Spring is the season of young life and life renewed. And as flowers bloom and fruits ripen, butterflies and bees fluttering and buzzing between them, birds raise young in their nests. Some of us might even be fortunate enough to have nests in our gardens. It is a real joy to follow the journey from eggs to fledglings. At a respectful distance, of course.
But I have noticed, every year, concerning posts pop up on social media in spring time. Posts from people who have found a young bird in their garden, a young bird that appears unable to fly. They pluck the little feathered youngster up, pop it in a box, snap a few pictures, and pop a post on social media asking advice. All well intentioned, but, most of the time, not at all needed. Indeed, interfering in this way can be doing more harm than good for the fledgling bird.
When a young garden bird leaves the nest it is not wholly independent. They will have left the nest, literally stretching their wings, but they will not have entirely left the care of their parents. Think of it like this; when a human child leaves home, beginning their journey into independent life, they might still turn up at mum and dad's with a bag of laundry and desiring dinners, as they still figure out domestic life for themselves. In a similar way, young birds will remain in the vicinity of the nest, and the care of their parents, immediately after leaving the nest. This care after having fledged is vital to their survival and ought not to be interfered with, except as the very last resort.
If you find a fledgling in your garden, if you stop back and watch from a distance, you ought to notice that the parents are still coming back and forth with food, and caring for the young bird. There is no need for human intervention in this case. Only if the fledgling appears abandoned and the parents do not return should you seek advice from the RSPCA or a local wildlife rescue. There are some other instances when advice and help ought to be sought too. But only in those instances should interference be considered.
When to intervene
If you find a baby bird out of the nest and it is without feathers or only covered in a nestling downy covering, it has most likely fallen from its nest. Now, you can put the baby back into the nest, but only if you are one hundred per cent certain that you know the nest it has fallen from. Otherwise, call a local rescue or the RSPCA for advice and guidance.
If you find a fledgling that is feathered and otherwise fine but is in a place of potential danger, such as on a well-used path or a roadside, it would be a good idea to pop the baby bird into a safe spot. Underneath a bush or something similar. However, do not remove the bird too far from the spot where you found it, for the parents will be looking for the youngster. If there is no safe spot nearby, again call a local rescue for advice and guidance.
If a fledgling is in your garden, and you are a cat owner, be sure to keep that cat indoors until the fledgling has flown. This ought to take a day or two. If you are aware of cats in your area, you might want to keep an eye on the fledgling. But, again, be sure that any intervention is as limited as possible and does not hinder the parents' care for the young bird. When it comes to domestic cats, I have written a post in the past about how they interact with wildlife; you can read it here.
Some birds, such as Barn owls, would not leave the nest without being able to fly, so if you find a young bird of this species unable to fly, it would be a good idea to call the RSPCA or a local wildlife hospital for advice and guidance. However, generally speaking, interfering with fledgling garden birds ought to be an act of last resort. I know that they look fragile and defenseless, but they are living out a lifecycle that is quite natural to them and intervention from us can do more harm than good.
You can read more about what to do if you find a baby bird in the coming months here, on the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds' (RSPB) website.
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