06/16/2026
Good morning! In todayās episode of āwhat do I do when I find a baby birdā!! Well itās time to share this great info graphic!
It is always truly wonderful to see how many people are concerned when they see a baby bird on the ground. It shows care and compassion. But thereās an entire other part of this. Probably 80% of the bird calls that I get are me explaining why they need to leave it where it is, keep the dog or cat up, and donāt mow right now! It is high baby bird season right now and fledglings are everywhere.
All avians are a protected species except for starlings, sparrows and rock doves, otherwise known as pigeons. You cannot legally hold Wildlife unless you hold a federal Wildlife permit.
You also cannot mess with the nest. If the nest is active, you may not remove it. Thatās why we have the migratory bird act. Of course I canāt tell you how many people could care less about authority or respect our laws and will knock down or kill the inhabitants of that nest. Not good people.
When an egg hatches, it is called an egglet which is because the bird is still absorbing the egg sac. The next stage is called a nestling as it is too young to leave the nest, and hasnāt developed its feathers yet. The next stage is a fledgling, which is when they sometimes are sometimes are not old enough to have developed their feathers and either fall or launch from the nest.
When we have high winds and heavy rains, tree trimmers, etc., entire nests may fall to the ground. I highly recommend picking the entire nest up and putting it in a size appropriate box lined with paper towels, and pick up any babies and put them back in their nest. Bring them inside and put them either under a heat lamp or put the box on a heating pad set on low. That box will now be the new nest. You can poke a hole through each side of the box towards the bottom, string a rope through the holes, and once the storm has passed or the winds have subsided, you can lash the box up as close to the nest as possible hopefully with some shelter and hopefully within the crook of a tree.
Different species of birds nest in different things like the bole of a tree, your shrubs, 20 feet high up in a tree, the wreath on your front door or the boot in your garage! I highly recommend downloading Merlin ID and Inaturalist to help you determine what species of bird you have! The best way to tell is to take a picture of the adult and use that.
It is an old myth that if you touch the bird that the parents will abandon it. So not true. Birds have a very slight sense of smell. They could care less if you touch their babies or not and are driven to feed their babies! Birds do NOT abandon their nests. If you no longer see a parent then that means unfortunately something has happened to that parent.
STOP USING PESTICIDES!
Did you know that Iām seeing far more birds come in to my wildlife center that are starving because there arenāt enough bugs for them to eat let alone feed their babies? In particular - barn swallows. So many alternatives to use please look into that or Iāll post about that later.
You can pick the babies up with your bare hands, but I always recommend wearing gardening gloves or surgical gloves. Birds will die of shear stress so donāt pass it around to the neighborhood kids or hold it up to your dog to sniff or your cat to lick. Everything is a predator to our songbirds. You can only imagine if you were in their shoes!
Also, birds do not eat bread! In fact, it can kill them. They canāt digest what you just fed them. So refrain from feeding them anything at all until you have talked to your trusted federally permitted wildlife rehabilitator who can tell you what you can and cannot feed the bird. Remember - a cold animal should never be fed. You have got to get the baby warmed up before you feed it anything!
Doves are seed eaters - they do not eat meat. They drink what is called ācrop milkā from their momās crop. Please donāt try to feed them anything.
Always text me at 940-442-8289 and I will get you to your closest federally permitted wildlife rehabilitator for assistance. You can help all of us help them by being the expert on the block. Go to the American Bird Conservancyās website and read! Become a Purple Martin landlord! Talk to the people at Wild Birdās Unlimited. The world of birding is a fascinating world! Follow Birdcast! Thatās the dashboard that shows you who is migrating how many have migrated and so much more!
I hope this was helpful and please let me know what part of this you would like me to expand on and I am happy to do so! By the way, Iāve had some of the most amazing birds Iāve ever seen come through the Rescue this year and I am so pleased to say that the two nestling hummingbirds that came from different areas of the Metroplex are doing exceedingly well!!!
