This column is provided as a public service by the Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, in cooperation with the UAF research community. Ned Rozell is a science writer at the institute.

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In early summer, baby birds throughout Alaska are taking that first wobbly step from the nest. Andrea Swingley of the Alaska Bird Observatory knows this time of year by the number of phone calls she receives from people who find baby birds on the ground. Swingley, the education coordinator at ABO, gives this advice—the birds don’t need our help.

“Most baby birds on the ground are just learning to fly,” she said. “They’re not very good at it at first. Some birds, like juncos, nest on the ground and might not have fallen at all.”

Parent birds are still caring for their young crash-landers, Swingley said. Baby birds on the ground may have flubbed a takeoff attempt, but adult birds will still bring food to them. The parent bird will often feed the youngster even after it learns to fly.

Swingley advises leaving baby birds alone. She encourages people to back off from a grounded bird and watch for its parents to dive down to feed it or ward off predators. If its nest is visible and the bird has fallen on a roadway or other dangerous area, Swingley recommends people pick the bird up place it back in the nest. The notion that human scent will make a mother bird reject its nestling is a myth.

“Most of these birds have a poor sense of smell,” she said.

If a nest isn’t around, Swingley suggests placing the baby bird on a nearby branch. Once perched, the bird will call for its parents with vigor.

While meaning well, people who try to raise a young bird on their own are violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1972. Worse, they almost always fall short of their goal, Swingley said. Raising a baby bird requires a constant stream of food to their beaks; even professional rehabilitators find the task difficult. If a person could somehow gather enough insects and other tidbits to satisfy a baby bird, something would still be missing.

“They’re not learning to be a bird,” Swingley said.

Even in the best conditions, life is tough for baby birds. Local chickadee expert Susan Sharbaugh said just one out of 10 chickadee fledglings survives to adulthood. If people want to do something for an injured bird or abandoned bird, Swingley suggests taking the bird to a local veterinarian or calling the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Fairbanks, 456-0341. She also said people should keep their cats indoors. In a University of Wisconsin study, scientists followed 30 farm cats with radio collars. Tallying up the cats’ hunting success, they estimated domestic Wisconsin cats kill about 19 million songbirds every year.

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