Baby Birds

Most baby birds do not need to be rescued.  Contact a rehabilitator before you try to rescue an animal.

What should you do with a bird out of the nest? Watch it from a distance for an hour to make sure the adult birds return to feed the chick. The parent birds are usually nearby ready to feed and protect their baby.

What if a bird builds a nest in an inconvenient place, like the barbecue grill?  The birds have built the nest in a place they consider safe, and they will abandon that nest if it is moved to a different site. Wait patiently until the birds have successfully fledged. Then you can seal up or move the grill to prevent a second nest from being built. Put up birdhouses close to the spot.

Baby Mammals

Mammal, like rabbits and squirrels, have more than one litter in a year and offspring are independent at a fairly young age. 

If its eyes are open and it is up and out and moving around, it can be on its own; remember, keep your pets, especially cats, indoors. 

If you do find a baby mammal with its eyes closed, do not rescue the babies until you are certain it is abandoned. Mammals often feed their young only a few times a day, so absence of an adult does not mean it is abandoned. Contact a rehabilitator before you try to rescue an animal.

Baby Turtles

As soon as turtles hatch they can make it on their own. They do not need our care in any way. You can release the hatchling in a stream or pond near where you found it.

MYTH: If you touch a young animal the mother will abandon it. 
FACT: Wild animal mothers will risk their own lives to save their babies and will not reject them based on human scent alone. 

Keep your cats indoors and watch dogs carefully to make sure they don't inadvertently harm wildlife.  



If you’re worried that a fox will eat an animal you don’t rescue, remember that fox babies need to eat too!   

Some Useful Links

Coyote Clearinghouse

How to tell if baby animals are orphaned, injured, or perfectly fine: Humane Society of the US

 

Last resort options if you can't find any other rehabBERS:

  • Frisky's Wildlife Center- Woodstock, MD- 8am-8pm only 410-481-8899 or friskyswildlife@yahoo.com  website: www.friskys.org
  • Pheonix Wildlife Center- Baltimore Co. (Kathern Woods)Appointment Required to drop off animals 401-682-9736  website: www.phoenixwildlife.org
  • Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research, Inc - Newark, DE- 9am-5pm drop off times 302-737-9543 or leave message on x103 website: www.tristatebird.org
  • Kim McLamb, Anne Arundel County/Eastern Shore- birds/wildlife 443-786-8992