Baby Birds falling from nest .. a guide to saving them

Yvonne Neighbourly Lead from Casebrook

The Leads Forum is a place where ideas for posting to our neighbourhoods are offered. This one from a North Island Lead:

Hi all, as it's spring, people are seeing young birds leaving their nests. Sometimes people 'rescue' a young bird that's actually fine and doesn't need help, and other times people may find a bird that needs help urgently. Here are some tips you may like to post in your area:
1. First - check if the bird does actually does need to be rescued. If it's got feathers, don't try to rescue it - it's a fledgling and its parents will probably be nearby. Watch from a distance to make sure a parent is close and there are no predators in the area. If there are predators, put the young bird high up in a tree or tall shrub and shoo the predator away if you can.
2. If the young bird has no feathers, put it back in its nest if possible. If you can't put it back in its nest, it needs help ASAP as it will die from exposure otherwise. If it does have feathers but there's no sign of parents nearby after you've watched it for some time, it also needs help.
IF YOU RESCUE A BIRD
The #1 advice for rescued birds is to keep them warm. Birds feel the cold a lot more than people do - a mild day for humans can be freezing for birds.
--- Put it in a shoe box or similar, with an old t-shirt/soft cloth that's loosely bunched up so it can burrow inside and 'nest' (avoid towels or anything their claws may get tangled with).
--- Fill a hot water bottle or a soft drink bottle with hot water from the hot water tap - NOT boiling, but as hot as possible from the tap. Put it outside the box and rest it against one edge of the box. This acts like a little heater and the bird inside the box can get as close as it wants to the warmth.
Get it to a rescue centre as soon as possible - this site has good information and lists bird rescue centres: birdrescue.org.nz...