Wild Wings Rescue

As I mentioned, I had a chance to visit Brenda Bostick, our area's only trained bird rehabilitator with federal and state permits, last Friday to see what she does on a daily basis to nurse injured and orphaned birds back to health and release them back into the wild.


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Brenda has a small area in her kitchen where she can examine and treat birds. Once they are stabilized they are moved into her dining room where they are either put into makeshift nests or small cages. It is important that injured birds have a safe place to rest and heal. Nestlings must be kept warm and fed every twenty minutes!

Brenda and her husband use medicine droppers to feed the baby birds FONS, which is a "baby formula" made from special cat food, water, egg whites, vitamins, and yogurt cultures. They also gut worms to feed to hatchlings. (Older birds eat a variety of worms--trout, meal, earth, red--that Brenda orders off of the internet and from local vendors.)

Some of the birds like privacy; some prefer to be with other birds. Brenda puts a mirror in front of the nestlings so that they know they are birds and not little humans. When they are ready, Brenda allows them to roam in the dining room and/or go in the backyard for some fresh air. For instance, Brenda has a baby duck that she keeps inside, but he goes outside to play with two other, older ducks several times a day.

Brenda's backyard also has an aviary. When the birds have healed from their injuries or are old enough, they will be moved outdoors full-time. The aviary provides a predator free space in which to learn to forage, fly, and see the elements. After a week or two in the aviary, the birds are set free. Sometimes birds will hang around Brenda's backyard for awhile, getting their bearings, but none of them can resist the call of the wild.

"No animal wants to be in a cage," Brenda says.

Brenda uses her own time and money to care for the birds. It costs Brenda about $30 per bird for rehabilitation. Currently Brenda has 30 birds. (Typically she treats about 250 a year.) Brenda has a handful of volunteers who help her care for the birds, but she is still pretty much housebound between April and August. If you would like to help out, visit Wild Wings Rescue.