Earlier this month, I received a panicked phone call from a friend about some ‘abandoned’ baby long-eared owls. “The babies are alone,” she told me, “They can’t fly and their parents are nowhere in sight.” I completely understood her concern, but thought, “Here we go again. It’s spring, and it’s time for calls about baby animals.”

Warm weather has arrived, and many of us are more actively enjoying the outdoors. The same goes for our wildlife friends – birds, squirrels, rabbits and other native animals are busy building nests and rearing their young. Sometimes, we’re lucky enough to witness this miracle of life in our own backyards. Other times, people stumble upon young animals in the wild and worry that they need our help.