Rescuing Orphaned Baby Birds

The first thing you should be aware of when it comes to baby birds that you might find all alone or that look like they’ve been abandoned is that it’s extremely rare for a baby bird to have actually been abandoned or left somewhere by it’s parents. It’s very uncommon and when it does happen its usually because a larger predator of some kind got to the parents of the baby bird not because the mom just took off. It’s also important to realize that most birds leave the nest to become “fledglings” at a very young age but just because they’ve left the nest doesn’t mean they’re not being taken care of - quite the contrary in fact. So it’s pretty rare for a bird to actually have been orphaned - it’s far more likely that it just got separated from its brothers or sisters and hasn’t found it’s way back yet.

Young fledglings are very little and still don’t know how to fly quite yet so they spend most of their time (once they’ve left the nest) hiding in bushes and undergrowth to stay safe while mom and dad go off to find food which they then bring back to the baby birds.  After a few weeks of this routine the little birds will begin to learn to fly and move about on their own and then they’ll be able to go off and find their own food without needing any help from their parents anymore. The reason that baby birds are sometimes found on their own without their parents nearby is usually because they’re struggling to get to wherever the rest of their little family is - often in some nearby bush or vegetation and weren’t able to get there fast enough. This isn’t much of a problem but it does leave a baby bird vulnerable to predators so sometimes it can be helpful to lend a hand.

If you come across a baby bird that seems to have been left on its own pay attention to where you found it and look around to see where it might be headed and where it’s parents or brothers and sisters might be. The best thing that you can do for it is to gently pick it up but do so firmly to make sure that it can’t struggle too much and hurt itself or use a small rag or a towel (clean please!) to pick it up in case you’re worried about being nipped or scratched and then carefully place it under the nearest bush. Don’t worry about it being lost or forgotten as it’s parents will be back very soon to get it - such is their natural instinct. The baby bird will also be cheeping and chirping loud enough for the parents to hear it and come to it’s aid which is natural as well.

You also don’t need to worry about the baby birds parents “rejecting” it or letting it die because you’ve handled it and your scent may be on the bird. This is little more than a myth and most birds have less of a sense of smell than we do so your baby bird isn’t going to be ignored or abandoned by it’s parents simply because you picked it up and put it under a bush. So don’t let your children bring home a baby bird and don’t take it under your wing and try to take care of it - you’ll probably do more damage than you realize. Simply place the bird in some shelter and let it’s parents come to get it and provide for it. It can be tempting to think that it’s parents are gone and that you are its only hope for survival but this is very unlikely and it’s best that you just return it to it’s parents in the best way that you can. For the most part these young birds will be just fine and they don’t require our assistance so you’re doing them a favor by just returning them to nature and letting their parents take over. Do your best to help out where you can but not to interfere too much with these small birds and let nature take it’s course.