That baby bird hopping on the ground? It probably doesn't need you to save it. Most of the ones people find are fledglings, and they left the nest on purpose. Feathered and hopping? Walk away and leave it right where it is. Seriously. But it all hinges on step 1. Get that one wrong, and you become the problem. Step 1: stop and look. Bigger, almost fully feathered, hopping? That's a fledgling. Small, nearly naked, maybe dragging itself on bare wings?

That's a nestling. It shouldn't be out yet. Step 2: a healthy fledgling stays put. Its parents are nearby, still feeding it on the ground. Step 3: in danger from traffic, feet or a predator? Move it only to a nearby bush or tree. Step 4: keep dogs, cats and kids back. Watch from a distance with binoculars or a camera zoom. Step 5: if it's a nestling and you can see the nest, gently put it back. Can't reach the nest?

Fasten a small container lined with dry grass in the same tree or shrub. Step 6: watch for the parents. No return within 1 hour? Call a wildlife rehab center. The big myth: touch a baby bird, and its mother smells you and leaves. Birds don't have a well-developed sense of smell. Parents won't abandon a baby you touched. And alone doesn't mean abandoned. Parents keep feeding fledglings on the ground while they learn to fly.

One rescuer told Audubon that 80 percent of baby birds brought in to rehab were basically just kidnapped. Why? At about 13 to 14 days old, young birds leave the nest on purpose. Hand-raised babies can mistake humans for parents. Then they don't know how to be a bird. Mass Audubon says most baby birds raised by people won't survive. The kindness backfires. And it's illegal. The federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 protects wild birds.

Unless you're a licensed rehabber, keeping one is against federal and state law. What if the neighbor's cat keeps circling it? Keep your own cat inside until the bird can fly. Ask them to bring theirs in. And never remove a bird from the wild to protect it from cats. Bleeding, can't stand, wet feathers on a dry day, or caught by a cat? Call a rehabber now. Don't feed it. Keep it in a closed box with air holes, warm, dark and quiet.

Already took a healthy fledgling home? Touching it didn't doom it. Take it back where you found it. Fledgling: leave it. Nestling: back in the nest. Hurt: call a licensed rehabber. Watch from a distance, and keep the cat inside. That's the whole rescue. Its parents have this handled. Your only job is to not kidnap it.