Wild Bird Fund

Wild Bird Fund The Wild Bird Fund is a nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation and education center in NYC.
(347)

01/05/2025

A special treat! Students at Pratt Institute made us this beautiful short animation about rescuing and rehabilitating birds in the city. They truly captured the spirit of our work. Thank you!

Film by Aanya Gupta and Katherine Sinchi, music by Ønetent, with guidance from WBF animal care manager Katherine Figueroa.

This snapping turtle is obese. You read that right. An obese turtle. He also has some damage to his plastron (the underp...
01/04/2025

This snapping turtle is obese.

You read that right. An obese turtle. He also has some damage to his plastron (the underpart of the shell) and some cracked scutes (the individual shell segments). This turtle was being kept illegally by someone, overfed with a poor-quality diet in a dirty, too small container. Fortunately, they surrendered the turtle to us and we’re now able to help this poor guy get back to fighting shape before spring.

On the snapper scary scale, he’s a solid 9, with a feisty temperament that makes cleaning his plastron a challenge, but one our turtle team is meeting with equal spirit and creativity! Daily cleaning and treatment, dry dock time, appropriate habitat and a healthy diet with supplements are doing wonders.

Wildlife belongs in the wild!

📷: Phyllis Tseng, Michelle Talich (4)

Better late than never, it’s WBF Wrapped! Did we do it right?🌯***Patients are wrapped to keep them still and safe during...
01/03/2025

Better late than never, it’s WBF Wrapped! Did we do it right?🌯
***Patients are wrapped to keep them still and safe during feeding, medication or mite treatment.

📷: Tristan Higginbotham, Lily Lugo, Phyllis Tseng, Antonio Sanchez, Nooa Kuusisto

12/31/2024

Buh-bye, 2024! 🎉

We wish you all health, dark skies, warm nights and worms aplenty.

✨ If you’d like to help more woodcocks and 200 other species in the coming year, please consider donating before midnight. Donations are doubled thanks to several kind donors who provided a $70k matching grant. Please visit bit.ly/WBFdec2024 ✨

🎥: Lily Lugo

Important Elf update! This littlest squeaker is growing up big and strong and with the physique of a small 18-wheeler. H...
12/31/2024

Important Elf update! This littlest squeaker is growing up big and strong and with the physique of a small 18-wheeler. He’ll just rest his big full crop on this plushie for a bit, thank you very much.

Help Elf and many other patients by donating before the end of the year. That’s tomorrow!

✨ Our matching grant is $70k! Several generous donors provided this grant so that your donation will be doubled before Dec. 31. To donate, please visit bit.ly/WBFdec2024 ✨

📷: Michelle Talich

Creative swan logistics is a skill few people ever need, but it's quickly learned in our storefront clinic. Hannibal is ...
12/29/2024

Creative swan logistics is a skill few people ever need, but it's quickly learned in our storefront clinic. Hannibal is a big boy and needs his space and privacy. He usually eats better, preens and is more relaxed while in his secret tent or overseeing the laundry. He's showing signs of improvement but it's challenging keeping his feet healthy while inside all day. Booties and mats are essential!

✨ Our matching grant is $70k! Several generous donors provided this grant so that your donation will be doubled before Dec. 31. To donate, please visit bit.ly/WBFdec2024 ✨

📷: Michelle Talich, Artelen Reyes

12/28/2024

Ride along with us as we release some birds! This lovely film was made by Maureen and Ian Phillips, Chris Franklin and Sarah Van Tassel at Big Sky Edit.

Not pictured: our wonderful supporters who make all this work for NYC's wildlife possible. We are so grateful for you!

✨ Our matching grant is now $70k! Several generous donors provided this grant so that your donation will be doubled before Dec. 31. To donate, please visit bit.ly/WBFdec2024 ✨

12/27/2024

They’re small, they’re quiet, they’re brown. They often cede the spotlight to their bigger, poofier cousins, the rock doves. But mourning doves are a very big presence at the Wild Bird Fund year round. This year, we’ve cared for 641 of these little charmers, including many, many nestlings and fledglings, and we have 2 adults in residence right now.

