Uno is a nestling rainbow lorikeet, found in Moruya. Carers say it is adapting well to life in care, and is spoon fed a special baby lorikeet mix multiple times a day. 

Baby bird season is just around the corner in the Eurobodalla, and the branch of WIRES has some tips for how to help any baby birds you might come across. 

Sick or injured birds need to see a vet before going into care. If you are able to safely contain the bird, you can keep it in a quiet, dark, warm place – e.g. wrapped in a towel in a ventilated box or carrier with a lid.

WIRES can follow up with the vet directly to bring the bird into care after they received any necessary treatment.

Australia has a large number of native bird species, and all native birds are protected. The most commonly rescued native birds include; rainbow lorikeets, magpies, kookaburras, tawny frogmouths, sulphur-crested cockatoos and red wattlebirds. 

In spring and summer WIRES receive thousands of calls around breeding season.

Some young birds like parrots and kookaburras are able to fly directly from the nest.

Other birds like magpies, currawongs and noisy miners leave the nest well before they are able to fly upwards.

At this critical stage they will commonly be seen on the ground flapping their wings, running and hopping to help develop their flight muscles. This is normal behaviour.

The parent birds still keep feeding, protecting and teaching them to forage for food while they are on the ground, and it can take up to a week for some birds to develop the skill to fly from the ground.

If you find a young bird that looks well feathered and is standing well or behaving as above, monitor it from a distance for a while to see if the parents are attending it. If they are nearby and the chick is in no immediate danger there is no need to intervene.

If it is too near a road or other danger, you can place the chick in a nearby bush and wait to see if the parents attend to it.

You will need to be very patient -it may take a couple of hours to see whether the parents are returning to the chick. If they are, then the healthy young should be left with its parents.

If no parent appears after four hours, the chick should be placed in a warm, dark and quiet box and a trained carer from WIRES called. The sooner a carer can get to an orphan, the higher the chances of survival for the baby bird. 

For rescue help please call WIRES Rescue Line 1300 094 737