I thought I should create a simple entry to outline the basic flow of birds in the Center. We try to keep an organized system as best as we can given the limited space and resources. Despite that, we are still in desperate need of a larger building with separate rooms and more space for storage, diet preparation, and specialized bird care. We also would love to have a space dedicated to education, where visitors can learn about bird habits and behavior as well as the potential threats to their well-being in the wild.
When you walk into the Center, we have a small table with a computer and some information on the work that we do. Every bird brought in needs to be input into our computer database. We use a system called WILD-ONe, which allows us to keep track of individual birds and their conditions, medications, and progress. Prior to this year, we used a paper system and although it took a lot of time to learn the system and become familiar with all it has to offer, it is an efficient way to keep track of individual cases, especially since we are caring for such a high number of birds. Each and every bird has a Case #, that is unique to that bird. This allows us to keep organized record of every animal.
Upon bringing an animal in, one of our members will take the bird behind the curtain to perform a diagnostic exam. We look for fractures, external injuries, and other signs of generalized fatigue or dehydration. We also look for signs for neurological damage and if we need to, we can administer a round of medications right away.
While the animal is being looked at, another member of the Center inputs the rescuer's contact information into the computer and asks questions to get as much information about the situation of the rescue as possible. A lot of the treatment that we give our birds is dependent on the circumstances that led them to be brought in. As an example, any bird brought in because of an attack from a dog or cat must be put on Amoxicillin due to the fact that dogs and cats often carry a bacterium harmful to birds. It is similar to detective work in that we need to assess all the information we have to make the best conclusion. Unlike human patients, birds can not tell us what is wrong with them and often hide any signs of illness or injury as to not appear vulnerable.
Once the bird is settled into the Center and we have made a general conclusion of its well-being, we speak with the rescuer and provide as much detail as we can regarding injuries, the care the bird will receive, and the prognosis for release into the wild. We also make sure to provide the Case # to the rescuer, as a lot of people who bring in birds like the opportunity to call us and check up on them.
As I've said before, we try to keep the Center as organized as possible. Therefore, we have a system of how birds move through the Center. Pictured above is our baby table. As you may have guessed, it is the area where our youngest birds are kept. They're often small with few feathers and need frequent care. We keep them inside of these buckets that are lined with paper towels and tissues and also use smaller plastic containers within those buckets to emulate the tightness of a nest environment. Many of them are kept on heating pads to maintain a healthy body temperature. Despite being so small, they have quite an appetite and are not afraid to vocalize it either. These hatchlings are hand-fed every 30 minutes. With many of these buckets housing more than one baby, there are lots of hungry mouths to feed.
As a hatchling gets older, it eventually develops into a fledgling. This stage in the bird's life cycle is similar to that of a teenage human. They grow more independent and explorative, yet still rely on us to be fed and cared for. We move fledglings out of small buckets into these larger laundry baskets. This allows them to have more room to move around. It also allows us to take young birds that were in buckets by themselves and house them together to socialize. At this point, there are only being fed every 45 minutes are being offered other types of food besides the normal baby diet. Birds in these baskets are getting the chance to try fruit, insects, and seed and starting to learn how to move and eat like older wild birds.
After being placed in baskets, fledglings will continue to grow and become more and more independent. They start to eat the food left for them and beg during hand-feedings less and less. Feathers are almost fully developed and they are becoming skilled flyers, best demonstrated when they escape from baskets during a scheduled feeding. Once they are large enough, we place them in groups into a playpen. In order to be moved to a playpen, birds must satisfy two conditions. Firstly, they must be self-feeding and refusing hand-feedings. Secondly, they need to be healthy and off of medication. We perform fecal tests on all of our birds and we do not put any birds into playpens until they come back free of parasites. This is the final stage at the Bird Center.
After being in a playpen, we place the birds into a flight cage which unfortunately, I do not have a photo of. Most of our flight cages are in the backyards of volunteers. When put in the flight cage, the birds are still given food and water, but are now given the opportunity to adjust to being outdoors. They get acclimated to changes in temperature during the day and noises they wouldn't hear in the Center. After a little bit of time in these flight cages, we open the doors and the majority of the time, the birds fly out into the world without any problems to live and give rise to even more baby birds.
We have limited flight cages available for use, and therefore, some birds wind up being at the Center longer than they need to while we wait for an open flight cage. From speaking with volunteers, I've learned that having a flight cage can be a great experience. Many people enjoy watching the birds and the feeling of opening the door and watching them go free, knowing they are healthy and able to thrive, is unmatched.
If you are interested in hosting a flight cage for our Center, please email me at be.zoo.logical@gmail.com
One additional area of the Bird Center remains. The small area pictured above is our quarantine table. It is here that we keep the birds that may have contagious diseases. Any bird suspected of having such a condition is tested through fecals as well as crop swabs, in order to confirm presence or absence of the condition. From there, they are either moved to a different table or medicated appropriately. This is yet another reason it is so important that we find a larger and permanent location for our activity. Ideally, the birds placed in quarantine would be in a separate room from the other birds. Because of our limited space, the best option is to keep them on a separate table on the other side of the room.
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