Your support has provided formula, seeds, medication, incubators, carriers and thousands of hours of expert care for these cuties and many more. We are so grateful.💕

✨ Big news! Our matching grant is now $70k! Several generous donors provided this grant so that your donation will be doubled before Dec. 31. To donate, please visit bit.ly/WBFdec2024 ✨

🎥: Katherine Figueroa

This juvenile red-tailed hawk is one of the 288 patients spending Christmas with us. He arrived last night from Staten I...
12/25/2024

This juvenile red-tailed hawk is one of the 288 patients spending Christmas with us. He arrived last night from Staten Island after a possible window collision.

We’re grateful to the Urban Park Rangers for bringing this beauty to us in his time of need and always being available to help our local wildlife.

And a big shoutout to our staff and volunteers who are working on Christmas Day and every day to care for our patients.

We wish you all a peaceful holiday.☃️

📷: Michelle Talich

Fishing line was tightly wound around the left elbow of this common merganser, rescued off a frozen reservoir in Orangeb...
12/24/2024

Fishing line was tightly wound around the left elbow of this common merganser, rescued off a frozen reservoir in Orangeburg, N.Y. This poor bird suffered severe swelling at the site of the constriction, hypothermia and signs of frostbite on one leg. As a diving bird, who needs her wings to fish underwater, a merganser is not just grounded by a fishing line injury, but also prevented from hunting.

This bird’s arrival at WBF was the result of truly heroic and “it takes a village” efforts by the Hudson Valley Humane Society and many others. Divers ventured into the freezing water to retrieve her from the ice. From — “a team of resources came together, specifically: Veolia personnel, The Orangeburg and Pearl River Fire Departments, the Piermont Fire Department’s Dive Team, the Orangetown Police Department, the Orangetown Animal Control Officer and the Hudson Valley Humane Society.”

Thank you to all these amazing people and the property owner who called for help. Please visit HVHSNY for more info and to support their work. What a beautiful story of compassion for the holidays.

The merganser is now warm and comfortable. We’ve provided wound care and are working to keep her stable and calm.

✨ Please consider donating for her care, and that of 270 other animals who are with us for the holidays. We now have a $50k match in place! Your donation is doubled until Dec. 31: bit.ly/WBFdec2024 ✨

📷: Rachel Frank

Amazing rescue story! This common merganser is now in care at the Wild Bird Fund. See our new post for more info on her ...
12/24/2024

Amazing rescue story! This common merganser is now in care at the Wild Bird Fund. See our new post for more info on her care.

✨ Last chance! Bidding ends tonight at 10PM ET for our online auction. There are still a few amazing items with no bids!...
12/22/2024

✨ Last chance! Bidding ends tonight at 10PM ET for our online auction. There are still a few amazing items with no bids! All proceeds benefit our patients. bit.ly/wbfauction2024 ✨

Suddenly we’re all feeling a bit underdressed.🥹A glamorous visitor comes in from the cold after a window collision in th...
12/22/2024

Suddenly we’re all feeling a bit underdressed.🥹

A glamorous visitor comes in from the cold after a window collision in the West Village — a cedar waxwing. This lovely bird suffered a concussion and breathing difficulties, but has perked up while in care. We hope to see continued improvement with antiinflammatory medication and time.

Window collisions are preventable! Turn out lights at night and place markings on the exterior of windows so that birds see a barrier instead of reflected habitat. The markings are small and subtle but must be spaced at least 2 inches apart and cover all the glass. If you live or work in a building that regularly kills birds, please speak up! Talk to the management. Every window and every bird matters at this point.

✨ We now have a $50k match in place thanks to several generous patrons! Please consider donating to help this cedar waxwing and the 1,500 other window collisions we’ll be receiving in the coming year. Your donation is doubled until Dec. 31: bit.ly/WBFdec2024 ✨

📷: Lily Lugo, Phyllis Tseng

We’re always encouraged by a bit of attitude, and this Cooper’s hawk has got it, despite the window collision he suffere...
12/21/2024

We’re always encouraged by a bit of attitude, and this Cooper’s hawk has got it, despite the window collision he suffered earlier this week. He came in feisty, but with bruising to his chest. The biggest concern, however, is a small beak injury. For this reason, we’ve just transferred this handsome fellow to our friends at The Raptor Trust.

✨Please consider donating while we have a $40k match! Your gift will be doubled until Dec. 31: bit.ly/WBFdec2024 ✨

📷: Artelen Reyes

It’s that time of year when we start to get a little starry-/teary-eyed revisiting some of the faces we’ve seen this pas...
12/19/2024

It’s that time of year when we start to get a little starry-/teary-eyed revisiting some of the faces we’ve seen this past year. Baby season seems remote (busy pigeons notwithstanding) but omigosh some of these kids are still very much in our hearts.

