14-05-2006, 06:04 PM
If there is anyone who knows a little more about birds and their behaviour I would be most grateful if you could help me clear up something.
Our house has a very large tree in the the front, where many birds rest during the day. Over the past week we've been finding dead baby chicks on our driveway, and at first I thought it was a bird of prey that had raided a nest and then dropped it by accident while flying overhead. The tree is now in leaf, so it is very difficult to see, but I haven't noticed any birds being especially busy making a nest overhead, so I wasn't convinced they had fallen from a nest in our tree. But since Wensday we have discovered 4 dead newborn chicks on our driveway. They are all unharmed, (not mangled or eaten), so it leads me to think they fell out of their nest. They seem to be from quite large birds possibly pigeons and I've noticed in the past that pigeons do not make the most ideal nests to keep a batch of eggs, never mind chicks!
The other thought is a cuckoo which will shove newborns out once they hatch, but a quick google search has led me to believe you don't find them in Europe...
Anyone any ideas what could be happening?
Our house has a very large tree in the the front, where many birds rest during the day. Over the past week we've been finding dead baby chicks on our driveway, and at first I thought it was a bird of prey that had raided a nest and then dropped it by accident while flying overhead. The tree is now in leaf, so it is very difficult to see, but I haven't noticed any birds being especially busy making a nest overhead, so I wasn't convinced they had fallen from a nest in our tree. But since Wensday we have discovered 4 dead newborn chicks on our driveway. They are all unharmed, (not mangled or eaten), so it leads me to think they fell out of their nest. They seem to be from quite large birds possibly pigeons and I've noticed in the past that pigeons do not make the most ideal nests to keep a batch of eggs, never mind chicks!
The other thought is a cuckoo which will shove newborns out once they hatch, but a quick google search has led me to believe you don't find them in Europe...
Anyone any ideas what could be happening?