Spotting a baby hawk on the ground can feel alarming — your instinct is to scoop it up and help. But acting too quickly, or in the wrong way, can actually do more harm than good for the bird.
Hawks are protected under federal law in the United States, which means how you respond matters both for the bird’s survival and your own legal standing. The good news is that most baby hawks you encounter don’t need your intervention at all — and when they do, the right steps are simple and straightforward.
This guide walks you through exactly what to do when you find a baby hawk, from figuring out whether it actually needs help to safely getting it into the right hands.
Is the Baby Hawk Actually Orphaned or Just Alone?
The first and most important thing to do when you find a baby hawk is to pause before touching anything. If a young animal isn’t visibly injured, its parents are likely nearby and still caring for it. What looks like abandonment is often just normal hawk behavior.
To understand whether the bird needs help, you first need to figure out what stage of development it’s in. There are two key types to recognize:
- Nestlings — If you find a downy or partially feathered baby that lies on its belly rather than stands, you have probably found a nestling, a bird that is too young to be out of the nest.
- Fledglings (also called “branchers”) — If you find a fully feathered baby raptor hopping around on the ground, it is safe to assume that it is a “brancher.” Birds at this age frequently fall when they climb out of the nest and onto branches while they practice flapping their wings. Sometimes branchers will climb back up the nest tree or hop onto nearby branches.
In most cases, a fledgling hawk on the ground is doing exactly what it’s supposed to do. If the bird is hopping around on the ground and has feathers, it’s a fledgling and you should leave it alone. This is a common sight during the spring months when fledglings are learning to fly and are still being cared for by their parents. Likely, the parents are close by watching and helping teach them to fly and get back into the nest.
A nestling is a different story. If the bird does not have any feathers, or just a few, it’s a nestling. In this case, carefully help the nestling back into the nest. It’s a misconception that the parent will reject the baby from your smell by touching it.
Pro Tip: If you’re unsure whether a parent hawk is still around, step back at least 100 feet and watch quietly for 30–60 minutes. If you find a baby bird or animal, do not touch or remove it unless you are absolutely sure that it is an orphan. If you are not sure if the animal is orphaned, watch it from a distance so that the parents will not be afraid to return.
You can also learn more about the wide variety of baby animal names — including what a baby hawk is actually called — to better understand the life stages you’re observing.
One more thing to check: make sure you’re actually looking at a baby hawk. Baby raptors (owls, hawks, eagles, and falcons) are covered in white or grey fluffy down feathers. As they get older, their mature feathers start to come in through the down. Baby pigeons are often confused for baby raptors, because of their big curved beak and large feet. Pigeons’ colors vary a lot, but most of them have pinkish, reddish, or dark-colored feet. The feet of baby raptors are usually yellow or light-colored.
Signs a Baby Hawk Needs Immediate Help
Once you’ve confirmed you’re looking at a baby hawk and not a fledgling doing its normal thing, scan for clear signs that the bird genuinely needs intervention. Don’t rely on gut feeling alone — look for specific physical indicators.
Most of the time, the best thing to do is to leave the animal alone, but you’ll know a wild animal needs help if it has a visible broken limb, is bleeding, shivering, or has a deceased parent nearby.
For baby hawks specifically, watch for these warning signs:
- The bird is featherless or has its eyes closed and is on the ground with no nest visible above
- There is visible bleeding, a drooping wing, or an obviously broken limb
- The bird is shivering, lethargic, or unresponsive
- You can see external parasites such as maggots or flies on the bird
- A cat or dog has had the bird in its mouth — even briefly
- A parent hawk is confirmed dead nearby
Important Note: A young bird that has been touched by a cat needs to be brought to a wildlife rehabilitator right away for evaluation and treatment with antibiotics. Tiny puncture wounds caused by cat teeth may not be obvious, and the bacteria in a cat’s mouth can result in life-threatening infections within 24 hours.
If you find a baby bird, it likely does not need your help unless it is featherless or has its eyes closed. A hawk that is alert, standing upright, and calling loudly is usually in much better shape than it appears. Fledglings are fully feathered but cannot yet fly well. These young birds are often seen on or near the ground calling loudly for their parents to bring them food, hopping around on the ground, or making short, awkward flights. The parents will care for fledglings until they can fly well and feed themselves.
