Welcome - SpottyBird

Making a difference

SpottyBird is a registered NPC for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Preservation.

We advise the public on what to do when they have found an injured, young or compromised animal and who to contact or where to take the animal to, should it need medical intervention.

Our new wildlife rehabilitation center and permit applications are in process, thus in the meantime we help stabilize compromised wildlife and ensure that they are taken through to a registered and permitted wildlife rehabilitation facility.

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Need help?

Have you found an animal that needs help, and you’re not sure what to do? Take a look at the following guidelines on what to do next

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Find out more about who we are and how SpottyBird plans to help our urban wildlife succeed in their environment

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FAQ’s

Have a look at some of the most frequently asked questions. Chances are, there’s an answer that you are looking for

Well, firstly, one needs to know exactly what type of animal it is, what its nutritional requirements are, how to correctly feed it and what to feed it, what environment to provide for it when growing up and how to raise it so that it grows up into a healthy animal that can survive, fend for itself and reproduce in the wild. And if you are still not convinced, then there’s the simple fact that you need permits to keep any indigenous wildlife, and that is why you cannot raise it yourself.

In most cases wild birds that are kept temporarily in a box, cage or container are too stressed to drink water and tend to knock the water bowls or dishes over. So rather don’t put water in for the bird until you get guidance from a qualified rehabilitator.

That is an absolute NO! Both ProNutro and Futurelife (or any other similar human porridge) has not been formulated to meet the nutritional requirements of birds, and therefore will lead to nutritional deficiencies and metabolic bone disease if fed to birds. There are much better alternatives to temporarily feed a bird, so the best is to chat to an experienced rehabilitator to see what you can feed in the meantime.
Remember that a bird’s diet is a crucial component in the rehabilitation process, and the wrong diet can result in permanent damage and can render the bird non-releasable.

Well, that depends on the species of bird that you’ve found, and the current health status of the bird. If a bird is dehydrated, feeding it will just make everything worse. So before you try to feed anything, rather contact us so that we can guide you through what is best for the specific bird that you’ve found.

That depends on the species or type of bird that you’ve found, the age or size of the bird and the current health status – dehydrated, responsive, diseased, stressed etc. So rather first consult an experienced rehabilitator before trying to feed a baby bird anything.

Feeding a bird that can’t or refuses to eat on their own can be very tricky, especially if it is a non-cooperative adult bird. The biggest problems that we see with people trying to feed reluctant birds, are aspiration (food or water ending up in the lungs) or fractured mandibles (breaking the beak due to forcing it open). We therefore strongly advise against trying to give a bird food or water until you’ve spoken to an experienced rehabilitator.

There are many boxes that need to be ticked before a baby bird can be released, with the knowing that he will be fine in the wild. We look at the general health of the bird, its fitness, its ability to crack seeds or hunt, the feather condition and if they are waterproof, the social requirements and the environment that it is going to be released in – to name but a few. If any of these are not optimal, it decreases the chances of a successful release and life in the wild, and all the effort put in to try and help the bird is in vain. So rather leave it up to the rehabilitation centers to determine when a bird is ready to be released.

It’s true that some birds need to launch from a height in order to fly, but no bird deserves to be thrown into the air to fly. If you want to release a bird and it needs to be from a height, then rather let it sit on your hands with arms stretched out or hang from a height and take off at its own time. The action of ‘throwing’ the bird might be very stressful to the bird and might disorientate it, or even cause injuries. So do the kind thing and allow the bird to launch at its own time. If it doesn’t want to fly, then there might be something wrong with it. The best would be to first consult with a rehabilitator before letting a bird go.

In short: NO

Here is why: Mammals have mammary glands that produce milk to raise their young and the babies have the necessary enzymes to digest the milk produced by the mother. Birds don’t produce milk like mammals do, so they don’t have the enzymes to digest milk. So no, you can not give milk to a bird.

Many people like to give cheese to birds as a treat, but remember cheese is not a natural product that they would find in the wild, and some cheeses are higher in lactose than others – which can cause digestive upsets in birds because they don’t have the proper enzymes to digest the lactose. So if you are insisting on feeding cheese to birds, make sure it’s a hard, low-lactose, non-moldy cheese with no added flavorings and feed it sparingly. Birds are small in stature, so the quantity of cheese fed should be kept to a minimum.

Fresh Bone meal or “pets’ mince” (not the dried version that is used as a fertilizer) is another unnatural product that people love to add to their bird feeders. Birds might like it, but is it really that good for them? The most common form of fresh bone meal is the grindings from the band saw which cuts all kinds of fresh and frozen meat- beef, pork, lamb, chicken and offal. This mixture can get rancid very quickly because of the high animal fat content, and it’s a magnet for flies!! So, if you insist on feeding bone meal, make sure it is very fresh, use only very small quantities and remove any leftovers after a few hours – and remember to clean your feeder after each meal!

In some species it is easy to see the difference between male or female birds, especially when they are adults, but in the majority of songbirds or garden birds one will only know the difference with DNA testing. As much as we (as humans) sometimes want to know if we should call a bird a him, or her, it doesn’t really matter much to the bird itself, as long as they get the help they need.

We can actually tell a lot by just looking at a photo or short video of a bird or animal. Firstly (and probably most importantly) we can correctly identify the species. We can also see its size or approximate age, and by looking at its demeanor we can get an idea if its injured or badly dehydrated. All of this info will help us to give you the right advice for that specific animal that you have found.

The milk formula suitable for a baby bat depends on the species of bat found. So before you try and give any milk, rather contact an experienced rehabilitator to confirm what milk formula is best suited for the bat that you’ve found. Cow’s milk is not suitable for any of our bat species and leads to digestive disorders and ultimately death. So please, don’t feed cow’s milk.

Cow’s milk is not suitable for baby rats or mice as it causes bloating and digestive upsets. The best is to contact an experienced rehabilitator to see what milk would be most suitable for the pup that you’ve found.

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Protect our Wildlife and Their Environment