Don’t toss that apple core out of your car window. Owls and hawks are often injured by cars when they go after critters that are foraging in the road. Birds of prey focus so intently on their prey that they don’t pay attention to anything else.

In the early spring, if you mow over a cottontail rabbit nest in the grass, criss-cross little sticks over the nest. The mother only feeds them at dusk; if she hasn’t abandoned them you’ll see that the sticks have been disturbed.

If you find a baby bird on the ground, don’t immediately “rescue” it—just watch from a distance. Parents will feed nestlings every 20 minutes and fledglings every hour, so it shouldn’t take long to see if they are really orphaned. Most baby birds leave the nest before they can fly. But watch out for cats!

Don’t feed animals people food; consult a rehabber for proper diet. A diet containing too little calcium and too much meat and fruit can result in a metabolic disease that causes bone malformation.

Animals and birds with injuries cannot thermo-regulate and almost always need supplemental heat. They can get hypothermia even in 70-degree heat.

Don’t get too cozy with wild animals and birds. A creature that has imprinted on humans will lack necessary survival skills and the requisite fear of humans, and one that behaves differently from other members of its own species is unlikely to be accepted by them.

Always, always, be very cautious about handling injured wildlife. Never put yourself in a position where you could get bitten or scratched. A frightened bird or animal will attack to defend itself.