How to Help the Baby Birds

Baby bird season is one of the busier times for the . Dozens of calls come in every day from people who have found baby birds running around their yards.

“What we get a lot of is calls for fledglings. They’ve been ejected out the nest and this is a completely normal process,” said Ashley Gaia, the volunteer coordinator at the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary.

The fledglings will look scraggly, but will have feathers on them, Gaia said. They’re known to run around in circles and hop. This is how they learn to fly.

“They literally learn how to fly from the ground up,” Gaia said.

Although it may not look like it, these birds are being watched very carefully from the nest they came from, Gaia said. The mother bird will come down throughout the day and bring them food and make sure they don’t get hurt.

“When it comes to fledgling birds, If you care, leave it there,” Gaia said.

If the fledglings are brought into the Sanctuary during this process, the bird must be retaught flight from humans and must be rehabilitated until they can fly naturally on their own, Gaia said.

Sometimes though, people will trim the birds right of their trees during summer lawn work, Gaia said.

Most baby bird issues don’t require rehabilitation; most times the baby birds can be safely put back into their nest, Gaia said. This is completely safe for the birds and will not make the mother bird abandon the baby.

“It’s a myth. Birds have little sense of smell whatsoever and won’t be able to tell if you have picked up their babies,” Gaia said.

 A good way to tell if a baby bird needs help is to see if it looks feathery or fluffy, Gaia said. Fluffy birds shouldn’t be out of the nest and should be brought over to the Sanctuary.

If the bird is feathery, it’s important to check if it’s in a safe place and if it has any injuries, Gaia said. The baby birds can sustain injuries on the way out of the tree and it’s important to bring these birds to the Sanctuary so they can have their injuries looked at.

“If the bird is in a safe situation and look like they can be returned to the nest, we do encourage the public to do that,” Gaia said.

If the nest has been destroyed, it’s possible to rebuild a nest by taking a plastic tub, with holes drilled in the bottom for drainage, and placing grass and leaves inside it, Gaia said. People can then put the tub in the tree for the birds.

Baby bird season lasts until around mid-August with the season peaking in July.

If you encounter a baby bird and aren’t sure what to do, the Sanctuary encourages you to call them at (727) 391-6211 for assistance and guidance.