Frequently Asked Bird Questions

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Ever wonder what to do about a woodpecker pecking on your house? Or what you should do if you find a baby bird? We've compiled some helpful answers to some of the most common questions about birds.

Q: I found an injured/sick bird. What should I do?
Although your initial reaction might be to help the bird, you should exercise extreme caution. Wild birds are protected by state and federal law and it is against the law to possess them. If the animal is a bird of prey, its talons are capable of exerting enough pressure to puncture skin and muscle, even through cloth and thin leather. Great care must be exercised when handling raptors and usually this is best left to licensed wildlife rehabilitators.

All other bird species, even if they’re not birds of prey, should be approached with the same degree of vigilance. Herons and Egrets, for example, possess long pointed bills to snatch fish from water and when confronted by a predator they will strike toward the eyes of a perceived enemy. They use their long sharp bills as defensive weapons not because they are mean, nasty animals, but because they are scared and protecting themselves. This is why it is prudent, if you find an injured or sick bird, that you contact the closest wildlife rehabilitator center before you attempt to help the bird. Remember that permits are required in order to legally handle or keep wild birds.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission maintains a list of wildlife rehabilitators in your area. Please keep in mind that wildlife rehabilitators take care of wild injured and orphaned birds out of their own pocket, and all of them are in dire need of donations. These unpaid volunteers are not required to come pick up a bird and they do not work for Audubon or Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Arkansas’s rehabbers are often stretched to the limit and cannot be expected to drop everything to pick up an injured bird.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology offers helpful tips for people who find sick birds at their feeder.

Q: I found a baby bird that must have fallen out of the nest. What should I do?
The first step is to determine the bird’s age. While many people assume a feathered bird that cannot fly has ‘fallen from the nest’, this may not be true. Many kinds of birds such as American Robins continue to care for their young once they leave the nest and before they fly well. If a bird has feathers and is able to hop around on the ground, it is likely a fledgling and its parents are probably nearby. Spend some time (even up to an hour) watching for the bird’s parents. It is ALWAYS best to leave offspring with their parents if it is at all possible. If you think it is a fledgling, leave the bird alone. However, if you are concerned about the bird’s safety, evaluate the situation and decide what is best for the bird. Placing a bird up in a shrub or in a safer spot very nearby may be the best option. Touching a bird will not cause parents to abandon it. Please keep pets and children away from the bird while it tries out its flight skills!

If the bird is naked, has very few feathers, or has its eyes closed, it is likely a nestling. If possible, try to locate the nest by looking in nearby shrubs, trees, or potted plants. Returning the nestling to its nest is by far the best solution. Many people believe that once humans touch a bird, the parents will not take care of it. Most birds have a very poorly developed sense of smell, and they will not reject their young if you handle them. They have invested a great deal of time and energy in their offspring!

Sometimes nests are destroyed in bad weather or by predators. At times, putting nestlings back into a nest is impossible because it is too high. Again, the best scenario is to try and leave these nestlings under the care of their parents. One option is to create a make-shift nest with a plastic butter tub (with holes punched in the bottom to drain water) or a berry basket. If the nest is still intact, place the nest in the basket or tub and replace babies. If the nest is gone, line the new ‘nest’ with dry paper towels and put young inside. Use wire to place the nest as close to the old nest as possible in a tree or in a shrub and try to give it some cover to avoid sunlight and rain. Watch to see if parents relocate the young in the new nest you have created.

While it is better to let nature take its course, a last resort measure is to contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator to take care of a young or injured bird until it is ready for release. Bird rehabilitators are required to have a federal permit to take care of birds. Migratory birds are protected, and it is against the law to possess eggs, birds, nests, or feathers without a permit. Additionally, trying to hand raise a baby bird is an incredible task, and requires a great deal of time, effort, and specialized information. Please do NOT attempt to raise a baby bird yourself. Keep in mind that rehabilitators are volunteers and do not have any obligation to take on caring for a baby or injured bird.

See the baby bird information sheet at the bottom of this page.

