One Step
Download on the App Store

Every hurt animal is one step from help.

Help a hurt animal with one photo.

Download on the App Store
The One Step map: a hand-drawn map of the Upper West Side with the Wild Bird Fund marked, and a card that reads Nearest open, Wild Bird Fund, wildlife center, open until 7 pm, with Call and Directions buttons.
From the guide

What do you see?

Tell One Step what you're looking at. It says whether to leave the animal, watch it, contain it or call for help, and what to do next.

  • A young cardinal standing on bare ground, fully feathered, with a short tail.
    Leave it

    Baby bird on the ground, feathered, hopping around

  • A baby squirrel asleep, curled in the palm of a hand.
    Watch it

    Baby squirrel on the ground, on its own

  • Two pigeons walking on cobblestones in Manhattan.
    Contain and call

    Injured pigeon, house sparrow or starling

  • A raccoon in daylight among leaves, facing the camera.
    Don't touch

    Raccoon, bat, skunk, fox or groundhog

The map

Who to call, on one map

Wildlife centers, emergency vets and shelters across the five boroughs. One Step shows the nearest one that's open, and you call it with one tap.

  • Wildlife center
  • Emergency vet
  • Shelter

What One Step does

  • Tells you what to do

    Photograph the animal and One Step shows you the steps for that situation, written to be read while you're standing there.

  • Tells you who to call

    The places that take animals, with their hours and what each one accepts. Call with one tap.

  • Tells you when to walk away

    Sometimes the right answer is to leave the animal alone. One Step says so, and explains why.

How it works

From one photo to what to do

You photograph the animal from where you stand, so you don't have to go near it to find out what it needs.

  1. The camera screen: a live view of two pigeons on cobblestones, with the note Photograph it from where you stand. Do not approach for a closer image.

    Take a photo

    One Step suggests what kind of animal it is, on your phone.

  2. The What is happening? screen for a bird: the location, and a checklist with Injured pigeon, sparrow or starling and Struck a window, sitting still ticked.

    Say what's happening

    Tick everything you can see. When more than one applies, the most serious one decides the card.

  3. The card for an injured pigeon: Contain and call. Contain it. Most places cannot take these three. Then three numbered steps, a warning not to assume any wildlife center will take it, and Who to call.

    Do the first thing

    The card starts with the verdict, then the steps in order, then who to call and whether they're open now.

  4. Someone takes your case

    A dispatcher reads your report, finds who can take the animal and messages you as it moves.

Most people who try to help make it worse

A baby bird hopping on the ground is usually fine. It's learning to fly, and its parents are close by. A fawn lying alone was left there on purpose by its mother.

The urgent cases often don't look it. A bird that has been in a cat's mouth can seem unhurt and still die within about two days from the bacteria in cat saliva. It needs a wildlife center the same day.

The guide has a card for each of these, so you can check before you pick anything up.

200+

wildlife rehabilitators licensed by New York State in the five boroughs

Freddie, the One Step frog, on the phone.

Help animals get to them

Volunteers drive animals to rehabilitators, check the directory and answer reports from home.

Volunteer with One Step

Get One Step

Help a hurt animal with one photo.

Download on the App Store
The Guide tab: What do you see? A search box and a list of bird situations, from On the ground, feathered, hopping to Injured pigeon, sparrow or starling.