If you have found an adult bird, follow these steps and contact your local wildlife rehabilitation facility
If you find an injured bird on the ground that seems unable to fly, and don’t know what to do, please call our hotline (416-366-3527) or use our social channels for the most expedient response. For assistance, we may need to know what kind of bird it is. If you can safely take a photo, please be prepared to share that as directed.
- Gently cup the injured bird in your hand and place it inside an unwaxed paper bag or a small cardboard box. After containing the bird, handle it as little as possible. Make sure that the bag or box is securely closed. If using a cardboard box, fold the lids shut and poke a few small holes in it.
- Scrunch clean tissues or a paper towel into a ball to serve as a perch for the bird to sit upright.
- Never give a bird food or water.
- If the bird recovers after one hour, you should hear it fluttering inside the bag or box. Take the bird to a wooded area far away from buildings. Point the bag/box in the direction of trees and slowly open the top and let the bird fly out.
- If the bird refuses to fly out of the bag or box, or shows visible signs of injury such as bleeding, swollen eyes, a damaged beak or broken bones, take it to your local wildlife rehabilitation facility
- If you feel the bird collided with a window, we encourage you to enter the report in the Global Bird Collision Mapper: birdmapper.org/app