Brooklyn Capital Campaign

When the Wild Bird Fund opened its doors in 2012 and began rehabilitating birds and other wildlife, we did not imagine that a decade later we’d be admitting more than 10,000 patients a year in our double storefront on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Yet here we are.

As the only wildlife rehabilitation and education center in New York City, the Wild Bird Fund has become more than just a hospital for sick, injured and orphaned wildlife. It is a haven for humans too — the thousands of caring New Yorkers who arrive at our door, a bird in hand.

For migratory birds that have collided with windows, hawks that have ingested rodenticide, gulls entangled in fishing line, pigeons suffering from lead poisoning, fledglings attacked by outdoor cats and thousands of baby songbirds displaced from their nests, WBF is their only emergency room. Squirrels, opossums and turtles too!

The rise of HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza) in the past two years, bringing the need to isolate susceptible patients within the clinic, has brought a higher level of urgency to our space constraints. With that has also come a 21 percent increase in patients. It’s time to spread our wings — and square footage!

Hi there, Park Slope!

After several years of searching, we finally found 183 7th Avenue, a spacious storefront with two big windows and a big backyard for aviaries and pools. The facility will not only alleviate space constraints at 565 Columbus Avenue but also enable us to serve more animals in need — and their rescuers — from Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.

But this former nail salon needs a lot of construction to make it ready to treat wildlife.

Among the changes:

• Build exam, operating and isolation rooms, plus an education area.
• Create dedicated pigeon and raptor rooms, a baby bird nursery and a waterfowl room with a pool.
• In the backyard, build pigeon, songbird and raptor aviaries, plus waterfowl pools.
• Install a zoned HVAC system to have separate ventilation for different species.