Helping Orphaned Birds

They're probably not really orphans.

Summer is the season when the kids bring home a baby bird they found on the lawn and ask if they can keep it.

The little bird is obviously helpless, and the mother bird isn't around. It's only natural to want to help it. The question is what's the best thing for the baby bird. What can we do that will give it the best possible chance of surviving?

Here's what is actually happening, from the point of view of the bird.

Why the baby birds left the nest

Most birds are ready to leave the nest before they can fly or get their own food. It's because the nest gets to be such a dangerous place as the young birds grow. The nestlings chirp their heads off, begging their parents to bring them food. They can't stay hidden any longer. The whole nest is just one big tempting mouthful for a squirrel, hawk, or climbing cat.

At this point it's perfectly normal for the baby birds to flop out of the nest and land on the ground. From then on they are no longer nestlings. They have fledged, and they are now fledglings.

If there are some shrubs nearby, the parents will coax the youngsters into thick vegetation and then continue to take care of them while the fledglings hide and continue developing. After a few weeks, they will be able to find their own food, and soon they'll be on their own.

As the babies get stronger, the parents may show them around your yard, introducing them to the birdbath or the feeders. In the photo above, a parent robin is feeding a worm to a baby who is having its same bath.

But in their first minutes or hours out of the nest, sometimes we see a fledgling all by itself out on the lawn, looking lost and abandoned. Naturally, we want to help.

Not up for adoption!

The bird's parents are very ready to take care of it. And they know better what to do for their baby than we do. So resist the temptation. Don't adopt it. It's not an orphan.

You can help, though. The main danger to the baby bird is getting eaten before the parents can get it hidden, especially in a residential neighborhood where there are many outdoor cats. The fledgling can often benefit from some assistance getting into a hidden location soon.

Your helping hand

Pick up the bird in your hands. Or better yet a towel. Hold the fledgling firmly enough that it can't injure itself by struggling. Put it into the nearest thick bush or tree, where it can scramble into the safety of foliage.

The parents will hear its chirps and will bring it food. It's innate behavior. They're programmed to continue caring for that baby. Just put it where it can hide, while as close as possible to where you found it.

Don't be too concerned about which bush or tree the nest was in. Even if you must go next door or across the street to find suitable foliage, the parents will easily find the baby from its cries. In fact, they're probably watching you!

Reunited!

If your child has brought the bird home, you can still put it back in the area where it was found. The sooner the better, but even after hours have elapsed, or the next day, the baby will have a better chance if you return it to its parents.

They will not abandon it just because it's been touched by a human. Songbirds have less sense of smell than we humans do, and they won't smell you on their fledgling. Besides, they want their baby back. They'll welcome it and will get right back to work feeding it.

You can watch from a distance or through a window from inside a house. Within an hour, you should see a parent bird enter the bush where you put their baby.

It's good to give a helping hand, and then let nature be.

--Diane Porter