Q: How can I keep birds from flying into my windows?
Sadly, an estimated one hundred million to one billion birds crash into windows every year in North America. These collisions are often fatal and are caused by birds seeing reflections of trees and shrubbery from outside. Fortunately, FLAP (Fatal Light Awareness Program) offers helpful tips about how to discourage birds away from your windows. Audubon recommends hanging a sun catcher or draperies over windows to reduce reflection. It’s become popular to place silhouettes in windows to ward off birds, but studies have not proven this to be an effective deterrent, especially after birds acclimate to the static image.

If you have bird feeders around your house, place them close to windows instead of far away so that approaching birds are already slowing their speed in order to perch on the feeder. If possible, in advance to the construction of your home or other buildings, design windows that are installed at an angle that is directed downward. The glass won’t reflect the woods and landscape from outside, and the design won’t impede your ability to look out the window. If you’re interested in not only saving birds, but also in reducing your energy bill, you can apply a thin opaque film to the surface of the windows that prevents infrared radiation from coming through the glass. The film is only slightly visible, but its reduction in heat entering your home can dramatically cut cooling costs.

Birds that are defending nesting territory around your home, including bluebirds, cardinals and flycatchers, might also see their reflection on glass and misinterpret the image as another bird invading their territory. Seeing their image prompts some birds to do battle against themselves, banging and flapping against the glass for minutes and even hours on end; much to our dismay. The solution to this is to construct something that takes away the reflective nature of glass, including window screen.

Q: What can I do about woodpeckers pecking my house?
Male woodpeckers sometimes pound on a chimney, gutters, window shutters, and any other hard, loud and resonating object on the outside of a home to advertise their territory. Unfortunately, early morning is often the male woodpecker’s favorite time to do this and he’ll select a drumming site based in part on how well the sound carries. This territorial behavior is mostly conducted during courtship and nesting and is a way for the bird to proclaim, “Hey, this is my turf!”

If a woodpecker is causing physical damage to walls and siding it may not be from territorial pronouncements but rather because there are insects in the wood that the woodpecker is trying to extract, including carpenter bees, ants, and termites. Woodpeckers rarely damage wood if they are using it to make a resonating sound.

If a woodpecker is chiseling a building in pursuit of food the remedy is to remove the food source and repair the damage. Once the food is removed the woodpecker will likely not return. If the woodpecker’s activity is territorial you can try draping plastic, aluminum foil, or netting over the area. Hanging pie pans and balloons may also scare away the bird. Non-moving objects such as scarecrows and silhouettes may work initially, but birds quickly acclimate to their presence.

Q: I used to have lots of hummingbirds at my feeder, but I don't see them now. Where have all the hummingbirds gone?
What time of year is it? Ruby-throated Hummingbirds occur in the state from about the second week of March through the second week of November. During spring migration, especially April and May, you can expect dozens of individuals at your feeder as they move north across the state. After spring migration, a smaller number remain to breed. When females begin breeding they turn to insects and spiders, not nectar, to provide the protein they need to produce and raise young. They also turn to their preferred natural nectar sources in the form of abundant wildflowers available in the summer. In July, they finish nesting and once again begin regularly visiting feeders. In August and September, fall migration brings an influx of birds from the north. The stream eventually thins out and ends by November.

Other factors can affect the number of hummingbirds you have. Be sure your feeder is clean and the water is fresh. Sugar water shouldn't sit for more than three days, and needs to be changed more often in the heat of summer. Don't use red food coloring, it is not healthy for birds; red plastic parts of the feeder are sufficient for attracting them. Plant red tubular native wildflowers and provide trees as nesting places to increase the likelihood of hosting hummers. In addition, cut down on pesticide use to increase the population of insects that hummingbirds and other birds eat. Consistency helps too; the more years you've been offering food (sugar water and flowers) the more likely you are to have hummers. Location plays a role; rural yards may have more hummingbirds than very urban yards, especially during the nesting season. Finally, bird populations naturally fluctuate and individuals change locations. You may not have any birds while someone across town has many; or you may have a hummingbird nesting in your yard one year but not the next year. Be patient and they will return.

