I first physically engaged with my Community Partner, Wild Nest Bird Rehab, last Sunday. At this initial meeting, my GSU team members and I went through an orientation led by both of Wild Nest’s training leaders. Here we learned about the organization’s history, what help they expect from us, and where everything is located in the facility. Located within Legacy Park in Decatur, GA, Wild Nest will be having its first baby bird season in its newly renovated facility this year. Baby bird season is their busiest season, and it will start in a few weeks, so this is an exciting time to begin volunteering with the organization.

Wild Nest Bird Rehab began after Nancy Eileen decided that singlehandedly caring for birds in her home was becoming unfeasible. When going out of town, she would have to find someone to watch the birds, and when dozens of baby birds needed to be fed every few minutes she would need extra hands. Wild Nest Bird Rehab is meant to serve as a place where people can join forces to care for many more birds than a single person could. Their goal is to rehabilitate and release songbirds and inform the public about ways they can reduce threats to these birds.

Getting to see and interact with baby birds is the most exciting part of this partnership to me. On Sunday we were able to see a baby hummingbird and I was shocked by how small it was! This link shows a picture of a baby hummingbird taken from Google Images.

Some of the most notable aspects of Wild Nest’s facility were the quarantine room for birds with diseases, the outdoor aviary where birds close to being released can practice flying again, and the kitchen where bird food is made. The kitchen even had a cookbook with recipes for different bird species. Live worms and leafy greens were part of many recipes.
My volunteer responsibilities will expand as I go through weeks of training. For the first three weeks, I will be shadowing a “Level 1” volunteer. After I have shadowed them for three weeks, I can choose to do the tasks I’ve been watching on my own with supervision or choose to shadow some more until I am more confident. Once I try the tasks on my own, the person who supervises me will certify that I am capable of doing “Level 1” tasks, then I can move on to shadow someone doing “Level 2” tasks and the process starts again. There are three levels of volunteer expertise, and I am able to stop training at whatever level I would like. The organization needs volunteers at each level and they are understanding of the possibility that volunteers could be uncomfortable doing higher-level tasks.

I am thoroughly enjoying my volunteer experience so far, and I hope my classmates are as well!