Native Bird Care

10/31/2026

Please! NEVER put a waterbird back on water that has been grounded. ALL must get assessed for injuries, emaciation and body condition, and hypothermia. In 18 years, I have never had a grebe come in that was able to be released same day, much less same week. They all have one or more of these issues: hypothermic, emaciated or thin, not waterproof, landing injuries.

Why? Because BIRDS DO NOT LAND ON ACCIDENT. They make emergency landings for a physical reason. This finder was advised to release this bird without even a temperature check or keel assessment. Just the picture tells us that this bird needs to have his legs and keel assessed for injuries given he crash landed on top of a bunch of pipes. No he didn't crawl up there, he physically couldn't have done that.

Poor physical condition is IMPOSSIBLE FOR A NOVICE to assess in the field, unless they have the tools and the medical training. A dry bird cannot be assessed for waterproofing.

Number one: keel assessment. It is hard to feel the front chest bone (keel) due to the depth and thickness of a Western grebe's feathers and down. A novice finder will not be able to assess this critical information. A sharp keel tells us the bird is emaciated and needs care.

Number two: temperature. Poor muscle mass, parasites, injury all lead to low body temperature and hypothermia. Hypothermia cannot be assessed only by intake temperature. It requires on water pool time as stress can temporarily raise the temp and give a false impression. A 4 hour float and then the temp tells us more.

Number three: waterproofing. Crash landing into dirt, parasites, poor body condition, poor preening, all lead to poor or no waterproofing. A bird that sits on the water 24/7 must have perfect feather condition. This test requires a minimum of a minimum 4 hour initial float. Looking at the bird tells us nothing if the bird is dry from being out of the water. They must have time to get soaked. A 100% 24-48 hour float is required for release.

Number four: injuries. Crash landing can cause foot sores, keel fractures, bill injuries, bruising, fractures, other injuries. These cannot be assessed by a novice. Filthy birds are injured birds because filthy feathers lead to impaired waterproofing.

Number five: disease, illness and internal conditions. Parasitic overload is a prime reason for poor body condition. At minimum, even temporary care should include worming. There are several conditions these birds come in with.

Birds are forced to migrate before they are physically ready for many reasons, but often is its lack of food and cold temperatures. Or perhaps they just never found enough food through their summer breeding. Or, as in our current Clark's grebe, they have a medical condition.

Central Oregon crash landing grebes are in migration. This means they have atrophied intestinal tracts and organs. They need specialized care to get everything going again, that is usually a minimum of 2-3 days of tube feeding. Best practices care means that at minimum, this along with some worming, should be offered. Then, a few days - depending on weight and temperature - of more tubing and fish offerings.

Release: International Bird Rescue and Bird Ally X, both waterbird experts and care centers, advise no less than 24-48 hours of 100% on water time for waterbirds prior to release. This tells us that they are 100% able to stay warm and feed on icy cold ocean or inland waters. In winter, this is imperative.

Waterbird care is a HUGE job - for us, it is a 15 hour day. We get that it is a lot of work. But, these birds are all in decline. Every one of them matters.

This poor Western grebe has little to no chance of surviving.

It takes specialized training to really know how to care for these complex birds. It also takes specialized facilities, like filtered, continual flow pool set ups and netted bottom enclosures. Plus, all the care knowledge that goes in rehabilitating these birds.

Native Bird Care is available to take any of these birds. We are happy to take referrals. We would have gone to Prineville for this bird.

10/25/2026

What food is best for our yard birds? Ripe, native sagebrush seed heads, for one. Bitterbrush and rabbitbrush are among the critical core native shrubs that make up Central Oregon's predominant ecosystem.

10/19/2026

New research and updated information.

Waking Up A Nighttime Hummingbird in Winter Can Be Fatal Rewarming is expensive. To become functional, the bird must generate heat through rapid muscle contractions ("shivering") and then warm...

10/16/2026

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10/15/2026

Wonderful article on the underappreciated pigeon. Whether these beautiful, sweet doves are "invasive" or wild is up for interpretation. They generally don't impact our native mourning doves, unlike collared doves, because they are urban and rarely compete for the same territory. They graciously clean up after slovenly humans, leaving our sidewalks clean. They entertain and offer beauty. We care for these birds when we can. Read up on their centuries-old relationship with us and open your heart to what they offer us still.

09/05/2026

Feathers are just really interesting. There is so much variation, not just the types on the body, but between bird species. This pygmy nuthatch's body feathers are so tiny and soft, they feel like they are down. Her entire body,minus wings and tail feel exquisitely soft. Yet, they are 100% waterproof! We don't think of waterproofing for songbirds but in fact the ability of the feather to repel water is necessary for their survival.

