These young European Starlings were found in someone's yard and clearly not ready to be on their own. Their parents were no where in sight, nor was a nest, so it's a bit of a mystery as to how 2 pre-fledgling birds ended up where they did.
Starlings are not native to the US and many consider them a pest species....but it's not their fault!
To begin with they were fed every 10 minutes which certainly kept me busy! But they grew and grew and slowly started to look like real little birds!
When they have to poop, young birds still in the nest will squidge their bums over the edge & squirt it out of the nest. This heps keep the nest clean. You can see their projectile poo here behind their little human-made nest!
(NB: Unless you know for certain what nest a young bird came from, it is best to make a fake nest for them, as nests can harbor parasites and diseases. In a rehabilitation setting I always make nests which ensures the babies are kept clean and healthy).
Finally these little ones were big enough to start to fly (the "fledgling" stage). I brought them to a fellow rehabber in the north of NYState who has a great flight area for birds. At the moment it looks like a baby bird kindergarten: baby jays, orioles, pigeons, doves, robins, and now starlings, all together learning to fly!
The little starlings learned to fly and have become big and strong. They were just released with great chances for success!
