Author: lavellaneda1

Service Blog Post #4 Checking In

by lavellaneda1

Volunteering at Wild Nest has allowed me to get more familiar with knowing what kind of care birds require. Over the last four times I have gone to volunteer, I have been presented with various tasks such as preparing food, washing dishes, going down to the aviary, and midday clean up duties. Birds usually eat berries which have to be cut into tiny pieces because for some reason, they tend to go uneaten when the pieces are too large. Going down to the outdoor aviary tends to consist of bringing down fruit and seeds down to the birds who are getting ready to be released. There are two separate outdoor aviaries, one of them I am not allowed to enter into due to it housing the infamous “your majesty” who is a bird known for flying and landing on you while biting. One of the activities I enjoyed most was being able to handle the medications for three birds. I was given the privilege of measuring out the dosage and getting medications ready. 

Over the last two weeks, the number of birds at Wild Nest have greatly increased in number. The adult and juvie room are close to being full of birds while at the same time due to baby bird season finally arriving, there has been an influx of baby birds who are being nursed. Just this week, six recently hatched baby wrens were brought in and are currently being thermoregulated in an incubator at 85 Celsius. Every 15 minutes the wren are being feed nutritional baby formula using a 1 ml o-ring syringe with a cannula tip. Baby wrens like to be hidden which is why when they are placed into their incubator, they are hidden with a light piece of napkin. After 5 minutes have passed from the formula feeding, the baby birds are once again taken out to be feed worms. The worms are cut in half and placed in water to help with hydration. I was given the opportunity to feed the baby wrens worms and had to whistle and blow on the wrens multiple times to get them to open their beaks. This helps them open their beaks due to the sounds sounding similar to their mothers. 

I have greatly enjoyed volunteering at Wild Nest and it has certainly exceeded my expectations. Everything has a set system and is very organized which helps when you’re starting out to volunteer. I’m looking forward to increasing my knowledge about birds and continuing to volunteer with this organization. 

Introduction: Leslie Avellaneda

by lavellaneda1

Hi Everyone!, 

My name is Leslie Avellaneda. I’m currently a sophomore neuroscience major. Honors 3280 peaked my interest due to the service learning aspect. I’ve never heard of a discussion based class where time is partitioned into learning about environmental preservation and environmental issues and then getting the opportunity to volunteer with an affiliated community service partner. Due to this unique structure of the class, I decided to sign up for it. Ever since high school, I’ve placed a high importance on giving back to the community and completed over 400 hours of service. Due to also being pre-med. I became interested in the work Wild Nest Bird Rehab conducts due to it being the closest to healthcare considering there is a responsibility of taking care of live birds and tending to them. 

The Wild Nest Bird is a non-profit organization that specifically focuses on rehabilitating birds, This entails tending to their wounds and health until they can be released into the wild. After meeting with the organization today, I’ve learned more about how the organization seems to work. Everyone has their own role and everything seems to work in a very structured way. The organization was founded in 2021by Nancy who first started rehabilitating birds out of her own basement. Once there was no more space for all the birds she was helping rehabilitate, she decided to set up her location in Decatur where now now over 1,500 birds are getting rehabilitated per year. Wild Nest presents an opportunity for learning about environmental issues, wildlife, nature and how to care for wildlife birds. When a bird is first received, the first step is to conduct a wellness check, in which they determine what the next course of action should be. There are specific rooms for the birds: juvenile, infant, adult and quarantine. Currently, the organization is overgoing remodels and making more space for the new baby bird season upcoming at the end of March. Through my work at the Wild Nest Bird Rehab, I hope to learn more about tending to birds and hopefully getting trusted with higher level responsibilities such as feeding a bird and getting to learn ways to reduce the effect humans have on wildlife.