Injured Birds or Wildlife

Have you found  a young or injured bird or other wild animal?


When NOT to “Rescue” a Wild Animal (copied from Washington State Fish and Wildlife Rehabilitation web site):

Many wild animals do not need to be “rescued” and there is almost NEVER a time when you should remove a baby wild animal from its natural environment – even if it appears abandoned. More often than not, just leaving a young animal alone affords it the best chance for survival.

Every year hundreds of young wild animals such as fawns, baby seals, and baby birds are needlessly “rescued” and referred to wildlife rehabilitators. This is extremely detrimental and harmful to the young animal, as well as disruptive and costly to wildlife rehabilitators when they most need to concentrate limited resources on truly orphaned or injured wildlife. Unless the animal is showing obvious signs of illness or injury such as bleeding, vomiting, panting, shivering, lethargy, ruffled feathers or fur, attack by cat/dog, leave them there. You can help by always consulting a licensed wildlife rehabilitator prior to collecting the animal, thereby preventing its handling.

Why these babies do not need rescuing. Young animals are often left alone for hours while their parents gather food. They are being tended by their parents in ways best for their survival and appropriate for that species, ensuring that they retain natural wild behaviors. It is normal and typical for a deer fawn to be left alone hiding in a bed. It is also common for young birds to leave the nest before they are fully feathered or flight-ready. They will be fed on the ground for a day or two by the parents until they are able to fly. Careful observation before distressing and collecting these animals should help you make a correct decision whether or not they are truly orphaned or injured and need help.

Yes, very young birds sometimes fall out of nests. If you can safely reach the nest, put it back. The adults will NOT reject their young because “they smell like people.” If the bird is older or you cannot find the nest, place it in a tree or shrub or on a shaded portion of a roof, out of the way of cats, dogs, and children. Do not unnecessarily handle or move it from the general area where it was found. If a baby bird shows obvious signs of illness or injury, call a wildlife rehabilitator first and describe what you see.

Email wildlife rehabilitation questions to

Baby Birds Out of the Nest (WA Fish and Wildlife):









Times when you should consider quickly getting the bird to a wildlife rehabilitator:

(1) If the parents don’t find the new nest within two hours, or if you are certain that the mother of a baby bird is dead;

(2) if the bird is hurt or sick (unable to flutter wings, bleeding, wings drooping unevenly, weak or shivering), or the bird was attacked by cat or dog, call a wildlife rehabilitator immediately. The longer the delay, the less chance the bird has of surviving. Your local wildlife office keeps a list of rehabilitators and can tell you which ones serve your area, or you can look under “Animals” or “Wildlife” in your phone directory. If a rehabilitator isn’t available, follow the menu options over the phone or on the group’s Web site for information on what to do. (See Wildlife Rehabilitators and Wildlife Rehabilitation for additional information.)

While waiting for a rehabilitator to arrive, pick the bird up with your gloved hands and place it in a well-ventilated, covered box or paper bag that is padded with paper towels.

Keep the baby bird warm and in a quiet, dark place until it can be picked up by a wildlife rehabilitator. If the bird is cold, put one end of the bird’s container on a heating pad set on low. Or, fill a zip-top plastic bag, plastic soft-drink container with a screw lid, or a rubber glove with hot water. Wrap the warm container with cloth, and put it next to the animal. Make sure the container doesn’t leak, or the animal will get wet and chilled.

Do not give the baby bird any liquids (they get all they need from their food and very often will inhale any liquid).

Wash your hands after contact with the bird. Wash anything the bird was in contact with—towel, jacket, blanket, pet carrier—to prevent the spread of diseases and/or parasites to you or your pets.

Adapted from “Living with Wildlife in the Pacific Northwest”
Written by: Russell Link, Urban Wildlife Biologist.