Q: What is that bird that is singing at night? It's driving me crazy!
Male Northern Mockingbirds will sing at night while their mate is sitting on eggs and he usually stops as soon as the eggs hatch. The reason he does this is not fully understood, but it may have to do with pair-bonding and territorial display. It may also be related to bright street and house lights that fool the bird into thinking it is still daylight; turning off lights may quiet the bird. The Northern Bobwhite (Quail) and Eastern Screech-Owl may also be heard calling at night but their singing is usually not as persistent or as varied as the mockingbird.

Two other nighttime singers include the Whip-poor-will and Chuck-will’s-widow; insect-eating members of the nightjar family that sing to proclaim territory and maintain pair-bonds with a mate.

Other nightly singers include a host of frogs and toads, along with many kinds of crickets and their kin. While the din some of these animals produce may be annoying, imagine how frustrating our domestic noises are to wildlife; from bustling trucks and cars to raucous outdoor sporting and music events. While this is no consolation, it does underscore the old adage: One animal’s concert is another’s cacophony.

Q: I found a live/dead bird with a band on it. Do I need to report it?
It’s important to report banded birds, but it’s not required by law. Record the number of bands, any numbers inscribed on the band, the color and order of each band, and which legs the bands are located upon. Send the information to the Bird Banding Lab's website or by calling 1-800-327-BAND.

If the bird is dead, leave the bird where you found it after recording the information. If you see bands on a live bird, try to use a spotting scope or binoculars to figure out the species and to determine its unique color sequence, band numbers, and location of bands

If you’re unsure of what species you’ve found, consult a field guide such as the Sibley Field Guide to Birds or a reliable web site such as Cornell’s Online Bird Guide; which is an enormous online database of bird information.

If you find a banded pigeon, contact the American Racing Pigeon Union to connect a lost bird to its owner.

Q: I think I’ve spotted a rare bird in my yard. How can I be sure it is a rare bird? Should I contact somebody even if I’m not sure?
Look in a field guide such as the Sibley Field Guide to Birds so you can properly identify the species. If you are unable to identify the bird using a field guide, try finding it via Birds of Arkansas, or Cornell’s Online Bird Guide. If your online search proves fruitless, experts at your local Audubon office will be happy to help you. If you are able to take a photo of the bird and send it to our staff, that always makes bird identification much easier.

Q: A development is planned for some nearby woods, and I know it’s going to harm the birds. What should I do?
Try to have a friendly, but informative, conversation with the developer about what birds and wildlife might be on the property. Do not trespass even for the sake of birds. It’s important to contact the developer before construction begins. Before construction begins, you might be able to convince the developer to consider minimal and low impact development practices including clearing vegetation on a lot by lot basis, beginning with house and driveway footprint areas only. This process of clearing land is highly selective; it only removes vegetation that’s required for construction; sort of a “first do no harm approach.”

If plans are to extensively develop the land for marketing purposes, you can share statistics with the developer that show how it is more economical to develop in an environmentally friendly way than it is to clear land and later be forced to pay a landscaper to redesign and replant vegetation. Be sure to narrate the natural history of the land to the developer, while providing good ideas for land use practices that will help sustain the natural quality of the land and work with the developer’s corporate goals. Also, don’t underestimate your influence at the city and county levels. Attend city council and county commission meetings to make sure developments are being built in an environmentally sensitive manner. Most Audubon Chapters are involved in efforts to help protect natural resources in their area.

Q: Where can I learn more about Eastern Bluebirds or Purple Martins?
The North American Bluebird Society has a wonderful website with a wealth of information about bluebird ecology and conservation and how to attract these lovely birds to your property.

The Purple Martin Conservation Association has an excellent website with a wealth of information about attracting and maintaining a martin colony.

Q: I have a question that is not on this list! Can you help?

Check out National Audubon's Audubon at Home program, which has lots of helpful information, including:

Another list of FAQs
How to maintain a wildlife and bird-friendly yard
How to create a wildlife-friendly neighborhood

Also, check out the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's FAQ page.

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