What can do you for a bird that’s injured or fallen from a nest?

If you encounter a large injured bird like a raptor, heron, egret, cormorant etc. anywhere in Maryland, please contact the Maryland Wildlife Rehabilitators association (MWRA; mrwawildlife.org) at the following numbers:

24 Hour Natural Resources Emergency or Assistance Telephone: 800-628-9944
Natural Resources Police 24 Hour Dispatch: 410-260-8888

For Montgomery County only, you can contact MWRA or the following rehabilitators:

Kathleen Handley
Second Chance Wildlife Center
Gaithersburg, MD
301-926-9453
MD MWR Permit# 55685
MD RVS Permit# 55686 (Bats only)
USFWS Permit# MB99586A-0
Mammals, Birds (Indigenous only), Bald Eagles, Reptiles, Amphibians, Bats

Lee Prouty
Rockville, MD
301-460-7468
MD MWR Permit# 55484
Waterfowl Conflict Issues & Rescues

Suzanne Shoemaker
Owlmoon Raptor Center
Boyds, MD
301-353-8947
MD MWR Permit# 55660
USFWS Permit# MB062767-0
Birds (Raptors only)

If you find a smaller bird that has been stunned after hitting a window, gently pick up the bird and place it on a paper towel in a brown paper bag. Close the bag to provide darkness and calm the bird and contact a Rehabilitator (Second Chance Wildlife Center, listed above).

If you find a young bird fallen from a nest, return the bird to the nest or close to the nest. The parent will find it. If you find a fallen nest with young birds in it, try to replace the nest close to its original position. You can make an acceptable nest from the small green carboard boxes used for fruits and vegetables, with small twigs to provide a support. The widely circulated notion that a parent bird will abandon its young if it has been touched by human hands is not true but it is better to wear gloves anyway.

After recommendations from Baltimore County Rehabilitator Kathleen Woods, Phoenix Wildlife Center, Phoenix MD, [email protected], 410-628-9736