Living with Wildlife - Baby Bird Season

With springtime being baby season, MVAS receives numerous calls about baby birds. Just as humans, birds go through several stages of development before being a self-sufficient adult. When a bird is first hatched, it’s considered a hatchling that may look bald but has tiny fluffy feathers and closed eyes. The next stage starts with the baby bird opening its eyes and developing little sheaths that look like tubes which contain feathers. The bird has not yet emerged from the nest. This time the baby bird is called a nestling. Then after some time (and a lot of eating), the baby bird becomes a fledgling. The bird will preen itself resulting in the feathers becoming full. This is the stage that MVAS gets many calls for service because the birds look like an adult but cannot fly. The birds appear uncoordinated as they hop around building up strength to eventually leave the nest. When given time and space, most fledglings will fly away on their own within a couple of days.

If you find a hatchling or nestling, try to locate a nearby nest and place the birds back inside. If you can’t find a nest, you can make a replacement one with a container and some dry grassy material and hang in a nearby tree. The parents are likely around and watching, ready to help their offspring. It is a common myth that a bird will smell if a human has touched the baby/nest and will not return. This is not true. If you’ve discovered a fledgling, it’s most likely the bird does not need intervention. Parents will still feed and take care of the fledglings on the ground until they are ready to fly on their own.

Most of the time the best way to help is to quietly move back from the fledgling and protect the area so that the parents feel safe returning and caring for their baby. To learn more, please click here.