In my apartment complex a couple of birds have gotten themselves trapped in the wall by climbing through a hole in the roof and falling in the space between two walls.
One of the birds luckily managed to find its way to under the sink. When it did I grabbed it (with a towel on my hand so I wouldn’t get pecked) and took it outside. The area under the sink has a small unenclosed hole that opens up to the area between the wall in the living room and the kitchen (where the birds were stuck). The bird can crawl through this hole to escape from the area between the two walls, but only if it can find it. Is there any way to coax this second bird to climb through the hole under the sink so I can take it outside? Should I leave birdfood under there or can the bird not smell it? Would my method of coaxing vary with each species of bird?
I called management yesterday about the problem but they haven’t done anything yet. Are there any (free) animal professionals I can call for this kind of problem like the county humane association or something like that? I don’t really want a bird to die of starvation and thirst in between the walls. Its inhumane, and afterwards the corpse is going to smell pretty badly.
Well, providing they are not nocturnal birds, perhaps you could shine a light into the hole you want him to exit through? Hopefully he’ll think it’s the sun and the way out.
I know that you can get a rabbit to come out of a hole by making the sound of a carrot. Why don’t you try sitting under your sink, and make bird seed noises? Can’t hurt.
The food & water thing may have worked too well. I found two birds under the sink today. Either there have been 3 trapped in the walls so far or some are doing it on purpose to get to the food now. Who knows.
Most birds do not have a very good sense of smell (if any at all) so I doubt that they could sense the food from far away enough to intentionally come into the wall to get it.
I’m glad they’ve apparently left. If you hadn’t been able to get them out this way, I would have seconded Wile E’s idea of shining a light through the hole to get their attention since birds tend to have a better sense of vision than smell.
Dude, you’re killing me at work. I keep imagining you opening up the vanity under the sink and having birds flying out, landing on your shoulders, pecking at you randomly… and each time you open it, new ones come tumbling out like Tribbles! And best of all, they are different kinds of birds. What starts innocently with a sparrow or two under the sink ends up leading to toucans, and then an owl flies out, and an ostrich eventually sticks its neck out.
This gets better and better (they are all the same species of bird BTW). I heard a knocking outside and thought it was maintenance but it was just guys upstairs doing hammering. As I open the door I see two of the birds I took outside earlier standing by the door looking at me. Who knows how long they were sitting there. What the hell are they doing sitting by my door? There are no more birds under the sink. I gave them some food.
I think you’ve discovered a new species, Wesley: The Indiana Feathered Bum. They’ve figured out a good deal-you set them free but provided a buffet, so the same birds are getting back into the wall, over and over.
