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Wild Bird Fund

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Wild Bird Fund

The Wild Bird Fund is a nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation and education center in NYC.
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04/07/2025

Our clinic color palette is slowly starting to change, with a distinct trend toward sunny YELLOW — hints of the brilliant parade to come from the south.

This is a pine warbler, one of the earliest spring warbler migrants. They winter in the southern U.S., so they don’t have as far to come as many of their bright cousins, who are currently en route from Central and South America. No matter how far they’ve come, if they arrive at the clinic, it’s because of window collisions.

These birds have all survived a fall migration, a long fruitful winter and a migration north only to be stopped by an unprotected window here in the city. What a shame. We can do so much better!

Window collisions are preventable. Turning out lights at night and adding well-spaced markings to the outside of windows are the simple solutions. If you live or work in a building that regularly kills birds, please say something! Talk to the management. There are many good products and design solutions. Bird-friendly windows are beautiful windows.

And please consider donating to help us care for all these injured migratory birds: bit.ly/wbfdonate. Your donations make this work possible.

📷: Phyllis Tseng

04/04/2025

It’s back to creeping and walking up trees for two of our window collision patients. How beautiful is it to watch a brown creeper and a yellow-bellied sapsucker return to the wild?

Both of these birds were injured during window collisions last week, and they were lucky enough to be rescued and receive care.

Window collisions are preventable! Turning out lights at night and adding visible markings to the outside of windows are the simple solutions. If you live or work in a building that regularly kills birds, please say something! Talk to the management. There are many good products and design solutions. Bird-friendly windows are beautiful windows.

Happy everyone!

04/03/2025

These two mockingbirds signed up for our extended stay plan as soon as they arrived with broken and frayed flight feathers. They were found discarded in a box, we were told. Someone must have taken them from the wild when they were young and raised them in poor conditions with an insufficient diet. And then they tossed them out.

We plucked the damaged feathers under anesthesia and performed X-rays to ensure they had no metabolic bone disease (common among birds raised by hand). The feathers are growing back, and they’re receiving supplements to help improve their overall feather quality and well-being.

We’re trying to wild them up by keeping our distance to the extent possible and playing mockingbird calls. Over time, we hope they’ll be releasable. Someone deprived these birds of a wild life, but we are determined to give them a chance to live as they were meant to.

📷: Lily Lugo

04/01/2025

The winds of spring blow curiouser and curiouser! At first we thought this miniature goose might be a cackling goose, but nope! She's actually an astonishingly small Canada goose. And an adult too!

Weighing a mere 400g (closer to a pigeon than a normal 4kg Canada goose), Lilligoosian is a bit on the thin side but otherwise healthy.

This munchkin was rescued from a backyard in Queens, where she was found paddling around in a birdbath, fending off attacks from two blue jays and a robin. Fortunately, she sustained no injuries.

We'll be looking for a safe release spot where this cutie can stretch her very small wings and not be bullied by bigger geese (or blue jays). If you've spotted any other teeny goose flocks in the area, please let us know.

03/31/2025

It’s that time of year when Virginia rails begin turning up in the oddest places around Manhattan. Although marsh birds, they pass through the city during migration. Confused by the lights and the reflective surfaces of so much glass, they collide with windows or simply get trapped somewhere.

This one has neurological symptoms consistent with a collision, so we’re providing a quiet, dark place to recover, as well as anti-inflammatory medication. Thanks to for the rescue!

📷: Phyllis Tseng

03/31/2025

Farewell and happy trails to Pronto, our blue jay guest of a month! This gorgeous blue fellow was found puffed up under a park bench. Trauma from a window collision was the likely cause. Tests also showed internal parasites and a bacterial infection.

Pronto was slow to recover initially, unable to perch well and very quiet. But with treatment, he began to improve. By the end, he was having a blast chasing crickets (slide 2) and finally was released to join his clamorous colleagues in the neighborhood.

📷: Lily Lugo, Jenny Lee Mitchell

03/29/2025

The first big wave of songbird migrants has been arriving in NYC this week, with last night bringing in loads of song sparrows, kinglets, juncos and these gorginos, yellow-bellied sapsuckers. We received a pair of sapsuckers today, both victims of window collisions.

With spring migration afoot, it’s a great time to NOT clean your windows. All that winter grime is great at preventing bird collisions. Just take window washing right off your spring cleaning list and use that extra time to get out and look at birds. If you must clean them, consider adding a pattern to the external surface, such as small dots or stripes (there are many great products). You can DIY with tempera paint that will stay on through the season but wash off easily later.

📷: Phyllis Tseng

03/27/2025

This handsome fellow is an Eastern box turtle, at least 17 years old! He’d been living in captivity all of that time. Unfortunately, an inappropriate diet and habitat have caused his beak to be overgrown, along with his nails. He’s also developed sores on his feet, plus shell and skin problems associated with vitamin deficiency.

