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Ride The Wind Wild Bird Rehab Center

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Clermont County, OH
Ride The Wind Wild Bird Rehab Center

P.O. Box 368
New Richmond, Ohio 45157
513-797-7239- land line no text
A Songbird Rehab Center...special interest in neotropical migratory songbirds...

Ride The Wind Wild Bird Rehab Center rehabilitates injured and orphaned native songbirds. All native songbirds are protected by law.....so a State and Federal License is required in order to work with these birds. Tracy ( that would be me ) started the center and holds the State and Federal License for Ride The Wind. Ride The Wind does not get paid or funded........so all supplies...food...medica

tions...veterinarian bills....etc.. are paid for out of our own pocket. If you are interested in becoming a part of our team......or volunteering in some way...and would like to learn more about wild bird rehabilitation........
please contact me.... Tracy
I would be happy to talk to you and answer any questions that you may have. (513) 797-7239

06/23/2025

I got this Yellow-billed Cuckoo in a couple of days ago.

A very nice person ( Jennifer Hurrell ) found him and rescued him.

Thank you for picking him up and bringing him indoors Jennifer.......
you did everything right.

In case you are wondering what the heck is going on with him..........
He has some very serious issues right now.....

So I decided to put him in " traction " to see if it will help resolve his problem.

He deserves a chance.......
so I am trying to give him one.....or two.....or three.......
or four.......................................................................
This may take awhile...........

He is not real happy right now..........but he darn well might be later......
And that's what I'm hoping for.

He needs help.....and that's what I'm here for.

We could all use some help now and then.....
Here's hoping someone always has your back.

Ok......time will tell....so keep your fingers crossed for this little one.

Meanwhile...he gets served breakfast...... lunch...and dinner in bed...
and he doesn't have to do a birdgone thing except " hang " out.

06/03/2025

Please take 5 minutes of your time to read this. It's very important for the birds....and important to me and should be to you as well.

I admitted this Yellow billed Cuckoo about 3 weeks ago.

A very nice lady... ( Haleigh Giovengo ) found him and rescued him.
She did EVERYTHING right.
She did NOT leave him laying there outside.
She picked him up.......
She put him in a box with a lid ( with air holes ).....
She took him indoors.....
and she called me.
She also drove a very long distance to get him to me.

( More about the outcome of this guy at the end of this post...
you will want to read it because it serves the entire purpose of this post.)

I repeat this same info over and over again and again....year after year after year....and I am going to keep repeating this endlessly because there are far too many kind hearted people that do not know what to do when they find a bird in trouble....and far too many are given bad advice.

So here you go :

If you find a bird in trouble....window strikes... hit by car etc..etc.

Pick the bird up immediately....please do not leave him sitting there.

Put him in a COVERED container so that he can not get out...
make sure there are air holes.

Put him in a safe place indoors....( a garage is fine ) if you leave him outside a predator can get him.

Do not do anything else with him...
leave him alone and do not open the container again.

Then call a rehabber who works with birds.

Many rehabbers will tell you to put him in a box for a couple of hours and then take him outside and open the box and turn him loose. PLEASE do NOT do that.

If a rehabber tells you to turn him loose in a couple of hours..... that is a lazy apathetic ignorant dismissal on their part.....
and more times than not can result in a bird's death.

No matter how active and rowdy he may get....do not release him.

He is a wild bird and he is afraid of you and will try as hard as he possibly can to get away from you regardless of how bad he feels.
As far as he is concerned you are the enemy and are going to have him for lunch

So..........
If you find a bird that has hit a window......
( or any other reason )...
Please bring it inside....and do not leave it outdoors.

I treat every window strike as a head trauma...which means the bird is kept for a minimum of 48 to 72 hours for observation...and given appropriate medications.
Those medications can be crucial at times and can result in saving a life.

Whenever you pick up or handle a wild bird you have just terrified and stressed him big time.

He does not realize that you are just trying to help him.
So all he wants to do is to get the heck away from you by any means possible.
Even if he feels like garbage and is in pain... he is still going to try to get away from you if he is physically able to do so.

