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 try our hotline at 416-366-3527. To best assist you, 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. Keep in mind that we monitor messages 7 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday. We also monitor messages on weekends during bird migration seasons (March to June and August to November).
- If possible, assign someone to watch over the bird as you go to find something to contain it (step 2). Window collision victims are extremely vulnerable to predators and pedestrian traffic. A guardian can keep the bird safe until you return with a suitable container.
- Find an unwaxed paper bag or a small cardboard box. If using a cardboard box, poke a few small holes in it. Scrunch up a clean tissue or a paper towel to serve as something soft for the bird to grasp.
- Gently cup the injured bird in your hand and place it inside the bag or box. Make sure that the bag or box is securely closed. After containing the bird, handle it as little as possible.
- 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