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Feathered Orphans
Imagine the following situations: the children bring you a nest full of baby birds; the dog is playing with a small bird in the yard; you're mowing the lawn and you see a young bird fluttering in front of the mower. What should you do? Perhaps the following guidelines will help.
The Nestling
If the young bird is half down, half naked, or has pin feathers, it belongs in a nest. Place the youngster in the original nest, if you can locate it. (Be sure to warm the baby bird in your hands before replacing it; the mother may reject a cold baby.) Birds have a poor sense of smell, so your handling of the baby bird will not discourage the parents from resuming care. If you cannot see or reach the original nest, make a substitute nest for it out of a berry basket, kitchen strainer, or small plastic container with holes punched in the bottom. Line it with dry grass or shredded tissue. Don't use cotton. Birds can become tangled in cotton. Place the nest as near to the original location as possible or in a sheltered place close to where the baby bird was found. Then get out of sight and watch. The sound of a hungry nestling is usually too much for parent birds to resist, so they should return to feed the baby. (Because nestlings are so fragile, children should not be allowed to handle them.)
The Fledgeling
If the young bird has feathers over most of its body, it has probably left the nest according to plan. Wing feathers and any amount of tail feathers are indicators of nest departure. If the bird is in a safe place, leave it alone. If not, place it in a small tree or dense shrub, but do not move it very far. Remember, this bird has brothers and sisters hiding nearby. It may take the parent birds a while to get around to feeding this baby. Your presence will only prevent them from doing that, so leave the area.
Birds at this age are very vulnerable to the good intentions of humans. They leave the nest at about 10 days of age. Because they cannot fly, their best chance of survival is to sit still and hope that they will not be seen. It is very unlikely that both parents have abandoned the fledgeling, or that it has become lost. The parent birds can provide the youngster with the training it needs to survive in the wild, but a human cannot. Leave the fledgeling alone.
The Adult
Adult birds that are injured or sick are very difficult to help. The shock of being handled by a human being is usually too much for them. They need special care and handling or they will die. Most adult birds that are found near a home have flown into a window and are dazed from the collision. They can be placed in a large grocery bag with some weight in the bottom and the top folded over. Place the bag in a shaded area. Fluttering indicates recovery, so open the top of the bag. If the bird can fly out on its own, it has recovered. Don't help it out. If the bird cannot fly out by itself, its injuries are more extensive and you should call for help or advice. Birds that have been caught by cats or dogs, but do not seem to have any broken bones, are probably suffering from shock. Give them the paper bag treatment. Broken legs, wings or wounds should receive medical attention. Cat attacks should also get medical help even if no wound is seen.
To help a baby bird successfully, it is necessary to determine what species of bird it is - diet is very important and varies from species to species. Nestlings need to be fed every 15-30 minutes, from sunrise to sunset. They need protein in the form of insects, not seeds. All nestlings need warmth.
Wild birds are protected by federal and state laws which prohibit private possession. Take a wild bird to a rehabber (rehabilitation professional). To locate a rehabilitation professional, click on the website at http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.htm It is illegal to raise a wild bird yourself. If a wild bird needs more help than you can give it, call the Dane County Humane Society at 608-838-0413 or the Emergency Clinic for Animals at 608-274-7772.