Rehabbed woodcocks are released back to the wild
Two more woodcocks are back in the wild thanks to the painstaking care of our timberdoodle team. These birds, and the other four we still have in care, were victims of window collisions.
Good luck out there, kids!
🎥: Lily Lugo
Every little bit helps fill a small belly — or a big one.
Every little bit helps fill a small belly — or a big one. #givingtuesday
The Wild Bird Fund is NYC’s only emergency room for sick and injured wild animals, and your donations make it all possible. Please help us meet our $40k Giving Tuesday goal — for all the creatures who depend on us for care. Visit bit.ly/wbfGT2024 to donate.
Thank you to all who’ve already given!💕
A Thanksgiving feast for ducks and hawks and egrets and pigeons
Nothing makes us happier than watching our recovering patients dig into a delicious feast we’ve prepared specifically for them. And we’re grateful for our many generous supporters who make all these nourishing meals (and so much more) possible.
Wishing you all full crops and bellies today. Happy Thanksgiving!🍁🍂🍃
P.S. Yes, we are open today and every day!
Rescued wood turtle enjoys a good meal
Wally the wood turtle knows how to enjoy a meal. Survey the bowl, carefully select your next bite and then GO FOR IT. No regrets.
This native northeastern turtle was rescued from an unhealthy living situation in someone’s home. For 3 weeks, we’ve been giving him the care, nutrition and habitat he needs, and we LOVE seeing him in his lane, focused, flourishing. We’ll be sending him off to Turtle Conservancy for the winter with hopes of an eventual release in the spring.
Wood turtles are a species of special concern in New York, and they’re listed as threatened to critically imperiled in nearly all states where they live. It’s illegal in NY to possess them or any native NYS turtles. Turtles, and all wild creatures, deserve to live the wild lives they’re suited for.
We are grateful for the generous donations that make this work possible. If you’d like to help, please visit bit.ly/wbfdonate
🎥: Cynthia Vasquez
Canada goose recovers from fish hook injury with his silent friends
Three weeks into his stay with us, Captain the Canada goose was over it.
Over the pool.
Over the silent friends.
Over the humans bossing him around.
Even over the five-star buffet.
Over IT!
This is the goose rescued with a huge fishing hook embedded in his neck. The hook had to be surgically removed (thank you, Long Island Bird & Exotics Veterinary Clinic), and a lot of time was needed for healing, recovery and waterproofing.
But today Captain was cleared for release! And thanks to a lift from Sarah of the Swan Squad, this big guy is now back home in Prospect Park. 🌳
We are grateful for the generous donations that make this work possible. If you’d like to help, please visit bit.ly/wbfdonate
🎥: Terra Tirapelli
Ruddy duck recovers from a crash landing
We have a ruddy duck in the house!
This little diver crash-landed in a backyard in the Bronx and has been recovering with us for a few days. We’re pleased to say she’s doing great and is ready to be released, although not as pleased as she will be. She needs a lot more swim time than we can provide in our single pool, and of our many food options, she’ll only eat worms.
We’ll bid her a warm farewell tomorrow.
🎥: Emily Einhorn
The tiny but mighty golden-crowned kinglet
The golden-crowned kinglets are so small and fast that the non-binoculared among us are likely not aware of their omnipresence in NYC during fall migration. And guess what. They’re surprisingly hardy for such small birds, and some will stay here ALL WINTER. How lucky are we giants?
All season, we’ve been admitting a steady stream of kinglets who collided with windows. And many, many more don’t survive. They’re among the most numerous window casualties.
It’s crucial that we turn out lights at night during migration and apply bird-friendly markings to problem windows. These are not difficult steps to take!
Please consider donating to help all our patients — the migrators, the overwinterers, the residents and all. bit.ly/wbfdonate
🎥: Phyllis Tseng
Lucinda the gull enjoys her squid
This great black-backed gull, Lucinda, spent a month with us being treated for injuries and respiratory issues. It was a bit of a rollercoaster for this resilient bird, who was initially found stuck between rocks on a jetty. Despite her many issues, she really enjoyed her meals with us, especially the 🦑!
She needs more time and space to continue her recovery. Luckily, our friends @wildliferescuecenter agreed to take her in. We are grateful to them beyond measure!
We wish Lucinda all the best.🖤🤍
🎥: Emily Einhorn, Noah Barreto
A white-breasted nuthatch gives all his attention to a bowl of seeds
Ah, to have the laser focus of a white-breasted nuthatch digging through a bowl of seeds. He hasn’t checked his messages in like 10 minutes! He’s not even distracted by the cork wall or the worm supply.
We admitted 5 of these beautiful tree-trekkers last week, all victims of window collisions. Most have already been returned to the wild, with one still recovering from concussion.
The migration is still ON. Keep your eyes out for injured birds on the sidewalk that need your help. (Place an injured bird in a paper bag or other closed container and bring it to WBF or a wildlife rehabber near you). Turn off your lights at night to help the birds migrate safely. Put bird-proof markings on your windows. It takes so little to protect our precious migrating birds.
🎥: Michelle Talich
A joyful release of rehabilitated birds
It’s time for a mini-mega-migrator release!
There’s been an absolute whirlwind of migrators here, with many dozens coming in every week, nearly all victims of collisions with windows. For those able to overcome their injuries, it can take a few days to a couple of weeks before they’re ready to return to the wild. We turn them around as quickly as we can. We know they’re on a schedule (and also stressed by being in captivity) and need to get south.
These moments are so rewarding for all of us — and they’re the pinnacle of our work.
There will be another night of high migration tonight!Please consider donating to help us care for the many birds yet to come: bit.ly/wbfdonate
🎥: Cynthia Vasquez, Lily Lugo
Rescued common loon checks out the rehab pool
This common loon is curious about what’s in our pool but won’t actually dive. He knows he’s not in good shape, and this is why he beached himself in Queens. This usually happens as a result of an infection or injury (such as from swallowing a fishhook). We know he has coccidiosis (an intestinal infection caused by a protozoa) and once he’s better hydrated, we’ll be getting some x-rays as well.
These birds breed farther north, but many spend the winter here and can commonly be seen off the city beaches. They spend nearly all their lives in the water, so if you see one sitting on the shore, something’s not right.
We’re grateful to the rescuer who noticed the problem, contacted us and brought this bird all the way from Queens last evening!
🎥: Emily Einhorn
