Dear Friends, Being warm and well fed is one of those happy things we tend to take for granted, and International Bird Rescue hopes that the hundreds of orphaned ducklings we care for each spring feel this kind of comfort and safety once they are taken in by our Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay centers. Every year our centers fill with orphaned birds – last spring brought an incredible 1,543 Mallard Ducklings, 71 baby Wood Ducks and 63 Canada Goslings. With the arrival of the year’s first ducklings, baby bird season is upon us again, and we need your help. Landscaped yards, road medians and industrial landscaping have replaced many natural nesting areas for waterfowl. After their eggs hatch, ducks and geese walk their young to the water facing man-made obstacles such as storm drains, fences, cars, pets and people. Hazards like these leave hundreds of wild ducklings and goslings orphaned each year, and International Bird Rescue is honored to take responsibility for their care and subsequent release. But we can’t do it alone. It is the generosity of donors like you that makes this life-saving work possible. Orphaned ducklings are typically less than a week old upon rescue, and each clutch has its own story. This season’s first four ducklings were found by a group of children passing the library in Pleasant Hill, California on March 24. The ducklings were huddled in a puddle beside a storm drain, and when it was confirmed that they were either orphaned or hopelessly separated from their mother, the four baby birds were brought to International Bird Rescue for care. As expected, orphaned birds have been coming in ever since, and despite their small size, it is expensive to care for so many birds on top of our regular patient load. Baby birds generally spend about five weeks in our care and we are proud of their 85% release rate. In fact, band reports show that many of these orphans not only thrive in the wild, but go on to migrate throughout the State. You can help us raise these little ones and offer them a second chance to make it on their own. It costs International Bird Rescue about $25 to raise each of these orphans, keeping them warm and well fed until they are ready to thrive in the wild. Your donations will help cover these rapidly multiplying expenses, and empower International Bird Rescue to say “yes” to every duckling and gosling that needs us. Thank you for all that you do to show that every bird matters! With much appreciation
Paul Kelway |
