Baby bird found: how to proceed

If you find a small bird that has fallen out of the nest, the question arises how you can help it. Should you feed and raise the baby bird, or should you put it back in the nest? We explain how best to handle the baby bird.

If you find a young bird outside of the nest, you should proceed with caution. Because the little ones often leave their breeding grounds, before they look like "finished" birds to us, and make a helpless impression, although they are well looked after and do not need any help. In this case, hasty action can do more harm than good and, in the worst case, scare away the bird parents. You can find out here how to correctly assess such a situation and what you can do to help the baby bird.

Baby bird found: assess condition

If you spot a young bird outside of the nest, watch it carefully and then choose your next steps based on the following question:

Is the bird fully feathered?

• Yes: it is a branchling that left the nest on its own. His parents are likely to be around to look after him. Only intervene if the bird is injured or is in imminent danger from cats or other predators. In the latter case, you can carefully pick up the young bird and, for example, place it on a tree or in a dense hedge nearby.
• No: the bird is one Nestlingwhich probably fell out of the nest. He needs help.

tip: For details on what to do if you have a injured bird found can be found in our special article.

Baby bird fallen out of nest: reset?

If you have actually found an unfeathered nestling, you should first try to locate the nest. If you succeed in doing this, carefully pick up the baby bird and put it back in the nest. The bird parents accept the young again despite being touched and are not bothered by the human smell. However, wearing gloves can be for your own safety, because like any wild animal, the young birds could have diseases or parasites.

If you cannot find or reach the nest, the baby bird will need professional help. Put it gently in a basket or cardboard box with air holes and pad it with a soft towel. Do not offer food or water, as the young birds are usually not yet able to eat and drink on their own and there is a risk of swallowing or drowning. You can also use our practical tree diagram as a guide for quick orientation in the event of a bird finding:

Should you feed and raise a baby bird?

No - in principle, as a layperson, you should never try to raise a young bird by hand or one To feed baby bird, because depending on the bird species, the animals have different requirements for food and Care. Rearing young birds can be very complex and usually goes wrong if the necessary experience is lacking.

If you do find an obviously helpless or injured baby bird, consider a veterinarian instead, one Bird sanctuary or another suitable foster home, such as one of the NABU wild bird sanctuaries, to contact.

Note: If you cannot find a suitable foster home, you can also report any birds found on Facebook in the “Wild Bird Aid Emergencies” group. There you will usually be given bird-savvy veterinarians or foster stations in your area within a short period of time.

Finding a young bird does not always have to be a problem. In many cases, however, you will be lucky enough to have young wild birds in your garden. During the breeding season there are many exciting opportunities for observation - from laying eggs to feeding to the young animals' first attempts to fly. And even if you shouldn't raise or feed small young birds yourself, you can use a feeding station in the garden support the hardworking parents, who of course also have food and lots of energy themselves during the breeding season require. With our Plantura all year round feed For example, you can provide a variety of garden birds with species-appropriate and nutrient-rich ingredients and an extra load of fodder lime.

Which garden birds you can observe with us in winter, which ones move to the south in the late year and when the wild birds will return to us can be found in our special article on the subject Migratory birds.