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Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
Alabama Wildlife bird shower
Director of Education and Outreach Jay Eubanks talks about the center’s work rehabilitating birds. Arthur the merlin, one of the center’s education birds, is unable to fly.
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Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
Alabama Wildlife bird shower
A fledgling screech owl is weighed in the center’s exam room. Young birds have to be monitored regularly to be sure they are growing properly.
More than 200 mouths chirp hungrily in the Alabama Wildlife Center nursery, waiting for volunteers to feed them. As the summer continues, there will be about 700 more beaks to fill with food.
To welcome the new birds, the center hosted its annual baby bird shower on May 10. While scattered rain reduced the turnout, visitors still came to donate supplies, eat cake and see the nursery from a special viewing room. There were also activities for children, including a beanbag toss game, a bird feeding demonstration, sunflower planting and a chance to meet the center’s education birds.
“I love meeting and seeing the people that come through here. It’s exciting to see our supporters and new people, too, who get to see the birds and stuff for the first time,” said Gina Hinson, who planned the shower and has volunteered at the center for three years.
From March until August, many young birds get injured or lost before they are able to fly and feed themselves. These baby birds make up about half of the center’s annual intake, and volunteers and staff members put in long hours to care for all 900 of them.
The donations from the shower will help offset the expenses of caring for the young birds. Director of Education and Outreach Jay Eubanks said the costs reach several thousand dollars, which is outside the center’s normal budget.
“It’s very important for us to get all the supplies we need for the baby bird season. Without this, it would be really expensive on us to get through it,” Eubanks said.
Basic household items make up the majority of the center’s needs. Toilet paper, garbage bags, bleach, unscented laundry detergent and birdseed are among the things that enable the center to care for injured and orphaned birds.
“They don’t have to write a big check to help us out. They can just dig into their pantries and their bathroom supplies and maybe bring us a few items,” Eubanks said. “We’ll take one roll of toilet paper. We won’t turn anything away.”
Eubanks said the center accepts donations all year long for baby and migratory birds. Donors can bring items to the center or have them shipped directly from amazon.com. To see the full list of the Alabama Wildlife Center’s needs, visit awrc.org/wishlist.