And just because he may be able to run off or fly away from you...does not necessarily mean that he has recovered completely or is capable of taking care of himself out there.
It just means that he was able to escape far enough away from you so that you can not get him back now.

So the bird that you just released could now be sitting somewhere in a tree or bush ( or the ground ) with a heck of a headache.....seeing double....or blind....or dizzy....neurologic... or other injuries not obviously visible..... and not capable of defending himself or feeding himself etc. etc.

Many head injuries worsen over time....they can progress to far more serious issues that were not obvious or noticeable on the day you found him.

Kind of like you with a concussion......or a broken leg.
You feel like garbage........you are in pain......and you just want to sit there and not move.........you are dizzy........and you want to throw up.......you really simply can not function.
But........suddenly........you see a hungry Grizzly Bear heading your direction.......

Uh oh.......

( I don't know about you but I am going to start crawling or dragging myself away from that bear as best and fast as I can. )

That could very well be what is going on with the bird. But he can't tell you that....all he can manage to do is to try to escape from you because you are that hungry grizzly bear as far as he is concerned.

There have been many times that someone has called me to say that they had an injured bird...but they turned it loose and it was able to fly away....but then they notice that the bird is still sitting in the same spot many hours later.......or the entire day....or a day or two.........and then they find it dead.

Perhaps the bird could have been saved had it been given the opportunity to get the care and meds that it needed.

So PLEASE don't leave him sitting there.....
and DO NOT turn him loose.

Now for this Cuckoo.........
I admitted him about 3 weeks ago.

The day that I admitted him both eyes looked fairly normal.
And he had actually become more active within a couple of hours of being found.

However....the next morning his right eye showed severe signs of trauma.... ...swollen....bulging....and hemorrhaging.

In other words serious issues with bleeding and vision loss that were not visible the day that he was found had showed up big time the following day.

He also was neurologic and much more lethargic than the day before.

Now...........had he been left on the ground.....or had been put in a box and released a couple hours later as some would have recommended........he would have died.

But instead......Haleigh did the right compassionate and common sense thing. She picked him up....brought him indoors....and called a bird rehabber. Thank you Haleigh.... :)

It has taken him 3 weeks....with medications...and several days of nutritional gavage feeding before he started eating on his own.

Lots of good food....and lots of rest...it took him a long time to fully recover....but he did...100% ......THREE WEEKS LATER.
So I happily released him this morning.

I rest my case.

Yellow-billed Cuckoos are a tremendously valuable and remarkable bird.
And unfortunately they are declining in numbers.
They are long distance migrants.
They spend the winter in South America...and then fly all the way back here to raise some kids.
They eat TONS of tent caterpillars....moths and other harmful insects that harm your trees.
They are safe....natural and healthy exterminators.

If you are lucky enough to have Cuckoos on your property you are blessed.
They are my favorite bird in the universe.....ain't none better.

Please share this.....everywhere.....you will probably save some birds if you do.

04/18/2025

Bird and Nature Festival CANCELED
All the prayers you can offer...please
for Bruce

04/16/2025

I'm not talking to you.
Good cause I'm not talking to you either.

04/12/2025

From last year.....I found this little one in my garage and I thought he might like some mealworms for lunch before I evicted him. As you can see...he sure did. :)

03/30/2025

Do the Woodcock Two-Step....

03/28/2025

+* Would everyone PLEASE share this everywhere *+

This is an Eastern Bluebird. A very nice lady ( Maria Ramos ) called me yesterday afternoon and said she found a bird in the road.

She had been driving by and saw him....so she went back.... picked him up and took him home.
Maria said she had called another rehabber first before she called me and they told her ON THE PHONE without even laying eyes on the bird..... that it probably had Bird Flu.

This is going to drive me crazy...
probably crazier than I already am......
( if that is even possible )

Thank you Maria for having compassion...intelligence and common sense by rescuing this bird and not buying that rehabber's ridiculous phone diagnosis.

If you see a songbird IN THE ROAD that is not moving ...
there is a 99 and 3/4 % chance that it was hit by a car....
NOT that it has Bird Flu.

All birds hit by cars do not necessarily lay there splattered and flattened. That usually comes later after the second or third car hits them.