We’re sure his keepers meant well for him and likely didn’t know that this turtle is a native species taken illegally from the wild. We’re so glad they brought him to us so that now he can receive the nutrition and care he needs.

He’s a charmer! And he’s enjoying his veggies, epsom salt soaks, dirt substrate and UVB lamp. We’re slowly trimming his nails, and today he went off to the vet for a beak trim. Hopefully he’ll be feeling a lot stronger and healthier for his next 17 years.

Please consider donating to help The Alchemist here, our other turtle residents and so many birds in our care! bit.ly/wbfdonate

📷: Michelle Talich, Rachel Frank

03/25/2025

As soon as the weather clears up, it’s time for a pigeon release! Some of these kids have been with us since early January, others only a couple of weeks. None would have made it without the kindness of ALL their rescuers, who brought these sick and injured birds to us for care, and without the incredible dedication of our pigeon staff and volunteers.

Best of luck out there, Cetoddle, Doom Scroll, Mac, Torkoal, Tiara, Ham, Quagsire, Feraligatr, Bellsprout, Abra, Gram, Miami, Xerjoff, Vaporeon, Tory, Brody, Ariados, Elkhorn, Peanut, Oinkster, Paramore, Grotle, Cougar and Tangela! We’re rooting for you.

🎥: Avy Aubin

03/24/2025

Oh hello, little creeper. 🤎

Brown creepers can be found in the city year-round, but their numbers increase during spring and fall migration. Like most of our migratory patients, they come to us after colliding with windows.

Window collisions are preventable! Turning out lights at night and adding visible markings to the outside of windows are the simple solutions. If you live or work in a building that regularly kills birds, please say something! Talk to the management. There are many good products and design solutions. Bird-friendly windows are beautiful windows.

And donate to your local wildlife rehabilitators! To support our work, please visit bit.ly/wbfdonate

📷: Rachel Frank

03/22/2025

Right on schedule, our first baby squirrel of the season has arrived! She’s about 3 weeks old and 100% perfect. We wish we could return her to her mom and siblings, but we don’t know where they are. So she’ll be getting round the clock care from our squirrel guru, and she’ll likely have some foster siblings soon.

If you find a baby squirrel out of the nest, the most important thing to do is keep her warm until you can either a) reunite the baby with her mom or b) get her to a wildlife rehabber. Please never feed the baby! This always ends badly, and the squirrel has a much better chance if you don’t.

Contact WBF or a wildlife rehabber near you (search ahnow.org) to see if reuniting with mom is an option.

Please help us care for the incoming squirrel class of 2025! bit.ly/wbfdonate

🎥: Phyllis Tseng

03/21/2025

A very happy to all who celebrate, especially the THREE American woodcocks we released earlier this week!

The lucky trio was able to recover from injuries suffered during window collisions. They were returned to the wild to continue their migration (if they so choose).

Sadly, many more were not able to survive their injuries.

These beloved shorebirds are at peak spring migration right now, although you need to be pretty lucky to see one foraging stealthily among the fallen leaves. Like all migratory birds, woodcocks are prone to colliding with windows, tricked by the reflection of the sky or the trees. The solutions to this problem are straightforward — turning lights out at night and making windows visible to birds by applying markings to the exterior surface. But actually getting these measures implemented has proven difficult. Bird-friendly windows are beautiful windows, and they should be the norm.

🎥: Alex Depinho

03/19/2025

Parting is all sweet, no sorrow for Romeo, our ruddy duck guest of 32 days! It took a long time for this little diving duck to get his weight, strength and waterproofing back after being beached with a band stuck around his neck. He made the best of our little pool, but he’ll be so much happier back in his element.

A great job by our waterfowl team! We wish this little guy all the best.

Your donations make this work possible! Please consider helping all of our patients: bit.ly/wbfdonate

📷🎥: Michelle Talich (2) Brittanny Flores (3)

03/19/2025

In our spare time, we whipped up this perfect marshmallow cream pie.

📷: Rachel Frank

03/17/2025

Mama, an adult Eastern gray squirrel, arrived to us in a severely depressed state, unable to react much when handled and not moving her back legs. We suspected bromethalin, a neurotoxin rodenticide, and/or head trauma.

We’ve been flushing her system with fluids to help remove the toxin and keep her hydrated, and she’s begun eating on her own and moving around more. Today she was feeling sufficiently better to escape her enclosure! Cautious optimism is the order of the day.

📷: Phyllis Tseng

$It’s been a terrible day for this sharp-shinned hawk, who fractured a bone in her wing during some sort of collision. Bu...$

03/15/2025

It’s been a terrible day for this sharp-shinned hawk, who fractured a bone in her wing during some sort of collision. But things could be worse now that she’s safely in care, splinted and pleasantly medicated. Tomorrow, she’ll get a free trip to our friends The Raptor Trust for imaging and longer-term care.

