Pet Tips

Each spring, PHS/SPCA gently tells residents they may be caring too much about animals — specifically, baby birds. Believe me, we usually don’t have a problem with this; we love people who care too much. Springtime and its wave of baby bird calls is the exception. We receive dozens of calls each day from residents who find baby birds out of their nests and assume they need human intervention. Our intervention is near impossible — given the volume of calls requiring immediate assistance from our humane officers — and quite often unnecessary. Baby birds can be handled by you and placed back into their nests without being rejected by mothers. But, there might be an even simpler solution. In many but not all cases, older babies can be left alone. If a baby is fully feathered, hopping on the ground, free of immediate dangers like a nearby pet, and uninjured, your help isn’t needed. This bird is a fledgling learning survival skills from parents who are nearby. If, however, the bird has no feathers, is covered with down (prickly "quills”) or has very few feathers, it is a hatchling or a nestling in need of your help. These babies should be gently returned to their nests to survive. If a bird looks injured, is in harm’s way like on a busy sidewalk, or if you aren’t successful in returning the bird to its nest, place the bird in a shoebox or open paper bag without food or water and keep it in a quiet area until you can get to PHS/SPCA. We greatly appreciate your trip to our shelter because it allows our officers to focus on more difficult and dangerous work we don’t want residents handling on their own.