09/03/2026

Most healthy fledglings can fly, either fully or partially, unless the bird is a precocial species. Please understand that each species' developmental process is unique. No rules apply to all. It is simply scientifically untrue to say that all fledglings spend time on the ground and cannot fly. Using this false criterion to assess whether a downed young bird needs care risks harming the bird. Birds that fly fully (not that well, but have the physical ability and feathers to do so) are all cavity nesters, all aerial insectivores, all tiny songbirds (kinglets, little warblers, bushtits), thrushes (bluebirds), and woodpeckers, plus many more. Those that can flutter and partially fly include sparrows, finches, juncos, other thrushes, and doves, among others. Some get out onto the nest edge or in the branches around the nest ("branchers"), these include a variety of songbirds, including some thrushes and shrub-nesting species. Then there are the relatively few whose nest departure has them departing before any flutter or flight - Townsend's Solitaire and Black-headed Grosbeak, for example. Interestingly, the robin should be able to flutter and catch air if only for a short glide. Those that sit in the grass, huddled, nonmoving, and looking sad, are nestlings and should be rescued or renested (40 grams vs 70).

Notably, these 'rules' come from observational studies; they are not absolutes that apply to every region and every bird within a species. Nest departure can vary by location; for example, house finches leave the nest earlier in hotter locations, like AZ. But in Montana, they stay in the nest until they can fully fly. Regional differences can be significant. Nestlings face intense life-and-death issues in the nest. For fledglings, those risks increase exponentially. Early departure is often a death sentence and is caused by multiple human-caused and natural factors. Predators, parent loss, poor habitat/starvation, heat or cold, human disturbance, disease, ectoparasites, and other issues can force the young to leave the nest. Once on the ground, they face a gauntlet of life-threatening challenges.

Humans can do a lot to help fledglings. Learn species ID and then learn about them. Birds of the World is a clearinghouse where you can look up specific birds and learn the basics. For more information, go to the primary source studies. When we notice a bird in an odd location (baby on the ground), acting out of the norm (sitting listless, lethargic, shivering, not active), or know of a potential risk factor (cat, dog, raccoons, ravens), listen to your gut. There's no harm in checking it out.

The very first question, before even the species ID or age, should always be: Is the bird injured? What are the circumstances? What might have happened? Then, is the behavior normal for that species and its developmental stage? Age is irrelevant if the fledgling has hit a window (super common), been caught by a cat (also common), been forced into an early departure by predators ( #1 reason), the nest is overloaded with bot flies, ants, or mites, or if the young are starving, perhaps from losing one parent and being a species in which the male parent is a lackadaisacle feeder (bluebirds, Say's pheobe). I could go on. Read our Found a Bird page for more in-depth detail. Text a picture and ask for guidance from your local songbird rehabilitator. Follow your gut.

Found an injured bird, Found a baby bird, Wild bird rescue. Rescue for wild baby birds, songbirds, and other wild birds in Central Oregon. Specializing in baby birds.

06/27/2026

Did you know that birds have a very good sense of smell? In fact, some have extraordinary abilities in that department (seabirds, for example). There is an oft-quoted myth about birds being daft in the olfactory senses, but just the opposite is true. In V Abankwah's 2020 Literature Review of said subject, he cites studies spanning decades that point to this sensory ability of many birds, even songbirds. "...Although we know very little about odor detection
thresholds in birds, there is evidence that for certain odorants, detection thresholds in passerines are probably comparable with those of mammals, such as rabbits, rats (Clark, Avilova, & Bean, 1993), and possibly humans (Abraham, Sanchez-Moreno, Cometto-Muniz, & Cain, 2012)." Granted, there will be differences in the sniffing talents of species, "there is every reason to assume that for most species olfaction plays an important role in their day-to-day lives." Even the minuscule Zebra Finch has olfactory genes that are quite competent. But don't worry, parent birds won't leave their little munchkins to fend for themselves if you touch them, even though they will perceive our human fragrance. Most moms wouldn't. (It is notable that many birds are in fact vulnerable to our anthropogenic wafts, chemical or otherwise. We are wise to watch out if we have domesticated avians in our homes or use chemicals in our yards. Citation: Avian Olfaction: A Review of the Recent Literature, 2020. If you want a fun read, see Whittaker's The Secret Perfume of Birds: Uncovering the Science of Avian Scent. (Robin by Jane Tibbetts).

05/08/2026

Kill weeds, not juniper and sage.

Central Oregon is home to a remarkable forest and shrubland ecosystem shaped in part by western juniper, Juniperus occidentalis . These native trees are more than scenery. They are habitat...

05/07/2026

If you are peering down into a nest with your camera mere inches or even a couple of feet away from babies, YOU ARE WAY TOO CLOSE TO THE NEST! Your presence is both directly and indirectly harmful to babies. First, you are showing every predator, from mice to jays to raccoons, where the babies are. Factoid: Predators watch humans for clues as to where they might find the lunch buffet. You also risk the parents abandoning the babies due to increased predator activity, which, in their view, threatens their own lives. This effect is even more pronounced if you make repeated visits. Birds consider humans predators, btw, not some benevolent, benign being. Our sight, our smell, our sounds - all are threats. Finally, babies and adults will push to leave a nest that has been discovered and visited SOONER than would occur naturally, resulting in early nest departure, which is a direct risk to babies' survival. The safety of our birds should take precedence over picture-taking. And, IDing these birds does NOTHING to help birds or their babies. In fact, one could easily argue that the increased popularity of bird watching and photography has increased the threats to birds. (photo by T Nieves on Baby Bird identification FB page).