[Pascal]

Hi all,

I found this baby at the bottom of one of my trees last Saturday. Can you help me ID it please?
I was thinking Chestnut-backed Chickadee... What do you think?




(just for info: I could not locate a nest in the tree, so I just picked it from the ground and laid it on the first fork in the trunk, where it kept crying loudly, probably loud enough for the parents to keep taking care if they wanted to. The bird had no obvious injury)

[BirdingBC]

Hi Pascal,

Chestnut-backed chickadee would be a good guess for this bird. What I suspect is this chickadee has recently fledged (or very soon to fledge and fell out of its nest hole prematurely). Fledglings may start on the ground as they are learning to fly, this is normal. They are growing rapidly so will be able to fly in a day or two.

Fledglings also beg a lot so this is another good sign. Leave it along and the parents should find it and feed it. If you have cats around, keep an eye on them until the bird is able to fly up to a higher perch.

Cheers,

[Pascal]

Thanks Kevin for your input. I read more about their nesting habit after my OP and learned that they use holes in trees, as you have confirmed. I did not look for cavities when I scan visually upward into that tree. But even if I had located a potential home, I am not sure it would have been wise to try to put that little guy back into it.

I hope it found its way. It was bad ass enough to jump early into the unknown. So it may have a good chance to live.
Cheers.