Seabird fallout season is officially underway, and the Hawaii Wildlife Center is once again asking for the public’s help getting grounded fledglings in flight again.

The season starts mid-September and lasts through December, according to the center, which has activated drop-off locations on Oahu, where most seabirds are affected.

Feather and Fur Animal Hospital at Aikahi Park Shopping Center in Kailua will take in grounded seabirds 24 hours a day, but other locations in town, on the leeward side and North Shore are available, too.

During fall and winter, young seabirds head from their burrows out to sea for the first time, guided by moonlight.

But many become disoriented by artificial, urban lights and end up circling around them, confused, until they fall from exhaustion or collide with structures. Once down, they become highly vulnerable to predators, starvation or getting hit by a car.

Several hundred seabirds are downed on Oahu every year. While some adults suffer from fallout, the majority are fledglings no larger than the palm of one’s hand.

The center said most fledglings, unless they have more serious injuries, are evaluated and released within a few days. Given a second chance, most are able to take flight again.

Last year the center assisted 560 birds, with a 96% rate of release.

The most common type of seabird found on Oahu are wedge-tailed shearwaters, but native, endangered seabirds such as band-rumped storm- petrels, Newell’s shearwaters and Hawaiian petrels are also vulnerable to fallout.

Hawaii Wildlife Center, a nonprofit rescue and rehabilitation center based on Hawaii island, will send a team of specialists to Oahu in October to not only assist with downed seabirds for the sixth season in a row, but to establish a new satellite center at the Honolulu Zoo, which will be available year-round.

If anyone sees a downed seabird, they can help by picking it up, putting it in a ventilated box and taking it to a licensed drop-off location.

Hawaii Wildlife Center also is looking for volunteers to join its “Wheels for Wildlife Transport” team, described as a “bird Uber” service for injured seabirds. Last year, volunteers logged more than 3,200 miles as they transported downed seabirds to rescue sites.

Rescue for Oahu’s downed seabirds is a coordinated effort between state and federal wildlife agencies as well as nonprofits and businesses, including the Honolulu Zoo, Hawaiian Electric, Young Brothers and a City and County of Honolulu grant-in-aid.

FOUND A DOWNED SEABIRD?

Here’s where you can take them:

>> Feather and Fur Animal Hospital, 25 Kaneohe Bay Drive (Aikahi Park Shopping Center) in Kailua, available 24 hours.

>> Hawaiian Humane Society, 2700 Waialae Ave. in Honolulu, available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

>> James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge, 56-795 Kamehameha Highway in Kahuku, available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

>> Waianae Small Boat Harbor, 85-491 Farrington Highway, 7:45 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday (November, December only).

For help with bird identification, contact the Hawaii Wildlife Center at birdhelp@hawaiiwildlifecenter.org or 808-884-5000.