'Think Twice Before Trying To Rescue Baby Birds'

An animal rescue group says a major rise in the number of baby birds being delivered to its centre shows a welcome increase in interest in biodiversity, but it's calling on the public to hold off removing animals unless they are clearly in immediate danger.

Ahead of the nesting season, from April to September, the Wild Animal Rescue Centre at Kadoorie Farm and Botanical Garden urged people to consider taking simple steps to help keep baby birds safe instead of removing them from their environment or calling in the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

"We have seen a significant increase in baby birds delivered to the rescue centre over the last ten years," said Gary Ades, the head of the fauna conservation department at Kadoorie.

"As an example, in 2012, we received 92 baby birds in the centre and for the same period in 2022, we received 594 so there really is a significant increase.”

While Ades welcomes the public interest in helping injured and sick birds, he also noted that many healthy birds arrive at the centre because people mistakenly believe they are unwell. He said the public should always consult professionals before intervening.

He said baby birds are mischievous in their youth and can suffer fractures or other injuries when falling from the nest. Others end up straying too far from the nest and away from their parents, who they depend on for food.

Ades gave advice to people who find a bird they think may be in distress.

“One of the things that is very important of course, and I think this is why most members of the public would try to intervene in the first place, is because they think the bird is not safe." He said. "So if the bird is sitting in the middle of the pavement where there are joggers running around then obviously you want to do something.

“But it might not be necessary to call the SPCA to come and help because the bird might still be being fed by its parents.

"So the best thing to do is to make sure the bird is near some vegetation or placed up on a wall so that it isn’t in the danger zone. As long as the bird is placed in a safe area, you can then leave it and let the parents come back to looking after it.”

Commonly rescued species include the red-whiskered bulbul, spotted dove and Eurasian tree sparrow.