Many times hit by cars sustain a head injury....
which is EXACTLY what happened to this poor little guy.

If Maria had left him he would have no doubt died from being hit by a car again.
But Maria did the right thing.....she rescued him.

I keep wondering how many people have found a songbird in trouble...called a rehabber....and was told on the phone that it probably had bird flu....in which case the person was afraid to touch the bird and left it to die....all because of what a rehabber told them.

Betcha there are going to be a lot more of those phone calls too.

Aside from being angry about this ....it makes me very sad that some songbirds are being ignored and not being given a chance to be helped because some rehabbers are screaming bird flu when it's simply not true.

Broken record here...skip...skip..skip...
( that's my imitation of a broken record )

So here goes again...
Yes bird flu is out there..and it's been here for awhile.
But the birds mainly being affected at this time are :
Poultry.....
Waterfowl ...
Shorebirds...
Raptors ( Hawks....Owls....Eagles.....Vultures )
They have also seen it in a FEW Crows...which are also scavengers.

Scavengers are birds that see a tasty and dead meal and pull up a chair to have some lunch.
So the chances are greater for these birds to contract the flu since they might ingest something that died from it to begin with.

Songbirds are NOT being hit by H5N1 ( Bird Flu ) at this time.

I repeat........

Songbirds are NOT being hit by H5N1 ( Bird Flu ) at this time.

Folks......you have absolutely no reason to believe me whatsoever.
So I am once again going to give you a link to a reputable website so that you can check it out for yourself. ( link below )

You can look at the reports for your own state and county as well as any other state or county and see when...where....and what species of birds have been found positive with bird flu.

Simply type in the state that you want to know about and....

Ta Daaaa...it will appear right before your very eyes.

Do your homework...please.....look for yourself.

Any rehabber that claims a songbird has bird flu ....
unless tested to confirm.....is full of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .
( You counted the dashes didn't you ? )

If Maria had believed that rehabber's bird flu crap and left him....
this little Bluebird would be dead....
but right now he ain't.

https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/situation-summary/data-map-wild-birds.html

03/27/2025

SPRING MIGRATION ....

Birds that migrate and do not spend the winter here will be returning soon....
some are on their way.....
and some are back already.

These long distance migrants have a long...difficult....
dangerous and seemingly impossible journey to return to us.
What they accomplish is no less than amazingly incredible.

And unfortunately a huge amount of those birds that you had the pleasure of enjoying last year....sadly will never make it back this year...........they will not survive.

Birds like Cuckoos.....Hummingbirds....Orioles...Tanagers...Swallows.....
Martins....Warblers....Swifts...Grosbeaks....and Kingbirds....
as well as many others.

These birds use every last microscopic bit of stamina and strength attempting to complete their migration.

They travel hundreds of miles in order to do this..

Hummingbirds as well as many other birds fly non stop across the Gulf of MEXICO....which can be 500 miles or more....and takes an estimated 26 hours to accomplish......
without stopping.
Take a minute and let that sink in.

So......the reason for this post is plain and clear.
Every single one of us needs to do our part to help and protect them.

We need to help these amazing birds...
we need to do everything that we can to assure that when they return.....they are coming back to a safe and healthy place to live and raise their kids.

So here is your part....here is your very important job that you should absolutely want to do......for them.

1.
Keep your cats indoors....
Outdoor cats kill billions of birds every year.
Do you know how devastating that is ?
Outdoor cats are a huge reason that birds are disappearing.
Why would you not want to help prevent that ?

Just think....many birds migrate hundreds of dangerous and exhausting miles to get back here....
only to be killed by a cat.

It's your choice......
if you care....you can be part of the solution
if you don't care.....you are part of the problem.
Keeping your cat indoors is easy....it's simple...
and completely up to you.

2.
Window strikes also kill billions of birds.
There are many products that you can buy and use that help prevent birds from hitting windows.
They are easy to apply....inexpensive...and using them is a wonderful and fantastic way to help protect birds from hitting windows.
There are lots of different products...find one that works for you.
:)

3.
Impact injuries are injuries caused by flying into windows or other surfaces or hit by cars....many times resulting in the bird's death.

