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Contact the appropriate Law Enforcement Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to arrange for pick up:

For northern Florida and areas of the Everglades:

Tampa Supervisory Office
Telephone: (727) 570-5398
Fax: (727) 570-5450

For the Everglades and Florida Keys

Miami Supervisory Office
Telephone: (305) 526-2610
Fax: (305) 526-2695

Please adhere to the following protocol when handling sick, dead or dying threatened or endangered bird species to preserve the specimen as directed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife field agent:

Dead Birds

1. Collect animals under the assumption that an infectious disease or toxin is involved and other animals may be at risk. Remember to protect yourself by using rubber gloves when picking up dead animals. If you do not have gloves, insert your hand into a plastic bag. Attach a leg tag to the carcass with the following information:
   
   • Species
   • Date collected
   • Location
   • Found dead
   • Collector (name/address/phone)
   • Additional history on back of tag

2. Place each animal in a plastic bag, tie shut, then place inside a second bag and tie shut (more than one individually bagged animal can be placed in the second bag). Double bagging prevents cross contamination of individual species and further contamination of the environment due to leakage from the shipping containers.
   
   
3. Place the bagged carcasses in a cooler with ice/icepaks to preserve the tissues for testing.
   
   
4. Report information into the Florida bird mortality database at http://www.MyFWC.com/bird/

*Identified as those included in Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants (50 CFR 17.11 and 17.12), published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Sick and/or Dying Birds

1. Collect animals under the assumption that an infectious disease or toxin is involved and other animals may be at risk. Remember to protect yourself by using rubber gloves when picking up sick or dying animals. If you do not have gloves, insert your hand into a plastic bag. Record the following information for reporting purposes:
   
   • Species
   • Date collected
   • Location
   • Condition found
   • Collector (name/address/phone)
   • Additional history regarding symptoms, etc...

2. Wrap the injured bird in a blanket, towel, coat, or other cloth for protection. Gently fold the birds wings back against its body. Take precautions as a docile sick bird may panic when it is handled.
   
   
3. The best way to transport the bird is in a cardboard box with plenty of ventilation holes cut in it, particularly near the base of the box. The box should be only slightly larger than the bird and ideally the bird should still be carefully wrapped in a cloth for protection. The less room the bird has to move around, the less likely it is to cause more injury to itself. The bird's wings and feathers are very vulnerable to damage if the bird panics and begins to thrash about in a confined area. For this reason we recommend that you DO NOT use wire cages. Provide the bird with a calm, quiet environment, but DO NOT keep the bird any longer than is necessary to get it to the appropriate U.S. Fish and Wildlife enforcement office.
   
   The bird should be placed in a warm, dark, quiet place. Darkness has a calming effect on the birds and quiet is particularly important because of the birds extremely sensitive hearing. Extra care should be taken to keep the bird away from children and pets.
   
   
4. Report the information into the Florida Bird Mortality database at http://www.MyFWC.com/bird/