Hi guys,
Just joined the forums as this morning while walking the dog I came across a young Lorikeet in the park. It was sitting in the grass and unable to fly/move around much. I am guessing it fell out of a tree. The park I was at frequents many dogs both on and off leash so I decided to gather it up before one of the dogs could get at it.
I placed it in a box with air holes, gave it some water and waited until the vet near by opened. Upon arriving to the vet they told me just to put it back where it was. I told them that it was just in the grass and there are many dogs in the area and they simply told me to put it back on the grass and the parents would come and get it.
I wasn't too happy with their response as I dont believe the parents could get it back up the large tree which was overhanging it (the bird is roughly 8-9cm tall). Currently I am unsure on what to do, my initial thoughts are to take care of it until it can fly. Right now it is sitting in a relatively large plastic box with air holes, some newspaper for it to stand on and a bowl of water to drink from.
He/she doesn't seem to upset, only screeching when I was putting in the newspaper as I had to make sure to get it under them so they can keep dry. Every so often it makes a few light chirp sounds.
If anyone has any info/help on what I should do I would be much appreciative.
Thanks in advance.
Often it is best to allow a youngster to stay where it is & allow the parents to take care of it. However, your bird is clearly at risk from all the dogs which frequent the park so I'd say you've assessed well the bird's need for protection.
I'm wondering if there's a hole in a tree near where you found the young Lorikeet being used by its parents. If you haven't already it might pay to look around to see if you can return the bird to the hole (assuming that's the hole it came from).
Otherwise, I'm confident that pretty soon there'll be a post from members who are familiar with Australia's wildlife rescue organisations. To assist them in assisting you & the Lorikeet could you provide your location so that you can be informed of the nearest rescue agency?
I agree with woko, if possible try and return it to it's nest. Otherwise contained in the link below will be a wildlife rescue service hopefully somewhere near you. Goodluck, thanks for caring and welcome.
http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/forum/Bird-rescuerehabilitation/What-do-if-you-find-injuredsick-bird-check-here-first
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
https://www.wildlifevictoria.org.au/message-from-a-baby-lorikeet
My understanding is that some lorikeet species spend their fledgling period on the ground anyway. Years ago I came across a young lorikeet on the ground like this in a suburban street, rang wildlife people and they said that is just how they nest. Now, you might think that is an absurdly risky tactic. But judging by the way rainbow lorikeets have boomed in Melbourne, I guess it generally works. Of course, I don't know if what you saw is a Rainbow Lorikeet. Also, perhaps lorikeets have boomed because of relatively recent rules requiring people to keep dogs locked up and not wandering the streets, and also because people are more conscious of restraining cats.
Another reason for the Rainbow Lorikeet explosion in Melbourne might be all the flowering Eucalypts which, I understand as a non-Melbournian, people have planted. Unfortunately, many of these Eucalyptus species are non-indigenous with non-indigenous flowering times & this has been to the detriment of at leasst one other bird species, I believe.