AT THIS time of year there are many young birds around and now and then you will find them on the ground and seemingly helpless - abandoned and lost - so here are a few tips to help you to help them.

First you need to work out if this bird is an infant or a toddler, a nestling or a fledgling? Nestlings are baby birds that are featherless, with pink skin. They can't move around much or fly and they still need to be in the nest.

Fledglings are juvenile birds that are actually old enough to be out of the nest, but still too young to be competent fliers.

Caring for a nestling

Nestlings (featherless baby birds) are sometimes blown out of their nest on a windy day or during a storm. And sometimes, the whole nest comes down so, if you find a nestling, do this:

Look for the nest in a nearby tree and if it is still there and intact, simply place the baby back in the nest.

If the nest has fallen out of the tree, gather as much of the nest material as possible, get a plastic container about the same size as the nest, put the nesting material you have collected into it and after putting a drain hole or two in the bottom, put the container, maybe nail it, up in the tree near where the nestling was found.

If there is no nesting material left, use old cloth or clean paper towel and then put your nestling back in the nest and watch and wait for the parent to return.

It's a myth mother birds abandon babies touched by human hands. Birds have a poor sense of smell, so mother or father bird isn't likely to pick up your scent on the nestling!

Rest assured the parents have invested time and energy into raising their baby, and nature will prompt them to continue until the baby bird can survive on its own.

You should feel comfortable gently picking the nestling up and placing it in the makeshift nest you've secured high up in the tree.

The fledgling stage

Instead of a little pink, featherless baby bird, you might run across one a bit older, a fledgling and these are the young birds that have outgrown the nest.

Flying from the nest to the ground is instinctual in fledglings, but their landing and ground take off skills are still developing and they will often spend some time, even days, hopping around on the ground, learning hunting and foraging skills from their parents.

While they are doing this, the parents are usually within calling distance and will return intermittently to feed the fledgling while it learns how to find its own food on the ground and continues to mature.

What NOT to do if you find a fledgling

Fledglings are "kidnapped” more often than nestlings because when people find them hopping around on the ground alone, they assume they've been orphaned rather than blown out of their nest.

Well meaning people might be tempted to capture it to get it out of harm's way.

When you look around for the young bird's parents and not finding them, you might assume the baby is orphaned and lost.

It's rare, but there is a slight chance you could be dive bombed by an adult bird as you get close to their baby and that should be your cue to leave the fledgling alone.

In many cases you won't see or hear the parents - but they will be there.

If you do capture the baby and remove it to what you believe is a safer location, you may be unintentionally kidnapping the fledging from its mother and interrupting its natural development.

The best thing to do is simply keep pets and children away from the area where the fledging is hopping about.

The mother and father will continue to support their young bird from a distance and within a relatively short time the fledgling will develop the strength and skills it needs to fly away to its life as an adult bird.

How to react in an emergency

There are a few situations that are genuine emergencies and you'll need to intervene to save the life of the nestling or fledgling you've found.

If you find a nestling and have followed the steps outlined above, and the mother bird hasn't returned to the nest within a day or so, you may well have to intervene again.

Using a small box with some soft nesting (clean, dry cloth or paper towels), retrieve the baby bird from the makeshift nest and gently place it in the shoebox and keep it in a warm, quiet area of your home.

Don't attempt to feed the baby bird yet and you should now contact an experienced wild life carer for further guidance.

Should you keep It?

Many people who rescue a wild baby bird are tempted to keep it and raise it themselves and you should be aware that there are a few problems with that approach, as no two birds are alike.

For instance - nutritional requirements depend on what species the bird is. Some only eat worms and bugs, while others are seed eaters and many Australian birds depend on nectar.

If your baby bird is a seed eater, a worm may prove fatal so while you may be keen to raise the baby, there are many pitfalls ahead so it is essential you seek help from people skilled in this area.

Phone the RSPCA for advice or direction to local carers.

Australia has some of the world's most beautiful birds and it is beholden on all of us to care for them and preserve their habitat - which is also our habitat.

Australia's eucalypts and paperbarks are the only bird-pollinated trees on Earth to form vast forests, and wattlebirds and lorikeets are important pollinators of their flowers.

The next time you see one searching the flowers for a sip of nectar, marvel at the unique relationship.