Barn Swallow nestlings © Alex Shure

Barn Swallow nestlings © Alex Shure

When y'all come across a helpless-looking baby bird out of its nest, information technology'due south difficult to resist the overpowering urge to come to the rescue.

→ But most of the fourth dimension information technology's best to do naught. ←

Many birds that people try to rescue are still existence cared for by their parents (even if you lot tin can't see them) and should exist left alone.

Hither's a primer on when to take action for songbirds (baby ducks or geese crave a different approach); when in doubt, contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.

Found a infant bird?

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Assess for Injury

The beginning thing to do when you find a babe songbird is to figure out if it'southward injured. Babe birds can naturally look weak, just if y'all see blood or other obvious damage, contact a licensed wild fauna rehabilitator.

You should also call a rehabilitator if you know a cat attacked a bird; felines transmit deadly bacterial infections with even mild scratches.

Determine Historic period

Baby birds go through three stages:

  • Hatchling (usually 0-3 days old). It hasn't all the same opened its eyes, and may have wisps of down on its body. It's not ready to leave the nest.
  • Nestling (usually 3-13 days old). Its eyes are open, and its fly feathers may wait like tubes because they've however to intermission through their protective sheaths. It's also non ready to get out the nest.
  • Fledgling (thirteen-xiv days old or older). This bird is fully feathered. Its wings and tail may be short, and it may not be a not bad flyer, merely it can walk, hop, or flutter. It has left the nest, though its parents may be nearby, taking good care of it.

Help Hatchlings and Nestlings

Baby bird with eggs in nest © Wendy Barrett, Mass Audubon

© Wendy Barrett, Mass Audubon

If yous discover a hatchling or a nestling on the ground and you can meet its nest, you should try to safely return it. Reverse to popular belief, birds do not have a well-developed sense of odor. Therefore, the parents won't know if a young bird has been touched past people and will not carelessness their young.

If there's no nest, yous tin make one by fastening a container to a branch. A pocket-size handbasket is ideal, merely you tin can use a plastic container such as a margarine tub and punch holes through the bottom. Sides should be no higher than 4 inches. Cut two pieces of wire to 18-inch lengths and thread them up through the bottom of the container and down again. Securely wire it to the peak of a co-operative in the aforementioned tree or shrub as the nest, and line the container with dry grass. Identify the bird within the handbasket.

Give Fledglings Room to Abound

If you find a fledgling, the all-time course of action is to leave it alone. As bad-mannered as a fledgling bird may look, this is natural phase, and the parents are most likely nearby, hunting for nutrient and keeping watch. If the bird'southward in immediate danger, you lot can put it in a nearby bush or tree.

Don't Raise Baby Birds Yourself

It's illegal to bring a babe bird home and try to raise it. Most young birds won't survive if cared for by well significant but inexperienced people. Those that do survive will be at a disadvantage. They'll have missed important lessons that they would have learned from their parents, such equally how to observe food and water in the wild and how to avoid predators.

Protect Baby Birds from Cats

While all birds are threatened past outdoor cats, baby birds are especially vulnerable. Birds should never be removed from the wild to protect them from cats or other predators. If there is a infant bird on the ground and a cat nearby, put the cat indoors until the bird is able to fly. If the cat belongs to a neighbor, inquire the owner to remove the cat or, when the owner is not known, spray the cat with water to encourage it to go out the property.

Birds and the Police force

Birds are protected by federal laws nether the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) of 1918 as well as by Massachusetts state laws. Unless you lot're a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, information technology's illegal to keep wild birds in your possession. The only exceptions are non-native species: House Sparrows, European Starlings, and Pigeons.