Peninsula Humane Society Offers Advice for Wildlife Encounters

A nest on the ground with eggs still in it. A featherless bird. A baby bird with its mother nowhere in sight.

Those are just a few of the wildlife encounters the Peninsula Humane Society wants to help local residents become familiar with this spring.

In preparation for the annual influx of newborn and fledgling wildlife residents will bring to the center, the Peninsula Humane Society is recruiting seasonal volunteers to help care for the babies.

The shelter is also hoping its guidelines can help residents better understand which animals need human intervention and which can be left alone.

The volunteer orientations for those interested in providing care for wildlife are:

• Saturday, April 13 (9-11am)
• Thursday, April 25 (6-8pm)
• Saturday, May 11 (9-11am)
• Thursday, May 30 (6-8pm)

To sign-up, contact Brian Probst at 650/340-7022, ext. 328 or bprobst@PHS-SPCA.org.

To help residents understand if they should provide care or leave developing wildlife alone, PHS/SPCA offers this advice (specific to baby birds, they most common animal found and rescued by citizens):

• A featherless, downy, or incompletely feathered bird needs human intervention.  If the bird appears uninjured, the best chance of survival is a return trip to the nest.  It is not true that mother birds will reject babies if they’ve been handled by humans.
• Residents who find a nest on the ground with babies or eggs should return it to a nearby tree. 
• If the featherless or downy-feathered baby appears injured or the nest cannot be located, note the exact location where the bird was found, place the bird in a small, covered box lined with tissue; keep it warm, dark and quiet and try to get it to PHS/SPCA as soon as possible (1450 Rollins Rd., Burlingame).Do not offer food or water. 
• A fully-feathered bird hopping on the ground does not require human intervention unless it is on a busy street or in a yard with pets that may injure it. This period of being on the ground is a normal, necessary part of a bird developing survival skills. The parents are around, feeding them, showing them where to look for food, and hiding them under bushes. Keep your dogs, cats and children away from the area for a few days.
• If you’ve already picked up the feathered bird, place it back where you found it or under a nearby bush.
• Fully feathered baby birds need human intervention when they are injured or in the middle of a busy street.  Place the bird in a small, covered box or paper bag to keep it warm, dark and quiet, and bring it to PHS/SPCA. Minimum contact reduces stress and increases any animal’s chances of survival. Do not offer food or water.

Each year, the Peninsula Humane Society receives about 4,000 to 4,500 live local wild animals from San Francisco through Northern Santa Clara County, with most arriving between March and August.

Some have illness or injuries, but the majority are very young, orphaned wildlife brought to the center by Good Samaritans who find them in apparent need of care in their yards and neighborhoods.

This inadvertent “kidnapping,” however, could be orphaning a bird that is being watched by parents. Before rushing to help, the humane society says to observe the bird from 30-50 feet away or from inside your home, if possible.

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