# Please Help...I have (i guess) a fledgling wood pigeon in my shed



## kianandarchiesmummy (Jul 9, 2011)

Today at the bottom of my Garden which is backed onto a spinney with lots of trees was a fledgling wood pigeon, he cannot fly yet (but looks like a mini adult bird not fluffy or anything) but skuttles around. he has run into my garden shed and is very scared of me. I do not want to unduly stress the bird out, but also don't want a cat to get him/her (which there are lots of round here). What should I do? Should I try to feed him, handle him, leave him be...?
Please can someone advise what i should do?
Many thanks in advance (my location is Rugby, England)


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## amyable (Jul 7, 2007)

Hi,

It's a diffcult age for fledlings when they aren't capable of flying well and have to live at ground level for a time. The adults are generally about and feeding them.
If it doesn't have any yellow fuzzy feathers on it's head but looks like an adult but without the white neck band then I would have thought it might have at least been able to flutter up to a certain height by now.
It will be very stressed but you but what might be a good idea initially is if you can catch it and cover it's head with a towel, this will help to keep it calm, then give it a once over to check for any obvious injuries or blood on the feathers. Try and look under it's wings as they might have scratches or puncture wounds if a cat has attacked it.
If it seems ok then it will be best to keep it confined in the shed if that's possible for a couple of days, at least at night when there's more likely to be cat activity.
Scatter some wildbird seeds around it and keep a discreet check from time to time to see whether it's feeding itself. Also provide a small bowl of water.

With a bit of luck it just might need a short while to gain some better flying skills and then be released. If you let it out keep a close eye on it in case it still can't fly and you need to catch it again.

Let us know how things go,

Janet


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