*You found a baby bird on the ground . . . Now what?
Birds and active nests are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It is illegal to possess native birds, their eggs or nests, or keep any wild bird as a pest. Rehabilitation of native wild birds must be done by a permitted Wildlife Rehabilitator.

Birds only need to be rescued if they are injured, cat caught, icy cold, or abandoned.

Symptoms of injury or illness: Falling over on side, unable to flutter wings, weak or shivering, attacked by cat or dog, wing tweaked upward, wings drooping, feather fluffed, bleeding, mites.

Found a baby bird on the ground?
Fledging birds are feathered with short tails. They can hop or walk on the ground and will sometimes perch on a small branch. They are learning to fly, a process that may take one or two weeks. They should be left alone to practice hopping and fluttering from low shrub branches to the ground. The parents are close by and continue to feed the babies until they learn to fly and eat on their own. The parents will guide the fledglings into the bushes at night to hide from predators. If you have a fledgling bird in your yard you will need to keep your cats and dogs indoors until the bird can fly and keep children away from the area so the parents will take care of the bird.Educate your children, neighbors and friends not to pick up healthy baby birds. Leave baby birds with their parents. They raise them best.

Nestling birds are naked, have pin feathers. They cannot hop or perch and may lay fairly flat. Nestlings are dependent on their parents for warmth and food and must be returned to the nest whenever possible. Parent birds will feed their babies after you have touched them. They will even be foster parents for an abandoned baby of the same species and age as their own young.

 

For injured bird, contact the following bird rehabilitators.

Bird Rehabilitators in Our Area
San Dimas Canyon Nature Center
1628 N Sycamore Canyon Rd

San Dimas, CA 91773

(909)599-7512

 

Wild Wings of California
1837 Fernridge Dr

San Dimas, CA 91773

(909)592-4900

 

Monique Rea (hummingbirds only)
28001 Paseo Barranca

San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

(949)493-4834

 

*Information from Songbird Care and Education Center