Tag: urban birds

Introduction: Diane Kong

by dkong3

Greetings everyone, I am Diane Kong, pursuing a Biology major with a premed concentration. My decision to enroll in this course stemmed from its focus on community service within the urban environment, which was something I had been interested in but never had the opportunity to delve into. This honors course promised a unique opportunity to explore the intersections of nature and community engagement. As I immerse myself in the material, I am uncovering the intricate nuances of nature that often go overlooked. From the interconnectedness of ecosystems to the delicate urban biodiversity, I am realizing the depth and complexity of the natural world.

I am thrilled to collaborate with Wild Nest Bird Rehab, a vital organization dedicated to bird welfare. I was interested in working with Wild Nest because of my deep love for birds, particularly hummingbirds, and the sadness I feel seeing them fall victim to human activities. Wild Nest’s commitment to treating 1,500 birds annually, educating the local community, and advocating for approaches to reduce bird deaths and injuries is truly inspiring. Through my engagement with Wild Nest, I’ve learned the staggering statistic that billions of birds perish each year due to habitat loss, free-roaming cats, building collisions, and other causes. I am eager to contribute to projects aimed at directly assisting birds, whether through treatment or feeding. Moreover, I hope to learn invaluable skills during my service assignments, such as bird weighing, medication administration, and tube feeding, all under the guidance of licensed professionals. I believe that by working with Wild Nest, I can make a meaningful difference in the lives of birds while growing personally and professionally.

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. 

Blog Post #2: Getting Started

by jdavis311

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!