Preserve and protect
Coosa, Legacy and Natchez might be different bird species, but they all have one thing in common: they were rescued by the Alabama Wildlife Center in Oak Mountain State Park.
The three raptors were brought in to the center with afflictions, such as gunshot wounds or broken talons. Now, because their injuries prevented them from being released, they serve as educational ambassadors for their species at the center.
The Mississippi Kite (Natchez), the Barred Owl (Coosa) and the American Kestrel (Legacy) will also be featured guests at this year’s Wild About Chocolate Valentine’s Day event. The 11th annual Valentine Gala benefits the Alabama Wildlife Center and features a variety of chocolate desserts from Birmingham restaurants, caterers and bakeries.
“It’ll be a great gathering of supporters in the community who believe in the program,” said the center’s executive director Doug Adair. “It’s Birmingham’s premier Valentine’s Day event, and it’s a great way to bring people together.”
The event isn’t just an opportunity for fun, Adair said; it also enables the wildlife center to continue the work that they do and to make improvements its exhibits. Visitors to the center can walk through various public areas, but they might not know that hundreds of birds are healing around them.
A middle room in the building is filled with baskets and boxes of songbirds, raptors and waterfowl. Groups of volunteers and the nonprofit’s small staff are constantly working to rescue, rehabilitate and release every bird brought to the clinic. Adair said they make use of as much space as possible for the birds; they even have a kind of condo of cages built for a recent influx of Screech Owls.
Baby birds, whose season just ended, fill an entire back room. Adair said taking care of baby birds wouldn’t be possible without the volunteers because baby birds need to be fed every 30 minutes for 16 hours. The center sees about 2,000 birds a years, and there are hundreds of species.
Wild About Chocolate’s fundraising makes caring for these animals possible.
“We couldn’t do what we do without the people who want to preserve and protect,” Adair said. “We are really excited for this event.”
Perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of the event will be the presentation of BR1 or Baby Raptor 1. She is the first baby raptor and the first baby Great Horned Owl the Alabama Wildlife Center has treated, and she will be the star of Wild About Chocolate.
BR1 will not remain her name, though. It’s a policy of the center to not name patients, and they had every intention of releasing this baby bird when she came in. They found her in Tuscaloosa after a storm, but they couldn’t re-nest her because she showed evidence of predation.
The bird went through the rehabilitation process, developing well, but before they released her, they found that she had a congenital eye defect. A specialized clinic determined that BR1 was not a candidate for surgery, so it was determined that she should stay at the center.
Scottie Jackson, the director of education and outreach, works with BR1 often, and said they are lucky, in some ways, to gain such a wonderful ambassador for the Great Horned Owl. Not every animal can work with school groups for educational purposes, but BR1 has “the perfect temperament for education.” She is a very easy-going, calm bird.
Wild About Chocolate is right around BR1’s first birthday as well, so Jackson said it’s the perfect time to present her.
The event will take place at the Harbert Center in Downtown Birmingham on Feb. 14 at 6 p.m. There will be a live and silent auction, along with live music. In addition to the chocolate desserts, there will be savory appetizers and complimentary beer and wine provided by local caterers and restaurants.
Tickets are $75 in advance and $100 at the door. For more information, visit awrc.org.