Hawks are also part of a broader ecosystem of wild animals found across North America, and understanding local wildlife behavior can help you make more informed decisions when you encounter a bird like this.
What to Do Before You Touch a Baby Hawk
If you’ve determined the bird does need help, resist the urge to immediately pick it up. A few preparatory steps will protect both you and the hawk.
First, secure the surrounding environment. You should NOT touch the raptor unless absolutely necessary. Ensure that it is safe from cars, cats, dogs, and other people. If the bird is near a road or in immediate danger, you may need to move it — but do so only if truly necessary, and move it as short a distance as possible.
Next, protect yourself before making any contact. Protect yourself from sharp beaks and talons. You should always wear safety glasses and gloves. For small raptors, we recommend wearing wrist-length leather gloves; for medium-sized raptors we recommend mid-arm length welder’s gloves.
Pro Tip: Even a seriously injured raptor is potentially dangerous. Wild birds do not understand that we are trying to help and will defend themselves. They are quite unpredictable, and you should be especially aware of their sharp beak and talons.
When you’re ready to approach, move slowly and calmly. Approach it slowly with a towel or blanket depending on the size of the raptor. Make sure the blanket is hiding your face as you approach. This reduces the bird’s stress and makes it less likely to injure itself trying to escape.
Also keep in mind that hawks are predators — they eat meat, not seeds or berries. If you’re curious about what different wild animals eat, you might find it interesting to compare hawks with other animals like those that feed on nectar or animals that eat mealworms, which highlights just how specialized a hawk’s diet really is.
Do not attempt to feed the bird before calling a professional. You should always contact a rehabilitator before attempting to help injured wildlife to prevent injuring yourself or the animal. Wild animals need specific diets, and if they are dehydrated they will need to be rehydrated by a rehabilitator before eating solid foods.
How to Safely Contain a Baby Hawk
If the baby hawk needs to be contained while you arrange for professional care, doing it correctly is critical. The goal is to keep the bird calm, warm, and secure — not to treat or comfort it.
To keep the baby safe while you figure out how to help them, put them in a small cardboard box with a soft towel or t-shirt. For larger baby hawks, use a laundry basket or cardboard box. Fill the make-shift nest with grass, leaves, pine needles or something soft, like tissues or grasses (no cloth).
Here’s a step-by-step approach to safe containment:
- Prepare your container first — Use a cardboard box or plastic tote with ventilation holes punched in the sides before the bird is placed inside.
- Cover the bird with a towel — Gently cover the entire bird with the towel or blanket, pin its wings to its body, lift it, and gently place it in a prepared transport container. Remove the towel or blanket as you let go.
- Add a heat source — Even on a warm day babies can get cold, so give them a heat source: a clean sock filled with dry, uncooked rice and microwaved for one minute, a plastic bottle from the recycling bin filled with hot tap water wrapped in a face cloth or tea towel, or an electric heating pad set to “LOW” placed under half the box.
- Keep the environment dark and quiet — Provide it with a dark, quiet, calm, warm environment until the bird can be transferred. Darkness has a calming effect on birds. Extra care should be taken to keep the bird away from children and pets.
- Do not give food or water — Don’t give it any food or water until you have spoken to a rehabilitator.
Common Mistake: Transport a raptor in a plastic dog or cat kennel, or in a sturdy cardboard box with the top closed. Avoid bird or wire cages, as these can cause feather and soft tissue damage.
The carrier should have plenty of ventilation holes and should only be slightly larger than the size of the bird. The less room an injured bird has to move around, the less likely it is to cause more injury to itself.
Once the bird is contained, keep it somewhere quiet and away from household activity. Do not keep a raptor any longer than is necessary before transferring it to a veterinary professional, raptor rehabilitator, or state/federal wildlife representative. Do not make any stops during transport.
Who to Call When You Find a Baby Hawk
Getting the right people involved quickly is the single most important thing you can do for a baby hawk in need. If an animal truly needs help, you’ll need to find a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. Finding a location that can handle the species you’ve found is key. Always call ahead and make arrangements before transporting an animal.
