Found a Baby Hummingbird on the Ground? Here’s Exactly What to Do

Spotting a tiny hummingbird on the ground — barely bigger than your thumb — can stop you in your tracks. Your first instinct is probably to scoop it up and help, but the best thing you can do in that moment is pause and take a breath.

Not every baby hummingbird on the ground is in danger. Some are simply going through a normal developmental stage, while others genuinely need your intervention right away. Knowing the difference can mean the life or death of one of nature’s most remarkable little birds.

This guide walks you through every step: how to assess the situation, what signs mean a baby hummingbird truly needs help, how to handle and contain it safely, who to contact, and — just as importantly — what you should never do. If you’ve attracted hummingbirds to your yard and one of their young has found its way to the ground, here’s what you need to know right now.

Key Insight: Hummingbirds have a tremendously fast metabolism. Time is critical — WildCare wildlife rescue notes that hummingbirds can die within four hours if not fed. Act calmly, but act quickly.

Is the Baby Hummingbird Actually Orphaned or Just Alone?

The most important question to ask before you do anything else is whether the baby hummingbird actually needs your help at all. The greatest tragedy in baby bird rescue is that many “orphans” never needed intervention in the first place. Understanding the two developmental stages of a baby hummingbird will help you make the right call.

Nestlings are very young birds — often featherless or with only pin feathers — that belong in the nest. They cannot regulate their own body temperature and are entirely dependent on their mother. If you find one on the ground, it has likely fallen or been blown out, and it does need help getting back.

Fledglings are a different story. At around 21–24 days old and between 1¼ and 1¾ inches long, a fledgling intentionally leaves the nest to begin its “training” — learning to fly, feed, and be a bird. It is fully feathered, though its beak and tail are shorter than an adult’s. Finding one of these on a patio chair, on the lawn, or even on your car is completely normal behavior.

Pro Tip: Young birds have yellowish coloration on the corners of their beak. If the bird has any red or pink on its head or throat, it is an injured adult rather than an orphan.

The most common mistake people make is assuming the mother has abandoned the nest. For the first one to two weeks after her eggs hatch, a mother hummingbird stays close and sits with her nestlings constantly to keep them warm. But once the babies’ pinfeathers have sprouted and they can regulate their own body temperature, mom stays away as much as possible — even at night — because her presence draws attention to the nest and can tip off dangerous predators.

The mother may be sitting on a branch nearby, waiting for the area to be clear before returning to the nest. Only the female parent bird feeds the young, about four to six times per hour. Baby hummingbirds will usually stay very quiet so as not to alert predators to their location.

Before assuming the worst, observe from a distance for at least 30 to 60 minutes. Only female hummingbirds raise the young, so babies are frequently left alone for short periods while the mother is out looking for food. Keep your distance — if you get too close to the nest or are present for long periods, you may prevent the mother from feeding her babies.

Signs a Baby Hummingbird Needs Immediate Help

Once you’ve observed the situation calmly, look for specific signs that tell you intervention is truly necessary. Some of these are clear emergencies; others require a closer (but careful) look.

A fluffy baby bird of any species found on the ground needs immediate help. For hummingbirds specifically, the following situations call for action right away:

• Chirping continuously for more than 10 minutes: If you hear a baby hummingbird chirp for more than ten full minutes, they are usually starving and need help immediately.
• Caught by a cat or dog: If it has been in a cat’s mouth, it needs to be rescued. Cats have bacteria in their mouths — and on their claws, since they lick their paws — that are deadly to birds. The bird may look okay at first, but without antibiotics, they become septic and usually die within two days.
• Visible injuries: Blood, a drooping wing, a broken or bent bill, or an inability to grip anything with its feet are all signs of injury requiring professional care.
• Covered in insects: If it has bugs — mites or ants — it needs to be rescued.
• Cold and unresponsive: A cold, lethargic baby that doesn’t react to your presence is in distress and needs warmth immediately.
• Naked or mostly featherless and on the ground: A nestling this young cannot survive outside the nest and needs to be returned or taken to a rehabilitator.
• Mother confirmed dead or missing after 60 minutes of observation: If the mom doesn’t return within one hour or if the baby’s condition is worsening, bring the baby to a wildlife rehabilitator for evaluation and potential rehabilitation.

Important Note: Your time frame with hummingbirds is less than four hours to initiate care and only about twenty-four hours to get help before it may be too late. Don’t wait to see if things improve on their own.

