Don’t kidnap baby birds.
This is something that people write about every year, and it is entirely true. Most baby birds that run around on the ground actually do not need your help. Some baby birds sit still and hide; they don’t need your help either. They have their parents nearby, and these parents will feed and care for them to ensure they survive and grow strong.
If there are birds located near roads or in hazardous areas, they can be relocated to a safer place, as long as you make sure to show the parents where you are taking them. It is important to ensure that they recognize you and that they can follow along to avoid causing unnecessary stress for both the babies and their parents.
Rooks are quite different from many other bird species; if they happen to fall out of their nest, their parents will not come to their aid or assistance. As a result, these young rooks often face the grim fate of starving and ultimately dying. So if we can help I think we should.
In Sweden we have wildlife rescue organizations like https://www.kfv-riks.se that can help to take care of these birds. You can’t take care of any wild animals yourself, but you can move and transport them to someone who can within 48 hours. Usually a cardboard box is enough to keep them in.
You should look up how it works locally to you, and which animals could need help in your area.
Here is an illustration I made for The Swedish Academy of Realist Art so that people in school can look for rooks that have fallen out of the nest. With the illustration there is a phone number to our local wildlife rescue.
I try to help where I can and the school is located with large rookeries around it. So this is something that we will have each year. I hope to spread the word and make more people aware and help the animals that need it, and leave the ones that don’t need help alone.
Here are some of the rookeries outside of school. Here are both jackdaws and rooks flying and making sounds around dusk.