However....birds that survive these impacts may sustain injuries that are not always visible at the time....neurological issues with obvious symptoms can actually develop days later.

I say this a million times a year :

Please pick up the bird and take it indoors.... put it in a container with a lid with air holes....and call a rehabber asap.
Please do not release the bird......doing so can very possibly send a bird to it's death.

Any impact injured bird needs a minimum of a 48 hour observation period..( I recommend more ).....and appropriate medications because there is a strong possibility that it sustained a head injury which may not be obvious at the time.

4.
Last but not least.........
The birds that I listed above are mostly insectivores.........that means their diet consists mainly of insects....and lots of them.
They need insects to survive....and to feed their kids.

So every single time you treat or spray your yard with any kind of chemicals ( pesticides...fertilizers... etc. ) you are serving up toxic poison covered insects that the birds are then eating and feeding to their kids.
Guess what that does ?
Yep.....you are killing the birds.

03/14/2025

UPDATE :
I got someone to do a Fossil Booth ...
But still looking for someone who would like to do a booth on Honey Bees.
This festival every year is for the birds and for YOU.
That is the entire reason for doing it.
If any of you are interested...or know of someone who might be...
PLEASE call Tracy asap..........513-797-7239
Cost you nothing....
So please help out if you can.
Please share this post....so we can find some people.
Thank you.... :)

03/11/2025

I keep getting questions about Bird Flu....so I thought I would tell you everything I know about it.....which can easily fit in a tiny thimble with room to spare.
Sadly some people are scared....and some people panic.
I hope you are not scared....
and I don't think you need to panic....
unless company is coming over and your house is a mess.

Here are some questions that people have asked me :

# 1. What does HPAI stand for ?

Give me an H !!!
Give me a P !!!
Give me an A !!!
Give me an I !!!
What's that spell ? !!!
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza

# 2. What do the other letters and numbers that I see mean ?
Like H5N1.....or H2N2 or H3N2 or H7N3 or H7N7...( to list a few )

Since I am not a scientist...your guess is as good as mine.
These are probably different strains and subtypes of the virus....which basically spells confusion and too much info that you don't know.....and don't understand... and probably don't even need to know......but it's fun to be confused.

# 3. What birds and animals are being found with Bird Flu ?

Poultry and dairy cows seem to be the biggest problem and source.
And if you read down this post further you will see a list of other birds.

# 4. Why and how are people getting the Bird Flu ?

So far it appears that most of the people contracting the virus are people that have worked around and with poultry and cows......like farm workers.

# 5. Have I gotten any birds that have had Bird Flu ?

Nope.

If I suspected any bird that I admitted.... I would have sent that bird to be tested because that is the ONLY way to confirm it.

# 6. A rehabber here in Ohio says she has had lots of birds
( songbirds ) with the bird flu....because she said all of her
( including the babies ) always end up dying.
She told me that early last year.
When I asked her if she had any birds tested..... she said NO.
This person also rehabs mammals...including raccoons.
I'm a thinkin' she is cross contaminating some bacteria from the raccoons to her birds and they are getting sick and dying from it......NOT from the Bird Flu.
I'll bet she's got something else going on....and I'll bet it aint' Bird Flu.
She needs to test to confirm....otherwise....it's boloney until proven otherwise.

# 7. When they say wild birds does that mean every wild bird ?

As of right now the wild birds that they are basically seeing Bird Flu in are..... waterfowl...shorebirds...and raptors.
Raptors ( scavengers ) are Vultures...Hawks...Eagles..and Owls...
They have also seen it in a FEW Crows...which are also scavengers.

Scavengers are birds that see a tasty and dead meal and pull up a chair to have some lunch.
So the chances are greater for these birds to contract the flu since they might ingest something that died from it to begin with.

# 8. Should I quit feeding the birds and take my feeders down ?

( see question # 7 above ) ^ ^ ^
As far as I know there are no reports of wild songbirds being found.
As of right now it appears that songbirds are of very low concern.

