Little Bird 😢🤍

Wherever you go in the world, you will see little birds. Whether at a busy train station in New York City, or a pristine tropical rainforest, there will be little birds. It is easy to find them; you have to wait a long time to see a raptor.

I have had people tell me that caring for little birds in wildlife rehabilitation/rescue is “tedious” and “boring.” Since the little guys are close to my heart, I simply cannot understand this attitude! They are intelligent, responsive to care, independent, and wonderful patients. They are made of air bubbles and toothpicks, but are so amazingly resilient and tough. Yes, feeding and cleaning a hundred little baby birds can be nerve-racking, hard work; but most certainly NOT boring!

The public has long had infatuation with large, eye-catching, charismatic raptorial species. It’s easy to appreciate eagles and cranes and pelicans. Anyone who works with these birds can tell you that routine care is just as tedious and boring as that for a sparrow, and cleaning hawk or pelican poop is not exactly a sexy job. You are much more likely to suffer severe injury from momentary loss of attention. They are not the brightest bulbs in the box. They often do not do well as patients. And release to the wild can be fraught with hazards and dangers of all sorts.

Little birds, even the humble House Finch, can easily live as long as the raptors. They are more intelligent, more adaptable, and better at problem solving. Little birds are the indicators of ecosystem health and impact the environment at a much higher level than the large predatory species. Little birds are biodiverse and INTERESTING. At an average wildlife care center, there may be about 10 common species of raptors that are admitted. How many species of small birds come in? Probably dozens. They are all so very different in husbandry requirements, housing, feeding, veterinary care, release criteria, habitat requirements…and so on. How will an injured Broad-billed Hummingbird differ from a Killdeer, or a Phainopepla, for instance? How could this possibly be BORING? And there is always more to learn!

And that is why… I love little birds!

Baby bird season in the northern hemisphere is fast approaching. Consider donating time, money, equipment or supplies to your local wildlife care center. You CAN make a huge difference, and make up for some tiny amount of the anthropogenic damage inflicted on the little ones.