How to Get a Bird Out of a Garage (Without Ladders, Nets or Trauma)

It's no secret that I adore animals of all kinds, and that love certainly includes songbirds. This weekend, two sparrows got trapped in our garage, and if you've ever witnessed this, it's just horrible. They become so dazed and disoriented - and upset- that they simply cannot manage to get themselves back out the door or window to freedom. It happened once at our old house, and it was an all-day effort involving ladders, nets, and lots of trauma (the bird's too, ha!), but everything we read online recommended the same thing: try to capture the bird one way or another in order to release it back outside.

There's a much better way! 

The first thing to try is opening up all the doors which lead to the outside. It probably won't work, but if the bird hasn't gotten confused and upset yet, it just might. We actually thought this had worked for us, but lo and behold, the next morning when I walked out into the garage, there she was, flitting from one rafter to the next. She would swoop down in fits, soooo close to the open door, but then she'd dart right back up to the rafters, more traumatized than ever.

Birds, like this sweet chickadee, are much better suited for the backyard than for the inside of a garage.

Time for Plan B: Fill a large bowl with water to simulate a bird bath, and place it directly in front of an open door. I put some peanut butter and nuts in a smaller bowl beside the water (because I don't have birdseed yet) to further entice it to the open door. I've read that birds are attracted to the sound of moving water so I spent a few minutes gently splashing the water around inside the bowl- I flicked some onto the garage floor as well, thinking perhaps that it might get her attention faster. Then I went back inside to let her try to figure it out.

I peeked a few minutes later, and she was perched on the side of the bowl, but the darn door squeaked and startled her, so up to the rafter she went. Ten minutes after that, we checked again, and there was no sign of her in the garage. She must have realized that the great outdoors was right there, and thankfully, she flew outside. This was a much better solution than trying to capture the bird to set it free!

As I was about to empty the bowl, this beautiful image caught my attention: nature's mirror

This bird house - built by one of my sons and his grandfather - is a much better, safer place!

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