NYC’s Wild Animal Clinic During the Covid-19 Crisis

By Molly Adams, Safina Center Launchpad Fellow

During the Feminist Bird Club’s first outing in New York of 2020, we had a two-part program consisisting of a winter bird walk in Central Park followed by a behind-the-scenes tour of the Wild Bird Fund. The Wild Bird Fund is New York City’s only wildlife rehab center and each year they take in over 6,000 patients. 

Photo: Molly Adams

Many of those patients are window collision victims, baby birds, and pigeons. New York City Audubon’s Project Safe Flight and Injured Bird Transporter volunteers work together with the Wild Bird Fund to help stunned birds survive. If you are in NYC and find an injured bird, follow these steps to get the bird to the clinic. The clinic has reduced hours and staff members, but is still open every day.

The COVID-19 crisis has deeply affected everyone in NYC, especially essential workers, like those at the Wild Bird Fund, who are risking their health for others. The clinic typically relies heavily on volunteers each day, who are no longer able to assist the staff during New York’s pause order. Like other non-profits in the city, the Wild Bird Fund postponed their biggest fundraiser of the year due to the virus, resulting in a huge loss of income before their busiest season. 

Photo: Molly Adams

Tristan Higginbotham, a wildlife rehabber at Wild Bird Fund, told me “It’s getting scary because we are approaching baby bird season and our patient numbers will skyrocket. Each spring/summer there are hundreds of screaming baby birds to feed worms to, and with a significantly reduced staff, it will be even more challenging.” 

Since many New Yorkers are in quarantine and working from home, less people are finding injured birds and bringing them to the clinic, resulting in less individual donations to the Wild Bird Fund. During this time, the best way to help injured birds in NYC and the dedicated staff at Wild Bird Fund is to provide a direct donation so that they are able to stay open in the upcoming months. 

Photo: Molly Adams

The Wild Bird Fund is located at:

565 Columbus Avenue 

New York, NY 10024 

between 87th and 88th Streets

646-306-2862

Hours: 10am to 6pm