Ducklings starting life on a second-story deck

Q: A mallard duck is sitting on eggs on our second-floor deck, with no access to the ground. Is there something we can do to protect the duck and ducklings?

A: This turns out to be not as big a problem as it might seem. If there is grass or ground below your deck, the ducklings will be just fine making the jump. Little ducks have been called “ping pong balls covered in fluff,” because they have good bounce-ability. They’ll need to dry off after hatching, so may not make the jump for up to 24 hours. If there is concrete or stones below your deck, call the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, 651-486-9453, for advice. The Minnesota DNR says not to offer water or food to the ducklings, since this might delay their leaving.

Q: I love hearing Baltimore orioles sing in early spring. But there doesn’t seem to be anything for them to eat out in nature, so how do they survive their first few weeks up here?

A: Good question, and I’ll bet these beautiful birds have to work hard to keep themselves fed after arriving back from the tropics. Their usual diet includes many kinds of insects, even hairy caterpillars that repulse other birds, plus wild fruits and berries, snails and flower nectar. Some orioles drink flower nectar the way hummingbirds do, dipping into the flower from the top. At other times orioles become “flower piercers,” stabbing a bloom at its base to drink its nectar. Food scarcity sends orioles to feeders that offer grape jelly (or many other kinds of fruit jellies), oranges and sugar water in feeders.

Q: Why don’t I ever see birds, especially robins, eating the dead worms on the pavement after a rain?

A: You make a good point, I’ve never seen birds snatching up those free worm meals on the sidewalk, either. Robins do eat some, but there usually are too many worms at one time for the local robins to keep up. Robins are much more familiar with catching their own live earthworms, after watching for small movements in the soil or lawn, so some may not recognize lifeless worms as food.

Q: I can never remember when our hummingbirds and wrens are due to arrive — can you help?

A: By this time, both ruby-throated hummingbirds and house wrens have been here for a while. Maybe make a note on next year’s calendar: Hummingbirds zip in from late April to early June, with a peak in mid-May, and wrens are on a similar schedule, late April to late May, with a peak in mid-May.

Q: Ugh, is all I can say. Crows have been dunking bits of rabbit carcasses in my birdbath, washing them, eating some, then flying off with the rest. This makes such a mess. I wonder if there’s any way to stop this that won’t drive other birds away from the birdbath.

A: I’ve had the same issue at my birdbath from time to time, and it’s not pleasant, but one consolation is that this doesn’t last long. The crows probably have a nest nearby and are feeding nestlings: They’re wetting down food items to get them to slide more easily down smaller gullets and to provide hydration. Not sure why adult crows need to dunk rabbit pieces for themselves, but crows often wash food items they find, like bread and pretzels, to soften them up. There’s really no way to get the crows to stop this while still maintaining the birdbath for other birds. My advice is to spray out the birdbath several times a day, waiting for the day the young crows leave the nest; then the adults seem to stop their grisly food-dunking.

Q: I’ve been reading about avian influenza and it worries me, since it seems to be spreading to many kinds of mammals. Are we in danger if we feed birds in the backyard?

A: Excellent question, and the short answer is no; feeding songbirds has very little chance of exposing you to this virus. The only human infections, as of early May, were reported in two workers whose jobs exposed them to farm animals. The Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Department of Agriculture say that feeder birds account for less than 2% of reported cases, and the current risk to the general public is said to be low. So, there’s no need to take in your bird feeders, as long as you avoid coming into direct contact with birds. The Minnesota DNR reaches the same conclusion and encourages us to clean feeders regularly to avoid spreading other infections, like salmonella.

Tami Vogel, who heads up the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Roseville, where sick and injured songbirds are treated, notes that this year’s influenza isn’t much different from that of previous years. It has always had the potential to spread to humans and other mammals and the birds most vulnerable are domestic poultry.

Red-tailed hawks, great horned owls and bald eagles were hit hard by the avian virus in 2022 at the height of the outbreak, with a very low survival rate, says Victoria Hall, who heads the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota. The center now tests all raptors it admits and is finding a low incidence of the disease. Tests on patients admitted for other causes show signs of antibodies to the disease in some raptors, indicating that some, especially eagles, are being exposed to but are surviving the virus.

Bottom line: Contact a wildlife rehabilitator for advice if you see a sick wild bird, wear a mask and gloves if trying to rescue a sick bird, then wash hands and clean off shoes and clothing, and report any sightings of multiple dead birds to the DNR.

St. Paul resident Val Cunningham, a member of the St. Paul Audubon Society, writes about nature for various publications. She can be reached at valwrites@comcast.net.