Songbirds and Small Birds: Coexisting with Wildlife

About San Diego's Songbirds

• There are more than 100 species of small birds and songbirds in San Diego County.
• Some of the most common calls Project Wildlife receives are about house sparrows, house finches and starlings.
• Starlings and house sparrows are not native and are not protected under the Migratory Bird Act.

Find more information specifically for pigeons, doves, raptors, crows, ravens, sea birds and ducks. 

For step by step guidance about what to do if you find an injured or orphaned songbird, consult our Wildlife Help Hub!

Birds need to be rescued if they are:

• Injured.
• Caught by a cat or dog.
• Cold to the touch.
• Naked (no feathers).
• Orphaned (see below).

When does a baby bird need to come to Project Wildlife?

1. The parents are known to be dead.
2. The baby bird has no feathers and the nest can’t be found.
3. The bird has fallen from a very high nest that can’t be reached.
4. The baby bird is injured.
5. The baby bird is caught by cat, dog or other animal.
6. The baby bird was brought from somewhere unknown.

When does an adult bird need to come to Project Wildlife?

1. The bird is injured (falling to their side, bleeding or has an injured wing).
2. Caught by cat or dog.
3. The bird is staying in the same spot and not moving when approached.

Symptoms of a bird injury or illness:

• Seen attacked by cat or dog.
• Bleeding or injured.
• Falling over on one side.
• Wing tweaked upward or drooping.
• Weak or shivering.

Orphaned Baby Songbirds

If a young bird is uninjured and has some feathers, put them up in a nearby tree in a makeshift nest, such as a berry basket, plastic margarine cup or shoe box lined with shredded tissue. The parents have no sense of smell and will not know a person has touched the baby.

Stand back some distance and watch to make sure the parents return. The parents will come feed the baby if they are not frightened by the presence of people. However, the parents only stop by to feed the baby, so the nest should be watched closely for up to one hour.

If shortly after putting the young bird back in a nest, they jump back out, then they have likely fledged and will be fed by their parents on the ground. Fledgling birds are learning to fly, and will flutter around and hide under bushes, while the parents watch and gather food. If you see any parent bird nearby, please leave fledgling birds where they are.

If the bird runs around and is chick-like (covered with short fuzzy down) they may be a baby quail or killdeer. These birds nest on the ground, and the parents fly off when people come near. Leave the immediate area and watch to see if a parent will come back. (You may have to wait up to one hour).

The bird needs help and should be brought to Project Wildlife if:

• The parents are known to be dead.
• The bird is newly hatched and the nest and nest mates are out of reach.
• The bird has fallen from a very high nest.
• Attaching a substitute nest high on a tree trunk failed to attract the parents. (Note: A shoe box or small margarine cup can be duct-taped or nailed to the tree trunk).
• The bird is injured.
• A pet or a child has brought the bird from places unknown.

If the bird is injured, or has no feathers, it is very important to keep it warm. Use a heating pad set on low or a low wattage light source.

If the bird is uninjured, parents will come feed them after people leave.

• If someone has picked up a healthy baby bird or a nest-full of babies and has kept it for a day or two, they can still try returning them to the nest site.
• Parent birds have home territories and, even if the nest and babies are gone, the parents remain there searching for their babies and will sometimes resume feeding them after an absence of one or two days.

Food & Water

All young birds need special diets, formulas, and/or feeding techniques. It is in the bird’s best interest to get to us as soon as possible. Immediately feeding a dehydrated or sick bird can cause even greater health problems. Please only feed baby birds if it is impossible to get them to a rehabber within a few hours of finding them.

Coexisting with Songbirds:

Most people enjoy watching songbirds. They are frequent visitors to bird feeders throughout the year, particularly if stocked with sunflower or nyjer seed and will congregate at hanging nyjer sock feeders.

How to help them

• Do not place finch feeders near a window. Although beautiful to watch, finches may fly to the feeder reflected in the window and injure themselves on the glass.
• Keep your pet cat indoors if you have finches in your yard. Due to their tiny size, finches are easy prey to an agile cat.
• Babies who fall from nests can be put back in, parent house finches will take care of their healthy babies, even if put into the wrong nest!