DOWN THE ROAD A PIECE
By Jane D. Brown
Columnist
My family and I have fed backyard birds since I was a kid. Our daughter, Lily, is so enamored with birds that she has volunteered in wildlife rehab centers since she was a teenager.
So, we’re all excited that a new songbird rehabilitation center is opening this week here in Orange County. It’s called the Carolina Songbird Center. Lily will be one of the volunteers helping to feed the baby and injured birds.
I’ve learned why that father bluebird in the picture looks so stressed. When those six young ones were still in the nest, he and his mate put food in each of those mouths nonstop from sunrise to sundown. Once they became fledglings and left the nest, the parents continued to feed them until they figured out how to do it on their own.
That arduous task is some of what the staff at the Carolina Songbird Center will be doing, too, as they work hard to keep baby and injured songbirds alive and eventually release them back into nature. Saving songbirds is a big commitment.
Blythe Boyd, the Director of Operations, Ari Katsiyannis, the Director of Songbird Care, and Lily Brown, Songbird Technician, are making the Carolina Songbird Center a reality. Ari, a self-described “bird nerd,” says, “Songbirds are pure magic. To give them a second chance and see them thrive is just the best thing. They are evolutionary marvels.”
The Center is unusual in this area in that it focuses only on songbirds. Blythe explains that wildlife rehabilitation facilities that work with other kinds of wild animals (rabbits, squirrels, turtles, etc.) sometimes have difficulty paying enough attention to the intense feeding schedule and special diets required to save songbirds.
Blythe, Ari and Lily all fell in love with helping songbirds when they worked together at a wildlife rehabilitation center in Hillsborough. Since its closure last year, the three have sought ways to continue helping birds.
Another bird lover has donated start-up costs, while a local landowner is renting them his outbuilding and has built a flight cage for the Center. Others have donated clinic and rehab materials, so the Carolina Songbird Center is underway.
Blythe says they will be ready to accept patients (and donations) this week You can learn more about the center here: www.carolinasongbirdcenter.org; and email them here:
info@carolinasongbirdcenter.org. If you find a bird you believe to be orphaned or injured, you should text or call the Center at 910-601-5088 and the staff will help you decide the best next steps for helping the bird.
Visitors are not allowed in the Center, except to deliver birds that need care. This is due to regulations and because birds of all ages stress so easily and require quiet surroundings.
If you find a baby bird, here’s a link to questions to ask and what to do. If you’re still unsure whether or not the bird needs your help, contact a rehabber immediately for expert advice. In most cases, you do not need to intervene. “You don’t want to be a birdnapper,” says Blythe. “No human can provide the level of care that their parents can, so we always want to be sure they need help before taking them in.”
Baby birds often leave their nest before they’re fully flighted. Nests are targets for predators and parasites and the babies want to get out. Fledglings can take a few hours to a couple of days to learn to fly.
“You may think that Mom and Dad have abandoned the baby bird,” Blythe says. “In many bird species, if something has happened to one parent, the other will continue to feed and care for the young ones.”
If a baby bird still has feathers in their sheaths and looks healthy, it likely left the nest too early and should be returned to the nest. Human scent doesn’t affect the parents’ willingness to continue tending to their young.
“If the baby or adult songbird is injured or hypothermic, then you should take it to a professional,” says Ari. “Keep the bird in a warm, quiet environment. They are not comforted by human voices or touch. Never try to feed it or give it water as there is a high risk of aspiration that can be fatal.”
What else can we do to help keep our songbirds singing? Ari, who has a cat, said one of the most important things is to “leave our cats indoors.” The American Bird Conservancy estimates that cats kill more than 2.4 billion birds in the United States each year. She said research shows that staying indoors is safer for the cat, too, and indoor cats actually live longer than cats allowed to roam.
We can also treat the reflective surface of our windows with visual markers like these to minimize bird strikes. Even if a bird appears able to fly, it doesn’t mean it will survive a collision. You should get that bird to rehab.
I asked Ari what makes a songbird a songbird. She patiently explained that, among other things, songbirds (e.g., cardinals, wrens, warblers) can use their syrinx (vocal organ) to create beautifully complex sounds, unlike raptors, who are not capable of producing songs, only calls.
“Some birds are better singers than others,” says Ari. “Some folks might be surprised to learn that crows are considered songbirds. I consider crows the Bob Dylans of the songbird world,” Blythe said. “And I mean that as a compliment.”
Sing, Bob, sing!!
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Here are two general resources for birds and other wildlife in need: Animal Help Now helps finders locate a licensed rehabber near them for birds and other wildlife: www.ahnow.org.
Animal Emergency Hospital and Urgent Care in Raleigh – Takes in most wildlife species at no cost to the public. They will triage, stabilize and send to a rehabber. Open 24/7.
Jane D. Brown taught in the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media for 35 years and has lived in Chapel Hill since 1977. This reporter can be reached at: Information@TheLocal Reporter.press.
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