diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/edit_bird.py b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/edit_bird.py
index 1bdff2f1f1..cb1decc494 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/edit_bird.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/edit_bird.py
@@ -28,6 +28,10 @@ class EditPageItem(BaseItem):
 
 
 def render_edit_bird(request, items):
+    # Don't render if the user is not logged in
+    if not request.user.is_authenticated():
+        return
+
     # Render the items
     rendered_items = [item.render(request) for item in items]
 
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/templatetags/wagtail_edit_bird.py b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/templatetags/wagtail_edit_bird.py
index 13fe4a6326..1112517bff 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/templatetags/wagtail_edit_bird.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/templatetags/wagtail_edit_bird.py
@@ -29,4 +29,4 @@ def wagtail_edit_bird(context, current_page=None, items=None):
         fn(request, items)
 
     # Render edit bird
-    return edit_bird.render_edit_bird(request, items)
+    return edit_bird.render_edit_bird(request, items) or ''