What to do if you find a young bird.
As a general rule it is best to leave baby birds alone. If you find a young bird out of its nest it is probably a fledgling.The babies of most garden birds leave the nest just before they can fly. They are almost fully feathered and will try to hide in undergrowth where they are fed by their parents. Within a day of leaving the nest they can usually fly enough to escape predators and keep up with their parents, who will continue to feed them.
If it’s a nestling, (small fluffy, no feathers, skin visible) then it needs to come into care. It will not survive out of the nest as it needs the warmth of its siblings. It should not be put back into the nest as it may have been kicked out and that may happen again. Call the 24 hour helpline (0300 1234 999) or take to your nearest veterinary surgery. There is normally no charge for wildlife.
Fledglings are fed by their parents. The parents are not usually far away and are probably collecting food but will not return until you have gone. Despite the risks, a baby bird has a greater chance of survival in the wild than it has being reared by humans. Human interference can reduce a young birds’ chance of survival.
If you have picked up a fledgling baby bird, put it back near to the place where you found it. Don’t try to return it to its nest as you may disturb other young birds. If you are concerned about its safety try to put it nearby on a ledge, or somewhere where it will be out of the reach of cats. Leave the site for an hour and only return if you are still worried about the bird. You will almost certainly find that the parent birds have taken care of their fledgling.
If you think a bird is genuinely orphaned or is clearly sick, put it in a warm dark box and seek assistance from your nearest veterinary surgeon during normal surgery opening hours.
If necessary offer a shallow dish of water,( make sure it’s shallow to avoid the risk of drowning). Do NOT offer the bird milk or food.
We get a lot of calls from people who have a fledgling gull in their garden or on a flat roof and the parent gulls are swooping down when they go outside. If the fledgling(s) are still on the roof there is nothing we could or should do.
It should be noted that whilst we sympathise with people that are being “attacked” by parent gulls, we are here for the animals’ welfare and if there are no concerns for the birds’ welfare then we have no grounds to remove it. Indeed it would be an offence for us to do that.
Caution:- Handling of any animal either domestic, wild, dead or alive may be potentially hazardous. Obvious dangers include bites, scratches and general hygiene issues. Common sense should be applied in all instances and if unsure seek additional advice or assistance. Personal hygiene should be taken into consideration after handling any animal whether it is domestic, wild, dead or alive.
For more information about baby birds including Sea Gulls please go to the link for the National website, click on All About Animals then enter “Baby Birds” into the search box.
On Friday the 19th of February we made a presentation to Bette Jones who has been volunteering at our Totnes shop for 10 years! She’s a sprightly lady of 89 years young, and has only missed one day in all that time due to the recent snow and a fall at home.
