Baby Bird!

One morning this week I was cleaning up the kitchen after breakfast and the kids were playing in the front yard. Bentley came in the house holding a baby bird!  He said he found it on our neighbor's grass and of course he wanted to keep it as a pet. It was the cutest little thing but the last thing I wanted to do was be responsible for a pet wild bird.  I think it is practically impossible to raise one and we already have two fish. One in each of the kids rooms as well as a cat and a dog.

My first concern was that because we had touched the bird the mother would smell our scent on the baby and kill it.  This is what I have heard, but after doing a little research on the internet about orphaned baby birds I discovered that it is just a myth and that birds actually have an extremely weak sense of smell.  The websites also said that it was most likely not an orphan and that it's mother was probably watching the whole thing and would find it if we returned it to the place we found it. I also learned that it had little to no chance of surviving with us. All of what I read said it had a better chance if I just put it back near the area it was found in some brush so it had some cover and watch from a distance for up to two hours.  If the the mother had not found it by then it would need us.  

Bentley and Cecily did not want to give it up but I insisted that we must or it would surely die. So we put it near the area we found it and in the process Bentley found a second baby bird. After we walked away to a far off spot to watch the mother bird began walking around and squawking.  After it did the baby birds would chirp back until they found each other.  

The baby birds were at an age where they could walk but could not yet fly. So that is our baby bird story and I am so glad I am not trying to raise one in this house!