Chipping Sparrow Surprise!

Hey Everyone!

Well it seems like this week the birds are trying to tell me they are not done nesting yet. Today there was a lot of noise in one of my neighbour’s trees that overhangs in our yard. So I went outside to see what was going on, only to hear lot's of peeps. So I just happened to put down the right branch and right there was a little nest. Once I got on a ladder I saw three chicks ready to leave the nest. Sparrow's but what kind of sparrow? My first thought was Song but this is not the area where they have been hanging around. So what other possibilities where there then? Well the nest was much smaller and a lot less bulky, along with the chicks being much smaller. I thought Chipping Sparrow! But they looked very similar to the Song Sparrow chicks. Not seeing any parents around I made no assumptions.

Later I returned and checked the nest then BAM! All the chicks exploded from the nest. I was not too worried as the parents clearly wanted them to leave. The fecal sacks where not being removed, and the chicks had been crying for food all day. I did not want the chicks to get stepped on or picked up so I gathered them all and put them in one of my neighbour’s large pine trees.

Later on the chicks began flying from place to place and were seen in my neighbour’s garden. That's when I saw mommy with a mouth full of food. Turns out they were indeed Chipping Sparrows. Later one was seen in another neighbour’s yard, they contacted me because they thought it was injured. Everything seemed to be okay with him though eating and hopping around a little.

I assume that there may have been five chicks and some left, hence all of the noise. Also explaining why no parents got mad at me when looking at the chicks.







Some readers may wonder what to do if you find a chick well if it's okay and not injured LEAVE IT ALONE! Chicks found hopping around likely have just left the nest and are learning to fly. Don’t worry parents follow and feed the chicks till they can do so themselves. If it is injured contact your local MNR office and ask for wildlife rehabbers in your area. They should be able to help you and your little feathered friend.

Thanks for reading,