We found a baby bird, the mother is nowhere in sight and we can't find the nest. What do we do?

Question

We found a baby bird alone on our front lawn. We looked and can't find the nest anywhere in the tree it was under and if it is there it's at the very top (and the tree is really tall). What should we do?

Answer 1

If you care, leave it alone. If you have pets, make sure they stay inside.

Baby birds fledge (leave the nest) before they can fly. As long as they have some feathers, it is perfectly normal that they are on the ground. The parents are nearby, whether you can see them or not. They are gathering food and will tend to the baby until it is weaned and flying.

The worst thing that you can do is interfere with this very normal process.

If you have to move a baby bird, because you're mowing the lawn, or it's in a dangerous spot - you can pick it up and move it a very short distance. Except for a few, most birds have little sense of smell. Touching a baby will not make the parents reject it. The birds will locate the baby by sight and sound.

If you find a nestling, with only down feathers, and no regular feathers it must be returned to the nest, if possible. If not it should be taken to a local wildlife rehabber for care until it can be released.

If it is a nestling, or is injured please use this link to locate a rehabber:

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/

Answer 2

Are you sure it is a baby?

Baby birds fledge (leave the nest) before they can fly. They need time on the ground to hop around, climb low branches, and exercise their wings until they have strengthened them enough for flight. The parent birds will continue to feed and care for the fledglings until they are self-sufficient. If this baby has most of his feathers, he is a fledgling. Put him back where you found him, so his parents can continue to care for him. Remember, the parents will not stay with the fledgling 24/7. they probably have other fledglings they are caring for, spread out over several yards. They might even still have a baby in the nest that needs attention. The parents also will not return to the fledgling as long as they see you nearby, as they view you as a predator.

If the baby bird looks like a nestling (still bare or fuzzy rather than feathered), but you can not find or reach the nest, you need to immediately contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. You can find one here: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.htm

These people have very specialized training to care for sick, injured and orphaned wild animals. They also have the state and federal licenses required to keep these animals until they are healthy enough to be released back into the wild.

You should never attempt to care for an orphaned baby bird yourself. First, it is illegal to keep the bird, even for a short time, even if you are just trying to save it, unless you have the proper permits. All native migratory birds in the US are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and you must have the proper permits to have them, even for a short time, even for good reasons like saving them. Many other countries also have similar laws regarding their native species.

Additionally, you do not have the necessary training to care for a baby wild bird. There is so much more to rehabilitation than keeping the animal alive until you think it is ready to be released. You have to know not only what to feed the bird, but how (please do not attempt to give the bird any liquid by dropper - baby birds can aspirate and die), how much and how often. You also have to know how to assess the birds general health and condition.

A baby bird kept in captivity must be taught to recognize and find the type of food it will eat in the wild. If it is being hand-fed, it may not associate the bugs and berries and seeds in nature as being food. It must also have the opportunity to exercise its wings a lot, so it will be able to fly on or shortly after release. When I volunteered at the Avian Rehabilitation Center, we kept the rehabilitating fledglings in a large walk-in cage with lots of shelves and branches leading from one shelf to the other, and down to the ground. We would place different types of food in the cage for them, as they were being weaned from the hand-feeding formula. We offered seed, meal worms and chopped up fruit. No fledgling was released until it was eating on its own, had sufficient weight gain, had all of its flight feathers in good condition, had no sign of diarreah or nasal discharge, had clear eyes, and could fly at least a few feet in a straight line.

These are the reasons to get the bird to a licensed rehabilitator - they have the training and the resources necessary to do all this, in addition to having the permits to do it all legally.

Answer 3

It is most likely a fledgling and if you leave it alone the mother will continue feeding it. I would look for a bush close to where you found it and put there. The mother knows her babies cries and will find it. Also, momma bird will not be easy to see, but you can bet she can see you.

IT IS A MYTH THAT MOMMA BIRD WILL STOP CARING FOR IT IF HANDLED BY HUMANS.

Sorry for the caps, but too many people believe this and they have found this not to be true.

Answer 4

1. Don't worry about touching it. Birds don't care, they can't smell as well as other animals that you may have to wipe down so they can't scent you on thiee baby. Either way, mommy will accept it, so don't worry!

2. Find out what bird it is. This may indicate where it came from- the nest might be on the ground or in a different one than you thought. Researching will help you find out where it's from.

3. Call Animal Control or anyone similar in your area who can help you and the baby.

4. Can it fly at all? It may just be learning. If not, it most likely did fall out of the nest even if you don't see a nest nearby.

Answer 5

My friends cared for a baby bird once. The bird cant fly yet right? and its not injured. So put it in a shoe box or something like that so you have somewhere to keep it. then as soon as possible, Call a vet. Feed the bird mashed up worms. Because thats how the mom feeds them. She spits up her food into the babys mouth. You might want to make the food a teeeeency bit wet. Then just do what the vet tells you until you can relese the bird. ( Make sure he can fly before you let him go. )

Answer 6

Well, if you have handeled the bird already, then if you find the mother bird, more then likely the bird won't take the baby back, or the mother bird could of already abandonded the baby.
You have a couple of choices, you can return the bird and hope for the best.
You can raise the bird and over time realease the bird in to the wild.
Or you can give the bird to a homeless shelter for pets or give him or her to a friend who knows how to take care of birds.

Answer 7

PLEASE take the advice of Tammy, Suzi, and Margecutter..the other people are totally misinformed and should not be giving advice for things they know NOTHING about.

Answer 8

we had a similar situation in my house. we called animal control and saw what they wanted to do. try not to touch it, or 1. its family wont take it back, 2. u dont know if it has a disease. put some water in a bowl for it and maybe feed it some bird seed if u have it. sesame seeds are good too i think. we put it on the porch with a laundry basket over it to protect it, and then waited for animal control to come over and deal with it as they saw fit.

im glad u were being considerate to the animal!

Answer 9

after you've handled it, i've heard NOT to set it free..the other birds (and that bird) might get a disease from us, because they have different immune systems than us.. take it to the vet. see what he or she thinks

Answer 10

if you touch the dont worry the mother will take it back its just a myth that she wont. so your best bet is to take it to a vet have it checked and ask the vet what to do.