I have been volunteering with Wild Nest Bird Rehabilitation and have already learned so much in my short time with them! On a normal day volunteering we round on the birds in both the juvenile room and adult room as well as any birds that may be in the outdoor aviary. We check to make sure each bird is well and has adequate amounts of food and water. Some of my favorite birds to see up close and personal, so far, have been the hummingbird and the American crow. It has been very eye-opening to see how many birds are brought in because of injuries sustained from cats, window collisions, and car collisions, to name a few. Window collisions are the third leading cause of death for songbirds and learning this information prompted our interest in doing a project about this topic. 

In addition to volunteering with Wild Nest, I have also been able to speak and learn more about the issue of window collisions from Adam Betuel, who is the director of Conservation with Birds Georgia. He told me how window collisions cause 365 million to 1 billion bird deaths each year. He also went through different factors of glass that can make them more likely to confuse birds. As more and more buildings are being built with large amounts of glass this issue is becoming ever more pressing, but more details on this will be shared in Diane and I’s project :). 

I was also able to attend the event at Legacy Park called “Humans and/as Animals”. The event was very interesting! We walked around the lake where Wild Nest is located and heard from several professors from Emory University, Georgia State University, and Morehouse College as well. The panel discussion was about how we can all be more in tune with animals and essentially be grounded and reminded of the fact that we too are animals. Carolyn, Professor Finck, and I also shared our stories of volunteering with Wild Nest at the end of the event. I have attached pictures that Professor Finck took from our walk around the lake. I would include pictures of the birds as well, but we are not allowed to do this. 

So far, I have been able to hold a few birds such as the American crow and several mourning doves. I really enjoy being in the exam room with the new intakes and seeing how different, yet similar treatment of birds is to human treatment. I have also been able to help prepare a lot of the foods and formulas that are needed for the different types of songbirds that Wild Nest helps. I even witnessed several birds being tube-fed!