The Post-Fledging Period is Beginning
As the nesting season becomes more obvious with each passing day, you may already have seen some of the first new fledglings that have started to leave their nests. As fledglings appear, witnessing the successes of the nesting season is a wonderful experience and a fulfilling part of providing nesting habitat in our yards, along with fresh water and a variety of bird foods for adults and fledglings. It’s a time we can all learn more about the behavior of birds when they venture beyond their nest, which is a time that’s not often described.
Everyone enjoys seeing new fledglings such as robins, cardinals, bluebirds, chickadees, screech owls, and others. A breakthrough in the learning process for many birders and non-birders alike is that by observing young birds when they leave the nest, we find out that fledglings are not on their own – they are still cared for and fed by one or both adults. The period after leaving the nest is simply a continuation of the birds’ development – when young birds learn to fly and find food on their own while exploring the world beyond the nest.
The Post-fledging Period
After the nesting period, the “post-fledging period” begins as nestlings transition to fledglings – when they learn to fly, somewhat instinctively, while learning what to eat, where to find food, and what constitutes danger, all with the aid of one or both attentive parents. This fledgling learning period is paramount to the survival of young birds, so have faith that when you see a young bird, one or both of the adults are nearby and will soon be bringing food to the fledgling. When we encounter young birds, especially new fledglings, it’s important to appreciate that these young birds do not need our help. Please encourage everyone, including children, not to disturb young birds that are appearing in our yards, neighborhoods, local parks, and rural areas – let nature persevere. One thing you can do though, is keep cats in the house, and gently encourage neighbors to do the same.
If it seems like a young bird can’t fly yet, don’t press it to fly; and never fear, if it’s not a top-notch flier already, it will be flying quite well in a few hours, or in a short time. After leaving the nest, all a fledgling really needs to do is to stay off the ground, to perch on a branch where it will be safer. When you watch a new songbird fledgling, it’s amazing to see how quickly it learns to fly and gain the strength to fly better and farther. In the meantime a young bird, or a couple of them from the same brood, will follow a parent to beg for food and learn how and where to find food in the process.
We have an insightful example to share with you to illustrate the initial days of a robin’s post-fledging period. Last week we noticed a small American Robin that at first glance looked like it was so young that it had fallen out of its nest. But by watching it, we saw that it could fly short spurts to collect food from an attending adult. By the next day the fledgling robin looked more comfortable flying among low branches in nearby trees – obviously moving around and flying better. By day 3 of our observations, the little robin was beginning to stand in a more upright posture, which made it look larger and more adult-like in stature; and by day 4 the fledgling was flying especially strong and reacting immediately to human movements in the area.
Post-Fledging Variations
There are a number of different post-fledging strategies that vary somewhat between different kinds of birds. For example, some young birds will leave the nest a few days or even weeks before they can fly – young owls usually leave the nest before they can hope to begin flying. Instead, they perch near their nest site and “walk” along adjacent branches where the adults bring food to them regularly. This is sometimes true for young hawks and blackbirds too; these birds are referred to as “branchers,” and this behavior may continue for days before they make their first simple attempts at flying.
In extreme cases, even if young birds get blown out of their nest, the adults continue to protect and feed them through the pre-fledging period, and they often climb into a bush as soon as possible – and the adults will encourage them to do that. Except in the most extreme case, we should let nature take its course, and watch the post-fledging period unfold and progress as observers. It’s always best not to make judgements without having all the information about the status of fledglings and hatchlings we see. After all, precocial hatchlings leave their nest site a few hours after hatching. Examples include young ducklings, goslings, quail, pheasants, shorebirds, and others; but these birds tend to stay close to very attentive parents, and they tend to reside in rural areas where people and predators are less apt to find them.
Overall, the post-fledging period may last a few weeks among smaller birds including some songbirds; but it may last for months for some larger birds such as hawks, owls, ducks, geese, cranes, eagles, and others. Enjoy observing young birds during the post-fledging period, including the interactions between adult and fledgling birds, which is especially interesting. Watching the nesting cycle and following through with observing the post-fledging period is what’s really fun about this time of the year – enjoy the season!
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