If the fledgling is alert and sitting in a relatively safe spot — a shrub, a low branch, or a shaded area of your yard — and the mother was seen nearby recently, the best action is often no action at all. Parent birds of most species, including female hummingbirds, typically continue to feed a premature fledgling if it leaves or falls out of the nest. You can also learn more about baby animal names and stages to better understand what developmental phase you’re looking at.

What to Do Before You Touch a Baby Hummingbird

If you’ve confirmed the baby hummingbird needs help, resist the urge to immediately pick it up. A few preparation steps will protect both you and the bird, and significantly improve its chances of survival.

Step 1: Wash your hands. Before touching the bird, wash your hands thoroughly. This protects the bird from harmful bacteria your skin naturally carries.

Step 2: Dispel the myth about human scent. Unlike small mammals that typically abandon their young after being touched by a human, hummingbirds apparently have no sense of smell and have no way of knowing that you’ve handled a baby, so you can try putting a young hummingbird back in its nest. It is absolutely not true that a mother bird will reject her young if a human has touched the baby.

Step 3: Look for the nest first. Try to identify where the nestling came from. Look around the location where you found the baby for any adult hummingbirds or bushes with nests. Remember, hummingbird nests are very small and often decorated with moss-like plants. They may be less than six feet off the ground. If you find it and it’s reachable, gently return the bird — after placing them back in the nest, it’s important to watch and see that the female continues to feed her young.

Pro Tip: Contrary to popular belief, parents will not abandon their babies because you touched them. However, parents will not return if you are too close, because humans are seen as threats. Successfully reuniting baby birds with their parents requires you to provide both time and space away from the nesting area.

Step 4: If the nest is damaged or unreachable, create a substitute. If the original nest is damaged or you are unable to find it, choose a shallow plastic container — such as an empty yogurt cup — big enough to hold the baby, and poke holes in the bottom for drainage. Line the container with grasses and moss to make a nest. Secure it to a branch as close to the original nest location as possible. Never use tape on a nest — even a little tape sticky can pull out feathers on the baby and the mother.

Step 5: If the baby is cold, warm it before anything else. If the nestling is on the ground and cold, it must be warmed prior to returning to the nest. This can be done by holding it in your warm hands for 10 minutes. Do not feed the baby yet. The baby must be toasty warm before feeding is attempted, which will take at least 30 minutes, if not longer.

How to Safely Contain a Baby Hummingbird

If the baby hummingbird cannot be returned to its nest and you need to transport or temporarily house it while you contact a rehabilitator, containment must be done with great care. These birds are extraordinarily fragile.

Picking it up: If you find a baby hummingbird on the ground, gently pick her up, including whatever she’s gripping with her feet. Hummingbirds have strong toes, and removing something from a baby’s grip can actually break her tiny bones.

Preparing the container:

1. Get a small box — a shoebox works well — and make air holes in the lid.
2. Lift the bird along with the material it is sitting on, and place it on crumpled tissue in the shoebox with holes in the lid. Always use tissue or paper towels, NOT cloth — the bird’s feet may become entangled in the cloth.
3. Add a gentle heat source. Find an athletic sock and put in one cup of uncooked rice. Put the rice sock in the microwave for one minute. Cover the warm rice sock with a towel and place it in the shoebox lined with a towel or t-shirt. Use a small cup — a salsa cup or a bump from an egg carton — put tissue in it, and place the baby in the cup. Put the cup in the shoebox with the warm rice sock, close but not too close, and cover the box with a lid with holes.
4. Place the box in a quiet, dark location — for example, a bathroom — until you reach a wildlife professional.

Common Mistake: Do not overheat the bird. If the bird starts open-mouth breathing or its neck is outstretched, it is too hot. Overheating can kill the bird. Keep the ambient temperature around 85–90°F, not higher.

If the baby is alert and gaping (opening its mouth to be fed), you may offer a very small amount of sugar water as a temporary measure while you arrange transfer to a rehabilitator. Mix ¼ tsp of plain white sugar in 1 tsp of warm — not hot — tap water. Dip a Q-tip in the sugar water and put it to the baby’s mouth, giving just a little. Feed the baby every 30 minutes, and watch the side of its neck — if it’s bulging, stop feeding until the bulge goes down.

