r/askTO • u/brightside81 • 1d ago
Bird issue
So I've come across a couple of birds in the last 24 hours that have me concerned, both robins, less than 200 ft from each other.
First one yesterday was dead on someone's lawn, looked like it pure just fell out of the sky, wings still spread, eyes open, like it had a heart attack, no damage to its body.
The second one I found tonight it was just laying on someone else's lawn, wings tucked in like it was resting on the ground, but it did not move when my dog was almost upon it. Thankfully I pulled him away just in time. It's eyes were twitching and it wouldn't or couldn't move as I examined it (without touching or getting too close).
Bird flu? Poisoning? Is there anything I should do or city service I should contact to let them know? Anything I should be extra wary of for my dog, besides the birds themselves? Posters to put up to tell people to stop poisoning things? Just carry on my way? Thanks for any advice. Willowdale area to be specific
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u/psheartbreak 1d ago
Any chance they could be window collisions? Cat attacks? Unfortunately lots of man-made hazards spell the death of birds.
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u/brightside81 19h ago
I don't think window collisions, they were both quite far from any houses, though the second one maybe and it just moved to where it was and couldn't go any further.
I don't think cat attacks though there are lots of big cats around. Neither had any physical signs of damage, no feathers missing, no blood, no contortions of the body.
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u/GeneralSpecifics9925 1d ago
report sick or dead wild birds to the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC) by calling 1-866-673-4781 or using their online reporting tool.
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u/crash866 1d ago
Were there any taller buildings close by where the bird may have flown into a window and then floated over a bit in the wind?
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u/brightside81 19h ago
Not at all, they're at least 800 metres plus from any buildings higher than houses
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u/KnoddingOnion 19h ago
not poisoning. very unlikely. window impact would be my guess. possibly attacked by a cat and is dying.
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u/brightside81 19h ago
They were quite far from any buildings/ houses, so I wouldn't think that? But can't be sure
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u/Gullible_Pea10910 16h ago
They can hit a window and be badly injured but still fly a fair distance in shock, then they pass away.
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u/IcyAbbreviations9514 22h ago
Don't cats kill a lot of birds just because?
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u/brightside81 19h ago
For sure, but the dead one had nothing physically wrong with it from the outside that I could see, and neither with the second that was still alive but seemed stuck or sick
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u/onanadhocbasis 1d ago edited 16h ago
Depending where this is, it could also be a starvation issue. There hasn't been a lot of rain, I think today was the first in a while; but right now they need earthworms as a food source; In winter, mainly berries. However, they can get drunk on fermented berries and maybe this time of year fruit is rotting on the vine and producing alcohol.
Contact the Wildlife Clinic if you encounter an urban bird in trouble, they treat a lot of birds; or, as someone else said 311 can direct you to the appropriate place.
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u/Recent_Calendar1376 11h ago
They will eat insects and worms usually it's not really an issue
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u/onanadhocbasis 10h ago
ok. good to know. Just wondering if there was enough around in the concrete jungle
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u/Recent_Calendar1376 7h ago
I believe there was a study showing populations are actually higher in cities.
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u/scoutfinch- 17h ago
Hey there. Please submit a form to Toronto Wildlife Centre. I found a sick/injured Robin a couple weeks ago and was able to contain her and brought her to TWC. Unfortunately she couldn't be saved and they humanely euthanized her. I'm glad she didn't have to suffer for longer.
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u/9ScoreAnd10Panties 17h ago
There's a dude that's been walking around Toronto hitting every bird he sees with whatever he can find. Maybe he's been through your area.
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u/gringo_escobar 1d ago
I don't think two dead/dying birds is notable. I see dead birds all the time. That's just what birds do. Seeing an animal in the process of dying is definitely harder to see, though
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u/brightside81 19h ago
I understand, I see enough dead wildlife all the time too, just these two birds that again weren't damaged physically that I could see, and just a few houses away from each other in the span of a day, makes me curious
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u/Longjumping_Car3852 1d ago
you could call 311..they have always cared for the birds i called about