Clusterduck Tales

By Jennifer Taylor, Animal Care Coordinator

A group of five tiny American Goldfinch babies were brought to Wild Care the first week of August.  Their nest was found on the ground in Orleans,  where tree trimming had just taken place.  The homeowner called asking for advice, Kate requested they bring the nest in to see if any babies were injured.  Fortunately, all checked out in good health and thankfully the nest was still intact.  It was a perfect little nest, with a pearly ring of poop on its outer edge, giving it the look of a decorative wreath (using imagination and blurring your eyes a bit!).

Because the chicks were healthy, the weather was good and we happened to have one of our experienced volunteers -Peter Kosewski- standing right in front of us, we decided to get the nest back where it came from ASAP.  Kate called the rescuers and they were more than happy to allow us to reunite the Goldfinch family.

We chose an Easter basket with a long loopy handle the nest could fit snuggly into. Peter grabbed some zip-ties and off he went.

The last time I did this with Goldfinches, I waited for more than 45 minutes before the parents came back- and I thought that was pretty quick.  Well, Peter was back in no time.  He hung the basket in a nearby tree and the parents came immediately.

Again, re-nesting is best for the animals and we try this whenever we possibly can.  So often the baby birds come in ill, injured and truly orphaned.   Some have fallen from a nest in an impossible place to get to, so we are unable to return them to their parents.  It was wonderful to easily reunite the babies with their parents, where they belong and continue with our day.