'Tis the season ...

birds are very protective parents and at the moment, with Spring just around the corner, we are seeing an increase in the levels of protective behaviour from these diligent parents.  We also have an increase in ducklings and fledglings around with people wanting to know how to help.

In Spring Wildlife Victoria sees a number of common queries coming from concerned members of the public about the birds in their neighbourhoods.  One of the most common is about swooping birds.  Of course these birds are just protecting their young as we would expect of any parent.  A really good site to visit is the Department Of Sustainability and Environment where you will find information on current swoop sites - you can even tweet a swoop site and update the current map.

Ducks are also nesting and young ducklings are being seen in people's backyard, making use of swimming pools and other water sources.  Sometimes the ducklings have trouble getting out of pools and it is important to make sure a ramp is in place to help the ducklings get out.  Ducklings and ducks should be left alone if possible - there are hundreds of duckling calls to our emergency service and we cannot rescue all of them - in fact in most cases the ducks do not need to be rescued.  So unless they are in imminent danger (a really busy road they are trying to cross) or are injured, then the best thing is to leave them alone and give them the space to do normal duck activities - like eat all your snails in your garden.

Did you know that most birds learn to fly from the ground?  Fledgling birds jump out of the nest before they can fly and land softly on the ground where the parents continue to care for them and protect them while they build up their flight muscles.  These fledglings are best left alone with their parents - even though they may be in areas where cats roam - it is still best not to steal away a parent's  baby, they are after all the best able to show their baby how to survive and thrive in the wild.  The best we can do is make sure that our pets are contained and managed, especially during this season of young birds and possums.