A helping hand for young birds

Sometimes young birds may need assistance from human helpers, but at other times they're better off left alone. Here's some advice from the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota:

A tiny, featherless bird or one with fluffy, downy feathers shouldn't be out of the nest. If you find such a youngster, carefully pick it up and place it back in its nest. Parent birds' primary instinct is to raise their young and won't reject it after such handling.

Larger, fully feathered young birds often leave the nest before they're able to fly -- there's not enough nest room for them to develop their flight feathers. These need from five to seven days of hopping around and being fed by parents before they can take off.

Leave fledgling birds alone. They're healthy and survive well on their own. But keep your cat (and dog) indoors at this precarious time.

Call the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, 651-486-9453, with any questions about young birds.