I was just starting my meal last night around 8ish when the phone rang and a woman asked if I could help with two baby birds which her daughter had knocked out of the nest while tree climbing. She felt they were birds of prey but I gently told her that they were probably wood pigeons which look very un-wood pigeon-like when young. She had done all the right things first checking that the parent birds weren't around and also that the nest couldn't be put back in the tree. She had them in a dark secure box too which was excellent. She still felt that these could be birds of prey and had sent her youngest out to look for some worms!! I persuaded her that this really wouldn't be a good idea and she agreed to drop them off at my house so I could take them into the Wildlife hospital today.
They arrived. They were wood pigeons. She still didn't really believe me and thought they were Red Kite. I explained that the nest these two were in wouldn't have been big enough to hold a Red Kite egg let alone two chicks.
I delivered them today. Every time I went past their pet carrier last night they hissed and beak-clacked at me - they were not amused at being turfed out of their nest. Feeding young wood pigeons is specialised as they are fed a mixture from the parents crops so they were hungry too. When I put the carrier in the car this morning, to my horror, a flat fly emerged and flew around the car. Flat flies are horrible. They seek out mucky animal and bird bottoms and wounds and lay their eggs there so the maggots will feed on the flesh and in a lot of cases they travel up inside the animal/bird and eat them from the inside. I drove the 25 miles to the centre and told them about the flat fly. Looks of horror crossed their faces. They have spent many hours in recent weeks painstakingly picking eggs and maggots out of infected animals. Out came the spray. Out came the baby hissing, clacking wood pigeons and we set to. Some eggs found which were immediately got rid of but, hopefully, no maggots. The pigeons are now residing in their heated box with full crops/tummies.
Yes, I know they are only Wood Pigeons but they are still orphans
Taz x