Here are the key contacts to try, in order of priority:
| Contact | When to Use | How to Find Them |
|---|---|---|
| Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator | First choice for any baby hawk situation | Search “wildlife rehabilitator near me” or check your state wildlife agency’s website |
| U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | Legal questions or if no rehabilitator is available | fws.gov |
| State Wildlife Agency | Permits, enforcement, or local referrals | Search “[your state] department of wildlife resources” |
| Local Animal Control | If no other contact is reachable | Call your local non-emergency police line for the number |
| Raptor Rehabilitation Center | Specialized care for hawks and other birds of prey | Search “[your city] raptor rehabilitation center” or visit wildliferehabilitators.org |
Many state conservation agencies keep a list of licensed rehabilitators on their websites. Try doing a web search for “wildlife rehabilitator near me” and you should find some resources.
It’s also worth knowing the legal context. Hawks are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. The law makes it illegal to possess, hunt, capture, kill, or sell migratory birds (including nests, feathers, and eggs) without proper authorization. It covers over 1,000 species, including familiar birds like cardinals, hawks, owls, egrets, geese, and ducks.
However, you won’t get into legal trouble for doing the right thing. The MBTA’s Good Samaritan Provision provides temporary legal protection for individuals who transport injured or orphaned wild birds. This provision encourages compassionate action by allowing citizens to temporarily possess — only for such purposes as to immediately contact a federally permitted wildlife rehabilitator — and immediately transport these vulnerable birds to rehabilitation centers without fear of legal repercussions.
While you wait for a rehabilitator to respond, keep the bird contained and leave it alone. Wildlife rehabilitators are trained and experienced professionals, well-versed in the specific nutritional, behavioral, and environmental requirements of particular wildlife species. If an animal cannot be returned to its parent, its next best chance for a successful return to the wild can be provided only by such highly skilled persons.
If you’re interested in the broader world of wildlife in your area, exploring wild animals found in urban environments can give you a better sense of what species you might encounter — and how to respond responsibly.
What Not to Do With a Baby Hawk
When the instinct to help kicks in, it’s easy to make well-meaning mistakes that can seriously harm a baby hawk. Knowing what to avoid is just as important as knowing what to do.
Don’t assume it’s orphaned just because it’s alone. While most of these animals are picked up by well-meaning persons, it is important to realize that many such human-animal encounters are unnecessary and can even be detrimental to the wildlife concerned. A recent study found that in some years, 40% or more of young animals referred to rehabilitators were not orphans or injured, but “kidnapped” from their mothers. Typically these incidents were well-meaning but misguided attempts to “save” seemingly abandoned animals.
Don’t feed it the wrong things. If you find a baby hawk, do not feed it bread or milk or anything that is not meat. Even well-intentioned feeding can cause serious harm. Birds of prey will sicken and die if fed a diet of hamburger or hot dogs. And you should not attempt to give it food or water unless directed to do so by someone qualified to determine the animal’s condition. Young animals and birds can get fluid in their lungs and drown if you don’t know the proper techniques for giving them water.
Important Note: Loud noises can badly stress baby wild animals, and the wrong foods (like milk and lettuce) can kill them. Keep the environment as quiet and dark as possible while the bird is in your care.
Don’t try to raise it yourself. Young eyas cannot survive without their parents and will need the help of a licensed rehabilitator. It is federally illegal to keep a wild animal such as a hawk, so it’s essential to seek proper care for the animal. While the law is not often enforced, penalties are severe — up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $15,000.
Don’t put it in a wire cage. Never put wild birds in wire cages — they injure themselves on the wire trying to escape.
Don’t delay getting help. Time counts — don’t delay. Take it to your local wildlife center as soon as possible.
Don’t keep it longer than necessary. Even if the bird seems calm and stable in your care, it is under significant stress. Raptors can overheat quickly in hot vehicles or go into shock if they are injured and exposed to extreme cold. Also, do not play the radio loudly as this will add to their level of stress.
Understanding what wild predators need — and what they absolutely don’t — helps put this all into perspective. Hawks sit firmly at the top of their food chain as predators, which is very different from animals like those that browse vegetation or forage for fruit. Their specialized physiology means even short-term improper care can cause lasting damage.
The bottom line: when you find a baby hawk, the best thing you can do is observe first, minimize your contact, keep the bird safe and contained if needed, and get a licensed professional involved as quickly as possible. It is far better for baby birds to be raised by their parents rather than by people. Birds do a much better job than any human ever could, regardless of how skilled or experienced they might be.