Remember, this sugar water is only a bridge. Baby hummingbirds should not drink the nectar adults do because they need higher protein content in their food. It is okay to offer nectar; however, they cannot drink it for more than four hours without causing severe crippling effects to their bodies. Getting the bird to a licensed rehabilitator is the only real solution. You can read more about what animals eat nectar and why hummingbirds have such specialized dietary needs.

Who to Call When You Find a Baby Hummingbird

Once the bird is safely contained and warm, your most important task is making contact with a professional. Young hummingbirds need intensive, time-consuming, and specialized care. The ingredients in hummingbird formula have to match their age-specific nutritional requirements precisely. As the chick grows, the percentage of insects and sugar in the formula is adjusted, as is the time between feeds.

Finding a licensed wildlife rehabilitator near you is the best way to help a baby bird who’s fallen out of the nest. Here are the key resources to contact:

If the animal does need help, time is often of the essence in making that call. Many of the animals that wildlife rehabilitators rescue are suffering from shock, exposure, dehydration, and/or malnourishment, and a delay of even a few hours can decrease their chance of survival.

Key Insight: Wildlife rehabilitators are equipped with the proper licensing, have extensive knowledge of nutritional and dietary requirements, and have the facilities to properly raise wild patients. All ill, injured, or orphaned wild animals must be brought to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator to have any chance at survival.

It’s also worth knowing your legal obligations. Always keep in mind the very severe laws in the United States about having a hummingbird in captivity. Native wildlife, which includes hummingbirds, is the property of the state. It is illegal to make pets of them. To rehabilitate them, one must have a state and federal permit. This isn’t meant to discourage you from helping — it’s meant to ensure the bird ends up with someone who can truly save it. If you’re curious about other wild animals you might encounter, see our guide on what wild animals live in Connecticut or what wild animals live in Chicago for regional context.

What Not to Do With a Baby Hummingbird

Well-meaning actions are one of the biggest threats to a baby hummingbird’s survival. Knowing what to avoid is just as important as knowing what to do.

Don’t feed it the wrong things. Do not feed the baby anything other than sugar water as a temporary measure. They do not eat seeds, egg yolk, breast milk, cat food, or mealworms. Feeding the incorrect diet often leads to death. If you’re wondering whether what animals eat mealworms includes hummingbirds — the answer is no.

Don’t use cloth in the container. As noted above, fabric fibers can entangle a hummingbird’s delicate toes and cause serious injury. Always use tissue or crumpled paper towels.

Don’t force-feed a cold or sick bird. Do not feed the bird if it is cold, sick, or injured — it may not be able to swallow the food and can aspirate (choke). Sugar water on a hummingbird’s feathers can also impact the bird’s ability to thermoregulate, its waterproofing, and even its ability to fly.

Don’t keep it as a pet or try to raise it yourself. Hand-raising a baby hummingbird is difficult and is best left to professionals. A baby hummingbird in the hands of someone who is trying to “raise” them usually does not do well. Their diet is very specific, as is their training.

Don’t give sugar water for more than a few hours. Hummingbird babies that are fed sugar water or commercial hummingbird nectar for more than 24 hours may develop crippling deformities. It is a bridge, not a solution.

Don’t move a fledgling far from where you found it. Do not move the bird to a different location. Other birds will not feed it, and it will die because it does not know how to find food. It must be near its mother. If it’s in an unsafe spot — like the middle of a driveway — move it only to the nearest safe shrub or branch in the same immediate area.

Don’t try to remove a baby from its nest by force. Never attempt to remove baby hummingbirds from their nest. Young hummingbirds secure themselves to the nest by weaving their tiny toes around the nest fabric. So firm is their hold that if lifted from the nest, most often the legs are left behind.

Common Mistake: Hovering too close while waiting for the mother to return will actually prevent her from coming back. Once you’ve placed the bird in a safe spot or back in its nest, step well away — ideally indoors — and observe from a window or at a significant distance.

Finding a baby hummingbird is a moment that calls for calm, informed action rather than panic. Most of the time, the situation is less urgent than it appears — but when it is urgent, every minute matters. Observe first, prepare carefully, contain gently, and get the bird to a licensed rehabilitator as quickly as possible. That single chain of steps gives this tiny creature its best possible chance of returning to the wild where it belongs. For more on the animals that share our outdoor spaces, explore our guide on what attracts hummingbirds to your yard in the first place.