Behold, if you will, the burgeoning mustache on this wee Northern flicker! We cared for more than 4,000 nestlings and fledglings this year!

Thank you to everyone who helped us make these babies’ wild dreams come true. We couldn’t do it without you!

✨Please consider donating while we have a $40k match! Your gift will be doubled until Dec. 31: bit.ly/WBFdec2024 ✨

📷: Claire Juergens

✨ONLINE AUCTION ALERT✨ More items have been added, including some amazing antiques, jewelry, dining and art. All proceed...
12/17/2024

✨ONLINE AUCTION ALERT✨ More items have been added, including some amazing antiques, jewelry, dining and art. All proceeds benefit our patients! New items are added every day until Dec. 22: bit.ly/wbfauction24

No one wants to be in the hospital🏥, but an adult swan accustomed to ruling the lake at Prospect Park dislikes the exper...
12/17/2024

No one wants to be in the hospital🏥, but an adult swan accustomed to ruling the lake at Prospect Park dislikes the experience more than most.

Hannibal takes every opportunity to lodge his complaints, but he’ll need to tolerate us a bit longer. Sorry, buddy! He’s being treated for lead toxicity, but we also think he might have ingested an object that is causing intestinal distress. X-rays didn’t solve the mystery, so we’ll be sending him for additional imaging.

Thank you for supporting our work! We couldn’t help so many patients, big and small, without you. If you’d like to donate to our year-end fundraiser, all donations will be matched until Dec. 31. Please visit bit.ly/WBFdec2024

📷: Rachel Frank

✨ONLINE AUCTION ALERT✨Unique bird art, antiques, jewelry, clothing, accessories, tickets and other hard-to-describe-but-...
12/15/2024

✨ONLINE AUCTION ALERT✨Unique bird art, antiques, jewelry, clothing, accessories, tickets and other hard-to-describe-but-excellent items, all to benefit our patients: bit.ly/wbfauction2024 New items are added every day until Dec. 22, so visit often!

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

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Videos

A beautiful animation about our work rescuing and rehabilitating birds
A beautiful animation about our work rescuing and rehabilitating birds

A special treat! Students at Pratt Institute made us this beautiful short animation about rescuing and rehabilitating birds in the city. They truly captured the spirit of our work. Thank you! Film by Aanya Gupta and Katherine Sinchi, music by Ønetent, with guidance from WBF animal care manager Katherine Figueroa.

Woodcocks skedaddle back to the wild after rehab
Woodcocks skedaddle back to the wild after rehab

Buh-bye, 2024! 🎉 We wish you all health, dark skies, warm nights and worms aplenty. ✨ If you’d like to help more woodcocks and 200 other species in the coming year, please consider donating before midnight. Donations are doubled thanks to several kind donors who provided a $70k matching grant. Please visit bit.ly/WBFdec2024 ✨ 🎥: Lily Lugo

Come along with our staff and volunteers to experience the joy of sending birds back to the wild
Come along with our staff and volunteers to experience the joy of sending birds back to the wild

Ride along with us as we release some birds! This lovely film was made by Maureen and Ian Phillips, Chris Franklin and Sarah Van Tassel at Big Sky Edit. Not pictured: our wonderful supporters who make all this work for NYC's wildlife possible. We are so grateful for you! ✨ Our matching grant is now $70k! Several generous donors provided this grant so that your donation will be doubled before Dec. 31. To donate, please visit bit.ly/WBFdec2024 ✨

Mourning dove fledglings have their say
Mourning dove fledglings have their say

They’re small, they’re quiet, they’re brown. They often cede the spotlight to their bigger, poofier cousins, the rock doves. But mourning doves are a very big presence at the Wild Bird Fund year round. This year, we’ve cared for 641 of these little charmers, including many, many nestlings and fledglings, and we have 2 adults in residence right now. Your support has provided formula, seeds, medication, incubators, carriers and thousands of hours of expert care for these cuties and many more. We are so grateful.💕 ✨ Big news! Our matching grant is now $70k! Several generous donors provided this grant so that your donation will be doubled before Dec. 31. To donate, please visit bit.ly/WBFdec2024 ✨ 🎥: Katherine Figueroa

Rehabbed woodcocks are released back to the wild
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.

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
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
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
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
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 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
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

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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