In Idaho, we have nearly 400 bird species and their season of having offspring is just around the corner – beginning in April and lasting possibly until September.
What resources do you have?
The Ruth Melichar Bird Center (RMBC) is located just off Hill Road in Boise and has been taking in birds since 1998 when the "bird lady" of the Treasure Valley Ruth Melichar passed away. With more urbanization, their numbers have grown year after year for intakes. Currently, they receive about 3000 birds in a season–many of those are babies.
Jennifer Rockwell, the Director of RMBC said when you find a bird in distress, begin with calling the center–they can help figure out the species, age, and if the bird is injured.
“I like to have the onlooker investigate with me.”
For instance, maybe you find a bird outside your house just sitting on the ground — there are a few possibilities for why it is there:
1) Maybe the bird hit your window and became stunned. "Leave it alone for a couple of hours. Give it that opportunity to heal up in the wild and then fly off," said Rockwell.
2) Maybe the bird has a visible injury which is a case when you would bring the bird in.
3) Or, maybe you have found a baby bird that got knocked out of the nest.
Different species of birds may need different levels of help. That’s because birds can come in two different developmental forms.
Altricial birds hatch naked and defenseless, and Susan Dumeyer, the assistant director of the center said,
“They're the ones that are, you know, hatched out of the egg. The eyes are closed. All they do is gape, and the parents have to come and feed them.”
So for those naked babies, Dumeyer explained to me that many times you can make artificial nests, place the babies in there, and wait to see—more times than not, the parents will still come and care for them.
And don’t be scared to touch them, Rockwell was quick to debunk the old wivestale you may have heard,
“Is a bird going to reject the baby if you touch it? No, it's not.”
While birds do have a sense of smell, they won't reject babies like mammals will if you touch them.
But what if the altricial bird is older, feathered, and just sitting on say your front lawn? Welcome to the teenager bird–the fledgling stage where the birds have jumped out of the nest, and are learning how to fly. Rockwell explained,
“Sometimes it'll take them 2 to 4 days to learn how to fly. Some are fast learners, some aren't. So just leave it alone.”
If you have outdoor cats, this would be a good time to keep them indoors if possible, but even if there are neighborhood cats—Rockwell told me it is better to keep the bird in the wild than try to bring it to the center.
The second type of bird, Precocial birds, think pre-cooked–hatch with fluffy feathers, can walk, see, and eat on their own within a few hours of being hatched–Rockwell said,
“They're independent versus dependent”
For these birds, like ducklings, Rockwell said when you find them, it depends on how many you are there for if you should act or not,
“One duckling, obviously, he's very vulnerable. Yeah, he's going to be hawk food or some somebody's lunch. And so, of course we'd want to grab a duckling. Little duckling. If you have a group of them. Are they all going to make it? Probably not. But one might make it to see its first winter.”
She reminded me that nature’s course can be pretty harsh, but it is important to respect the process. However, if after some phone triage the bird does need care, it is important to,
“Bring the bird in as soon as you can”
But, do not feed it, as that could cause more harm than good. Rockwell said a bird at the center already has two strikes against its survival,
“Because they are walking into an artificial environment and they've already got something wrong with it anyway.”
The center is available during the main season, 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even in their off-season, workers can offer guidance.
For information on how to support RMBC through donations or volunteering, you can visit their website.
