Wild Bird Rescue in Winter

With the temperatures across the nation dipping into the negative digits, and wind chills making things even worse, we humans are not the only ones having a hard time dealing.  In the past week, I’ve received several emails and other notes about people finding wild birds in trouble.  The most recent came this morning, with a note about a friend of a friend, who rescued a little bird from the side of the road.

The bird was apparently stunned, but the most noticeable thing was that when she picked it up, it was cold to the touch.  She removed her gloves and warmed it against her body, and took it home with her to observe it.

This lady did the right thing.  She put it in a warm, quiet place, and allowed it to regain its body heat, with the plans to release it back where she found it if the bird recovers.  At the time that she sent my friend the email, the bird had regained mobility, was warm to the touch, and appeared to be doing better.

Minor collisions in flight happen all the time with wild birds.  We, of course, usually only know about them when the collisions occur against our windows or the sides of our houses, but they happen in the wild, too.  On windy days, a little songbird is at the mercy of the air currents, branches can blow suddenly into their path, and down they go.  Under normal circumstances, birds are pretty resilient. Often, they sit, stunned, for a moment, shake it off, and flit merrily on their way.

In sub-arctic temperatures, though, those minor dings can turn fatal, fast.  Birds have super high metabolisms.  Watch a bird for a while, and you’ll note how they tic and twitch, moving their heads in fast jerky motions, their little wings move at a rapid rate, and they’re almost constantly in motion during the daylight hours.  Those tiny bodies, when stunned and on the ground after a bump, can lose body heat rapidly.

The little bird this lady found was probably stunned by a collision, fell to the roadside, and then very quickly began to freeze.

If you find a bird in distress, any time of year, warming it is the first course of treatment.  In the summer time, you have the luxury of observing the bird for a period, as often they will simply shake off the confusion and recover on their own.  When the temperatures are below freezing, however, there’s a much higher chance that the bird is going to lose the battle with the elements before it can recover its mobility. If a bird is so stunned that it cannot take flight, you probably will be able to gently pick it up rather easily.

Be a human hot water bottle.  Warm the bird against your body.  Observe whether the bird begins to recover right away.  Sometimes all it takes is a brief period of body heat and the bird finds its wings again.  If not, and the bird still seems stunned, you can bring it inside.

Provide a warm, quiet, dark place.  A hot water bottle is great for little birds … be sure to place a towel or other insulation between the bottle and the bird, so there is no chance of scalding.  If you use a heating pad, leave it under the box you are using, with insulating material between, and not in the box itself.  If a bird is stunned, there is no real need to provide food or water right away, though using a jar lid with a little water in it probably won’t hurt the bird.  If you do provide water, observe carefully to be sure the little one does not flounder into the jar lid and soak itself.  Wetting down an already hypothermic bird would not be a good thing.

If you feel a strong need to provide food, try to determine what type of bird you have rescued.  Different species have different needs: there are birds that eat mostly seed, birds that eat mostly bugs, birds that eat mostly fruit, and everything in between.  Use a good guide book, such as the Audubon Guides, Sibley Guide, or a decent online identification site, to at least ascertain the general type of bird.  You don’t need to know it’s a Song Sparrow, for example … just knowing it’s a Sparrow will be helpful.

If you’ve found a seed eater, feeding is easy … a small dish of appropriately sized wild bird seed will suffice.  Bug eaters do okay on soaked or ground and soaked dry cat or dog food temporarily.  Fruit eaters will welcome dried berries or raisins.  Many birds, of course, eat a combination.  Remember that you are only temporarily providing food for the bird, and don’t be surprised or disappointed if the bird doesn’t want to eat in captivity at all.

Once the bird is acting normal again, if you see that it can stand, perch, and move its wings normally, return it to the location where it was found and release it.  Birds are territorial … they need their home surroundings, their flocks, the songs of their local species population, to properly survive.  Animals from the wild should always, when possible, be released in their home territory after rehabilitation.

Remember that this is a wild animal.  One of the most stressful things we can do to a little wild bird like this is to keep it captive.  Release the bird as soon as you feel confident that it has recovered.

If there is any doubt, or if you feel that you might have to keep the bird more than overnight, hit the internet and search for wildlife rehabilitators in your state.  Find the nearest person who is licensed to care for migratory birds, and turn the bird over to them.  Be sure to let them know where and when you found the bird, and the circumstances surrounding the rescue.  Getting a bird that does not fully recover quickly into the hands of a skilled, trained individual may make the difference between survival and loss.

Not only will the bird need professional care to have the best chance of recovery … it is illegal in the U.S., and other countries, to keep a wild bird unless you have a federal migratory bird permit to do so.  All wild songbirds are protected species in the United States except for European Starlings, English (House) Sparrows, and Pigeons.  Other types of birds are also protected, and different classes of birds have different laws governing their rescue and care.

If you’ve rescued a little bird in distress, thank you!  You may have made the difference between life and death for that little fellow.  If you have a bird in your possession and are uncertain of whether it should be released, seek the advice of a professional, your local wildlife rehabber.  This will give the bird its best chance of returning to its normal life … thanks to you and the help network available to you.

A Few Additional Tips

• Keep wild birds away from human contact if possible, and protect them from household pets.  The proximity of humans is very stressful, and the less a bird is stressed, the more likely it is to recover.
• Raptors (hawks, falcons, owls, etc) are dangerous predators.  Do not handle them with bare hands, and do not try to keep an injured raptor even overnight.  Their beaks deliver nasty bites, and their talons are extremely sharp and strong.
• Large, sharp-billed birds such as herons, or sharp-billed water birds such as loons, instinctively use their beaks as spears for protection.  They should not be handled if at all avoidable, and be sure to keep your face and eyes out of harm’s way if you encounter one of these birds.
• Wild birds can sometimes carry disease in their droppings, and on their bodies … be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after handling them.

Some Links of Interest

Books:

• The Sibley Guide to Birds
• National Audubon Society Bird Guides
• Helping Orphaned or Injured Wild Birds

Websites:

• Whatbird.com bird identification site
• AllAboutBirds.com Cornell’s identification and information site
• The U.S. Migratory Bird Act
• Wildlife Rehabilitator Search Engine (Note, this is not necessarily a complete listing, it is provided here in case your search for wildlife rehabbers in your own state does not give satisfactory results)

Related posts:

1. Baby Bird Season, ’010 (And Then There Were Ten)
2. It’s Baby Bird Season
3. Birdie Updates and an Occupied Aviary