I've hand reared a noisy miner - my son found him on the side of the road with no parents in sight. Robbie Bird is now about 10 weeks old and doing admirably. I'm now in a predictament with releasing him. He's been in a large cage, but for the last 2 weeks I've set up my laundry like a mini forest and he flies in and out of his open cage in the confines of the laundryas he pleases. He seems very happy - chirping, preening and totally unafraid of me or anyone else. what to do - would like to see him free
I know little about the return of noisy miners to the wild, jmorris. However, I'm aware that their preferred habitat is open woodland with little understorey so maybe a patch of similar habitat where there are other noisy miners is where your bird could be released. Just how territorial the existing noisy miner population might be I don't know. Other members might be in a better position to comment.
I do know that noisy miners are one of the most aggressive native birds we have, but I don't know much about their intra-species aggression. I'm not sure whether they are equally aggressive against other noisy miner families, or if they are just aggressive against other species.
Cheers
Tim
Brisbane
I guess a lot of wildlife work is experimental. If you were to release the noisy miner into a wild population of other noisy miners perhaps you could observe & report back to headquarters so that others will then know what to do or what not to do in similar circumstances.
Good luck to you & the noisy miner, jmorris. Let's know what you decide to do & the result.
My Robbie flew the coop on Sunday when I had him out in his getting some sun. He flew out and up high in a backyard tree. I had my heart in my mouth and called him to what end I didn't know... This happened at 1 and then out of nowhere came 2 resident noisy ms who unceremoniously chased my Robbie over the fence to the unknown! I was distraught but figured it was meant to be. Not end of story however. I went back outside on the hour and called him just in case. At 5 pm whilst sitting inside I thought I was seeing things- a flapping of wings going thru pergola - he came back!!! Unbelievable - how dies a 11 week old bird find it's way to a place he must consider home. He's back ensconced in his forest laundry and seemed very relieved to be be in familiar surrounds. What next ??
Hi JMorris
If you read the last couple of pages here:
http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/forum/messages.cfm?threadid=594411D6-0BAB-F42B-BD6798F9FCBE9E4Etop
You'll find some good info about releasing your little buddy.
His homing instinct to return to the place he knows is safe and protected is strong.
Plus he knows he can get food and water in his forest laundry, if he is unable to fend for himself out in the wide world.
You could do what we did and simply let him come and go as he wishes.
That seems to work well.
Our bird knows there is always food and water out for him at our place, even when we're not home. We leave it just inside an open kitchen window, that stops other birds eating it, as they won't come inside the kitchen.
Wish it could be that easy ... 2 jack russells have other ideas about Robbie coming and going!! I'm going to have to relocate his safe haven to my upstairs verandah. Nice to know that I could hopefully give him freedom and still give him a home.
Hi, I have been hand raising my baby noisy miner since I found it mid November. Minnie is now big and strong, eating by himself and I was wondering at what age or stage in his development should I release him back in to the wild. I only have him in an average size cage so I am a bit concerned about his flying skills. Can anyone give me advise thanks. Maggie
Situations like the ones shown in this thread are the reason that the care and rehabilitation of Australian native animals are (and should be) restricted to registered wildlife carers. Wildlife is meant to live wild and carers are trained to reduce the impact of imprinting wildlife onto humans and due to networking have the ability to pair or group wild animals of a particular species together so they can be released as "family" rather than as loose individuals into another animal's territory. Another reason why it is so important to have the exact location where an animal is found so if possible it can be released back into its own family group in a timeframe to allow the best integration back into its family group.
While with the right food, feeding schedule and shelter almost anyone can raise a wild bird to maturity, the chance of its success in the wild is dependent on so much more. It needs to be able to feed itself with appropriate food, recognise itself as the correct species, learn its predators and methods to deal with them, learn to behave appropriately with its own species, find a mate and reproduce if it has acquired the appropriate skills to do so and found its own habitat and place to live. While in some case the window of opportunity is reduced, please, all those with the animals concerned in this thread, contact a wildlife group in your area to facilitate the rehabilitation and release of these animals back into the wild so they may have some chance of a normal existence.
Alison
~~~~~~
"the earth is not only for humans, but for all animals and living things."
Words of wisdom, Qyn.
I agree with you both Woko and Qyn, but unfortunately at the time of finding this little bird I was unable to locate a registered wildlife carer. Rather than let the little bird die, I really had no other alternative but to try and hand raise him myself and to my astonishment he has thrived. Thank you for your comments.
No worries, maggiestallmann. It's a process. I guess the alternative to raising young birds (in the absence of a registered wildlife carer) you find is to leave the bird in place & trust that its parents will know what they're doing. That is unless it's about to be hit by a humungous bus.
I'm afraid Alison, your words are falling on deaf ears.
M-L
If you are unable to locate a wildlife carer, you can simply take the wildlife to your local vet, they do not charge for wildlife.
The vet will determine if the bird/animal is viable, then call one of the carers they have on their register to come get it and rehabilitate it with a view to returning it to the wild. Birds imprint on humans too easily, carers are cautious to remain detatched.
Noisy miners should not be reared alone, but should be grouped with others of their own species and released as a family. But only after the appropriate amount of time in an aviary building up their flying muscles and honing their flying skills.AND they are able to recognise their food source and feed themselves.
Most orpaned baby birds that come into care are not in fact orphans, but have been kidnapped by well meaning members of the public. They have usually fledged and are not yet strong enough to fly back up into the tree, or have simply fallen out of the nest. The family will remain close by and still feed it. The best option in this case is to put the baby back into its nest. If you can't reach it, put it in a makeshift nest and tie it to a branch of the tree. An icecream container with holes in the sides and string threaded through is ideal. Fill the "nest" 1/3 with leaves and grass and put a stick in it for the family to land on, and the baby to fledge on to. With Noisy Miners it's not just the parents that feed babies it's the whole family.
Jeannie Campbell
More words of wisdom, Jeannie.
I fear that many people see an isolated young bird & think they need to intervene. Unless the young bird is about to be gobbled by a moggie or hit by a train I would suggest it be left alone. It's parents are probably nearby waiting for the human to leave the scene before they continue their parental duties.