We wish this tiny raptor (wraptor?), whom we named Poison Dart Frog, all the best.

📷: Phyllis Tseng

03/13/2025

Thank you to Akwanza and the whole crew at Trader Joe’s on Columbus and 93rd for including us in their Neighborhood Shares Program! TJ’s donated nutritious boxes of fresh produce for our patients, and it’s been thoroughly munched, plucked, shredded and hoovered up already!

Many of our guests, including songbirds, waterfowl, turtles, squirrels and opossums, need fresh veggies and/or fruit to round out their diet, and that’s not cheap! During baby season, our blueberry bill alone is 🫐🫐🫐🫐🫐.

We also reaped some human treats to help sustain our hard-working rehabbers. We’re so grateful! And thank you to our staff member Jenny for coordinating this excellent partnership.

📷: Jenny Lee Mitchell, Rachel Frank, Amanda Parsels, Lily Lugo

03/10/2025

A very green visitor, this monk parakeet was rescued from Queens, where we believe he collided with a window. He had some blood in his nares and in his lungs, but he’s recovering well.

Pegasus is a feral parakeet, born and raised here in NYC, like many generations before, and with luck (and care) we’ll be returning him to his flock.💚

📷: Rachel Frank

Address

565 Columbus Avenue
New York, NY
10024

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 7pm
Tuesday	9am - 7pm
Wednesday	9am - 7pm
Thursday	9am - 7pm
Friday	9am - 7pm
Saturday	9am - 7pm
Sunday	9am - 7pm

Website

https://www.wildbirdfund.org/

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Videos

A return to the trees for two injured birds

It’s back to creeping and walking up trees for two of our window collision patients. How beautiful is it to watch a brown creeper and a yellow-bellied sapsucker return to the wild? Both of these birds were injured during window collisions last week, and they were lucky enough to be rescued and receive care. Window collisions are preventable! Turning out lights at night and adding visible markings to the outside of windows are the simple solutions. If you live or work in a building that regularly kills birds, please say something! Talk to the management. There are many good products and design solutions. Bird-friendly windows are beautiful windows. Happy #FreebirdFriday everyone!

Pigeon go free after weeks in rehab

As soon as the weather clears up, it’s time for a pigeon release! Some of these kids have been with us since early January, others only a couple of weeks. None would have made it without the kindness of ALL their rescuers, who brought these sick and injured birds to us for care, and without the incredible dedication of our pigeon staff and volunteers. Best of luck out there, Cetoddle, Doom Scroll, Mac, Torkoal, Tiara, Ham, Quagsire, Feraligatr, Bellsprout, Abra, Gram, Miami, Xerjoff, Vaporeon, Tory, Brody, Ariados, Elkhorn, Peanut, Oinkster, Paramore, Grotle, Cougar and Tangela! We’re rooting for you. 🎥: Avy Aubin

Woodcock returned to the wild to dance another day

A very happy #FreebirdFriday to all who celebrate, especially the THREE American woodcocks we released earlier this week! The lucky trio was able to recover from injuries suffered during window collisions. They were returned to the wild to continue their migration (if they so choose). Sadly, many more were not able to survive their injuries. These beloved shorebirds are at peak spring migration right now, although you need to be pretty lucky to see one foraging stealthily among the fallen leaves. Like all migratory birds, woodcocks are prone to colliding with windows, tricked by the reflection of the sky or the trees. The solutions to this problem are straightforward — turning lights out at night and making windows visible to birds by applying markings to the exterior surface. But actually getting these measures implemented has proven difficult. Bird-friendly windows are beautiful windows, and they should be the norm. 🎥: Alex Depinho

Dramatic woodcock release‼️

Dramatic woodcock release‼️ OK, well. Not everyone is interested in Instagram fame. But we’re happy to see this American woodcock getting back to the important business of doodling among the timber after 3 days in our care. This bird, like all our woodcock patients, collided with a window here in Manhattan while migrating through the city. These birds are early migrants, and March is their prime migration time. We’re currently hosting 4 others, and we fully expect more to arrive today. Oh, woodcocks. Be safe out there! Help a woodcock! Make your windows bird safe, turn out your lights at night and donate to WBF! bit.ly/wbfdonate 🎥: Alex Depinho

What an honor to host a red-throated loon in our pool!

Shortcuts

Keeping NYC wild

The only wildlife rehabilitation center in New York City, the nonprofit Wild Bird Fund treats more than 7,000 patients a year, including red-tailed hawks and peregrine falcons, as well as gulls, robins, songbirds and, yes, lots of pigeons. Squirrels, opossums and groundhogs too! The city can be a tough place for wildlife, but it’s also a thriving habitat, with more than 250 species of birds recorded in Central Park. We aim to keep it that way. To this end, we also provide wildlife education programs to schools and organizations throughout the city. We do all this through the generous donations of many caring New Yorkers.

Photo: Groucho, the Eastern screech-owl by Ardith Bondi