If you find a wild bird - say, a house sparrow, how do you care for it?

I found a website that discusses how to provide warmth, food, hydration, and many other issues regarding how to care for a young sparrow. Check out the website: http://www.starlingtalk.com/babycare.htm.

Here's another website of a non-profit organization that deals specifically with rescuing wild birds: http://tinywingsinneed.us. They have provided me with a lot of information, answering my questions very patiently. You may email them at tinywingsinneed@aol.com.

It's very difficult for a wild bird to survive if it wasn't raised by its parents. Every young bird that comes to your care is a big challenge and a noble undertaking. You will need all the help you can get.

In just five days, the bald little hatchling has transformed to a partly feathered bird, very close to becoming a fledgling. See the transformation for yourself:

 
 

Read about his life 5 days ago:
Day 1
Day 3
Day 5

After just five days in my care, the hatchling has developed a lot of pin feathers. His back already has small feathers, and his chest is covered with small white feathery down as well.

It's great that this little fighter is growing up real well. I have a feeling he'll make it into adulthood.

And here's what he looked like at Day 9.

Here he is, the sole survivor. He loves sleeping in my hand, whenever I have to hold him because I am cleaning his makeshift nest. He just suddenly closes his eyes when he realizes he's in my hand.

He has sprouted some small pin feathers on his wings. Interesting milestone. ^_^ Wanna know what he looked like after two more days? Check him out at Day 5.

Six days ago, I wondered how to care for house sparrow hatchlings. We found four hatchlings on the ground. They might have fallen from their nest, but that would be unlikely because they were newly hatched and could barely move about. Their parents most probably pushed them out, or perhaps another bird did just to claim the nest as his own.

Knowing that they will die without care, I decided to adopt them - for now, at least, as I want them to be released in the wild later where they will thrive much better. Here is a picture of the hatchlings on the day they were found.

Not all of these four hatchlings survived. That’s because I learned too late about proper care for newly hatched house sparrows. But I did learn how to care for house sparrow hatchlings, which is why I want to share what I learned about house sparrow care.

How to Care for House Sparrow Hatchlings

Learn how to care for house sparrow hatchlings before you adopt them. Don’t make my mistake; not all of the hatchlings I cared for survived. However, they did have great appetite and they chirped actively during day one. Unfortunately, they had bruises on their body. Three of them had free blood floating inside their abdomens, easily seen because of their thin transparent skin. Despite the bruises, they seemed to be doing well.

It was then a sad day when three of the four hatchlings died one after the other. The first hatchling that died had a big bruise on her neck. He started gasping for breath, and hours later, stopped breathing altogether. This is him before he became sick:

He is the second smallest of the four. Perhaps he suffered internal injuries that started to manifest only after several hours. I grieved him the most because of the three that died, he was the one whose agony is longest.

Here are the other hatchlings, sleeping peacefully on the day they were adopted. Sadly, these two died as well. The second hatchling to die just did so mysteriously. No signs of respiratory distress nor change in behavior.

Good news is, one of them survived. The eldest, biggest, and strongest survived whatever killed its three siblings. Here's what the little trooper looked like at Day 3. Learn about how to care for house sparrow hatchlings by joining me in my journey with these beautiful babies.

I was looking for a good condo unit in Manila not so many years ago. I was lucky then; it seemed that God reserved my condo unit for me before I moved in. However, I don’t want to rely solely on luck when looking for a good condo unit. I learned early on that there are a few things you should look for in a condo unit.

But what do you look for in a condo unit if you want to rent one? After all, living alone in the city can be tricky. I got mugged right in front of my former dorm, witnessed three muggings outside my window, and saw someone’s cellphone get snatched twice during the commute!

What to look for in a Condo Unit

If you want to know what to look for in a condominium unit in Manila, pay careful attention to the pointers I’m about to share with you. I have moved about five times in and out of condominium units all over Manila.

As chance would have it, I made friends with a handful of people living in the same condo as I was. They came from the same province as I did, which was why transition – and moving all the heavy stuff – became quite easy. But even if you don’t make friends with your neighbors, here’s what you should look for in a condo unit.

• Make sure your condo unit has a good water supply. Is water supply okay in that condo unit, or is it not strong enough for comfortable and clean living? Does the toilet flush too slowly for it to be of any use? Do you constantly have to collect water just so you get enough water? Water is something you use every single day, so make sure water supply in your condo unit is adequate.
• Find out where the sun rises. No, this has nothing to do with feng shui; it’s just good sense to find out if you get hit by the sun as it sets, since this means your room is going to be quite warm. And imagine the glare you will get in the afternoon. Do you want to close the windows every after lunch? Go for rooms with windows that face any other direction other than west.
• Find a condo unit that is close to public transportation. Knowing what to look for in a condo unit means knowing that safety is very important – and walking a far distance at night because your condo unit is a few blocks away from the main road is going to get you mugged, stabbed, or raped.
• Your condo unit should be nearby a 24-hour convenience store. If you are looking for a condo unit in Manila, you are bound to be hungry or in need of some other supplies in the middle of the night. Having a convenience store that’s open 24 hours will save you the trouble.

I was lucky to have found friends in the condo where I lived. I could buy food from the 24-hour store without fearing for my life, thanks to them. My friends from my old condominium helped me move my heavy stuff. Thanks, guys! We look a little sweaty in the elevator after having lifted heavy cabinets, tables, books, and what-not. I have successfully moved to a new condo unit for rent in Manila! Two rooms, nice view, a cafe right downstairs – perfect!

But this is not the first – or the last – time that I’ve ever moved into a new condo unit. Looking for a condo unit in Manila is tricky, but I seem to be pretty lucky at finding good ones. I hope you find a great condo unit after the tips I gave you. Now that you know what to look for in condo units in Manila, you are much closer to finding a great home. You might also want to know about my newest condo unit and the horror story that I experienced there.