Although there were a few confirmed cases of European Starlings and House Sparrows in Washington I believe.
Why ? Perhaps because both of those species tend to hang out in flocks.....and are cavity nesters...and given the opportunity will definitely hang out in barns and buildings ) and will eat whatever is available.
And since Cows and Poultry are kept in barns.....that could be why those particular Starlings and Sparrows got it.

I am not taking down my feeders...I do not think there is reason to do that. I will continue to feed birds.

Do birds need our feeders ?
Heck yes they do.
With all of the endless habitat loss that we are causing.....
food sources for birds are not as abundant as they used to be.

Birds can't seem to find food on pavement ....buildings and concrete.....I wonder why ?

It is your decision whether you want to feed birds or not....so if you do....
Keep your feeders clean....that has always been recommended.

And you do not have to believe anything that I have written here EXCEPT question # 5
asking me if I have had any bird flu cases....that answer is NOPE and is set in stone.

Here are 3 reputable links with info on Bird Flu that you can check out that might help you a bit.

The 3rd Link is a very good one because you can look up your state with the county to see what birds have been found in your state / county. And every other state if you want to check any of them out as well. It is supposed to be updated daily.

The second Link gives you some info.

And the 1st Link shows you past years where and when it occurred.
Bird Flu is not new folks....it has been around for a long time.

Just to be careful..............don't kiss any cows....waterfowl...chickens or raptors.
And if you see any of the above birds acting like they had too much to drink... unable to walk....shaking...twisted neck or unable to hold up their head ( among other symptoms )....you can always call your state's wildlife officer for your county to report it....they should be able to help you.

Hopefully this might help a little bit.
https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/avian-timeline/2020s.html
https://vet.osu.edu/news/bird-flu-spreads-cows-and-infected-people-heres-what-know-about-latest-avian-flu-strains

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-detections/wild-birds

03/09/2025

This beauty ( American Woodcock )
was found and rescued by Karen and Chuck Linser...
( I hope I got your name right )

They found him downtown...more than likely a window strike or hit by car.
They did absolutely EVERYTHING right....they picked him up...took him home...put him in a covered container so he could not get out and called a couple rehabbers.

Unfortunately one rehabber told them to take him to a river and turn him loose.

They did not.

Instead they brought him to me....which was lucky for this guy because he has a head injury which requires medications and days of a safe recovery. Had they turned him loose he would no doubt have died.

A huge THANK YOU to Karen and Chuck.

I am forever saying this.....
so here I go yet again.........

When you find a bird that hit a window... or was hit by a car
etc.. .etc......

1. Help him......rescue him.

2. Pick him up IMMEDIATELY.

3. Put him in a covered container so that he can not get out...make sure there are air holes.

4. Put him in a safe place ( indoors.....a garage is fine )..,,
if you leave him outside a predator can get him.

5. Do not do anything else with him...leave him alone and do not open the container.

6. No matter how active and rowdy he may get....do not release him.
He is a wild bird and he is afraid of you and will try as hard as he can to get away from you regardless of how bad he feels.

7. Call a rehabber that does birds and actually knows what to do.

If a rehabber tells you to turn him loose..... that is a lazy apathetic dismissal on their part.

Birds are in trouble.....and they need all the help that they can get from us.

Woodcocks are short distant migrants....most migrate south for the winter staying in North America. Then they turn around and come back in the Spring.

They breed here.

Their long bill is used for probing the ground for earthworms and other insects.

They are DECLINING...from habitat loss....and toxic chemicals/pesticides.........
and guess who's fault that is.

Thank you again Karen and Chuck ....thank you. :)

02/13/2025

This little Yellow-rumped Warbler has been here at my feeder all winter chowing down on home made peanut butter suet.

Every single day... without fail...all day long....he is here.
No doubt this food has kept him alive in this rough cold winter.
Apparently he likes my cooking.

These guys are short to long distance migrants.

His winter clothing is very dull and drab....not half as pretty as his spring wardrobe is.
But he will be shopping for new clothes soon....
he won't even look like the same bird.

These guys eat tons of insects...... very beneficial to have around......as well as cute.

Address

P. O. Box 368 New Richmond
Clermont County, OH
45157

Telephone

+15137977239

Website

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