Spring 2004

Table of Contents

Baby Birds Out of the Nest: To Help or Not to Help?

Sooner or later, most Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary managers come across a baby bird on the ground and a tough choice: Should I rescue it or leave it to fend for itself?

In most cases, it is best not to interfere.

The natural parents do a much better job at raising their young than we could ever do. A baby bird that is featherless must be fed appropriate food every 15 to 20 minutes from sunrise to sunset!

If the bird is fully or partially feathered, chances are it doesn’t need your help. As young birds develop they soon outgrow the limited space of a nest. The young birds, referred to as "fledglings" or "branchers" at this stage, typically leave the nest and move about on the ground and on low branches for a few days before they can fly.

Their parents are nearby and continue to care for the birds, answering their demanding calls with regular deliveries of food. The scolding calls coming from the nearby tree are likely the adult birds, voicing their disapproval while they wait for you to leave.

Unless injured, the fledgling bird should be left where it is. Efforts should be made to keep continue to feed it.

Unfortunately, people often interfere and take a healthy bird out of the wild. Not only is this illegal, (except in the case of exotics like starlings, house sparrows, and domestic pigeons), but it also deprives the growing bird of the essential care that only its parents can give.

If you find an uninjured, featherless nestling that has fallen or been pushed out of its nest, replace it in the nest. Don’t be overly concerned if the nestling doesn’t make it, though. This behavior is actually adaptive for some species so that only the strongest of the brood survive and go on to raise young themselves.

If the nest has fallen down, which is common after windstorms, replace the nest in a tree with the baby bird(s) in it. It is not true that birds abandon their chicks if a person touches them. Birds have a poor sense of smell. But when handling any bird of any age, use gloved hands to protect yourself.

If you can’t find the nest or accessing it is too dangerous, put the baby bird where its parents can find it but where it will be safe from cats. Use a small plastic berry basket, margarine tub, or similar container lined with shredded paper towels (no cotton products, which tend to tangle up in birds’ feet). With a nail or wire, fasten the makeshift nest to a shady spot in a tree or tall shrub near where the bird was found. Then place the nestling inside, tucking the feet underneath the body.

The parents will usually come back in a short time and will feed the babies in the container just as if it were the original nest. Often, you will see the mother going back and forth between each "nest," feeding both sets of babies.

There are times when you should consider quickly getting a baby bird to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator:

If the parent birds don’t find the baby in your makeshift nest within two hours

If you are certain that the mother of a baby bird is dead

If the bird was attacked by cat or dog or otherwise hurt or sick (unable to flutter wings, bleeding, wings drooping unevenly, weak or shivering)

Your local Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) office can direct you to the closest wildlife rehabilitator. Since many rehabilitators are veterinarians, or work closely with veterinarians, you might also be able to locate them through veterinarian contacts.

While waiting for a rehabilitator to pick up the bird, or in the more common case of delivering the bird to them, gently pick up the bird using gloved hands and place it in a well-ventilated, covered box or paper bag that is padded with paper towels. Keep the baby bird warm and in a quiet, dark place until it is picked up or delivered to a rehabilitator.

If the bird is cold, put one end of the bird’s container on a heating pad set on low. Or fill a zip-top plastic bag or plastic beverage container with a screw lid with hot water. Wrap the warm water container with cloth, and put it next to the animal. Make sure the container doesn’t leak, or the animal will get wet and chilled.

Do not give the baby bird any liquids. They get all they need from their food and very often will inhale any liquid. Wash your hands after contact with the bird. Wash anything the bird was in contact with —towel, jacket, blanket, pet carrier, etc.— to prevent the spread of diseases and/or parasites to you or your pets.

Be realistic about the survival chances of injured or orphaned young birds. Just like the adaptive behavior of pushing weak chicks out of a nest so that only the strongest survive, other circumstances that result in the death of young birds are part of nature’s way of balancing species populations.