that you do put out, put it away from the nest area. Mommy and Daddy bird want to get out of that nest and fly around looking for it and don't want other critters, birds or otherwise, coming closer to their nest.

Beth hit on 2 very important points which basically mean to try and remain hands off as much as possible. This is nature at work and man (or woman) needn't interfere too much.
Part of what birds are doing while searching for food is establishing their territory and making it as large a territory as possible. Artificially establishing their territory is not good for them or the babies.
And in some instances, it doesn't matter what you do or don't do.
We had some chicks in a nest in the bougainvillea in front of our house. I don't know what kind of bird they were. Anyway we would check on them from time to time, but not really interfere. We'd allow the parent(s) to come and go as they please and would watch them defend their area against other birds. That plant is full of thorns and seemed like good protection. Well, a hawk got into the picture and it killed one of the parents while the parent was out and about. Wow was that a sight watching feathers rain down from on top of a telephone pole. :eek: I don't know if the other parent was helping in taking care of the chicks. Anyway, the chicks died because of no parent to feed them.
So, it was fascinating to watch nature in action, and since the actual killing took place away from the nest, it's likely even if we had tried to protect the birds more, it wouldn't have mattered in the long run. So bringing predators even closer to the nest would likely not be a good thing too.

[momqat]

Keeping predators away (especially cats near the ground) as best you can, making sure the bushes don't get trimmed, balls thrown into the bushes and such is the main thing to do.

Mommy and Daddy bird want to get out of that nest and fly around and don't want other critters, birds or otherwise, coming closer to their nest.

Boy can I attest to that last statement! Mockingbirds are very aggressive about protecting their nests -- don't worry! If you have any cats or a dog, or small children who might get close to the nest, I'd be more concerned about them than the birds.

Many years ago when I still had "outdoor" cats, we had a mockingbird family that set up house in a bush on our side of our next door neighbors. Our poor cats (and our dog, too) used to get "dive bombed" by the adult birds whenever they (our pets) were in our driveway -- not even that close to the nest at all. The birds would swoop down and try to peck them on the head. My dog wouldn't even go out the front door, she was so traumatized... So please don't worry too much -- they will be fine. :)

[Wendy w]

I was at the San Diego Wild Animal Park a couple of years ago listening to a lecture on hawks. Right by the place, there was a baby hummingbird that had fallen out of the nest. The mother bird was furiously flying around to protect it. Several of the audience had expressed concerns and the speaker just said that they just let things take their course with the wild birds in the park.

Again, as many have noted, mockingbirds can very well take care of their own. :)