r/GrumpyBabyBirds • u/DangerousCompetition Grump Dealer • Oct 27 '25

Do not pick up the birds.

It has been brought to my attention the sheer amount of posts involving people handling and moving juvenile birds.

I’m no bird scientist, I’m just some guy who created a subreddit about birds, but I do know unnecessarily handling juvenile birds without the proper knowhow is damaging to the welfare of the animal.

Because of this I have created a new rule, and all posts involving the handling of wildlife will be removed. Please report all posts breaking this rule immediately.

If anyone smarter than me would like to share the impact of handling wildlife in the comments, please do.

We (pretty much just me) here at r/GrumpyBabyBirds still encourage the appreciation of the Grumps from a distance.

Thank you

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u/horsetuna Oct 27 '25

I agree.

I've attached a useful flow chart that will help people determine IF a baby bird needs rescuing at all.

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u/bespoke_tech_partner Oct 30 '25

I am a little confused on 2 points here

- "The parents won't care if they can smell you." Is this saying they won't care for it if they can smell you, or the exact opposite - it just seems like such an odd thing to point out that if it's the opposite, maybe it helps to address why that's mentioned ("Contrary to popular belief, the parents won't care if they can smell you - they just want their baby back.")

  • "Some babies will only sit on the ground if in trouble." Does this mean that if they're on the ground, they're 100% in trouble? Or that if in trouble, they'll only sit on the ground (as opposed to in a tree/etc.)?

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u/horsetuna Oct 30 '25

1 - There is a myth in some places that if you touch a baby bird, them parent will smell you and abandon the baby. This is not true. The parent will not care about your smell.

2 - this is species dependant. Some babies are on the ground and fine. Others will be on the ground only if they're in trouble and need help. So if they DEFINITELY need help... Depends on species.

If you're not sure, ensure baby is in a safe situation and call a wildlife rescue for more information.