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Wild Bird Fund The Wild Bird Fund is a nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation and education center in NYC.
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We feel you, buddy. It’s been a rough few days!This Cooper’s hawk suffered an unknown accident and fractured two bones i...
10/15/2026

We feel you, buddy. It’s been a rough few days!

This Cooper’s hawk suffered an unknown accident and fractured two bones in the right wing. Because the fracture is midshaft, far from the joints, it has a decent chance of healing.

We’ve splinted it and we’re providing supportive care until this hawk can be transferred to our friends .

The good news is that he’s strong, alert and healthy otherwise (read: a little bit scary!) and we hope this will serve him well in the coming days.

We’ve had our busiest fall on record! We admitted more than 100 patients a day 3 days in a row following the recent bad weather, and they’re still coming.

If you’d like to help, please donate 🔗wbf.app.neoncrm.com/forms/fall-migration-2026

📷 (taken before he was able to use a perch): Tristan Higginbotham

Cronenberg is just glad to have his double case of stringerfoot treated. But this pigeon has the distinction of being th...
10/13/2026

Cronenberg is just glad to have his double case of stringerfoot treated. But this pigeon has the distinction of being the 12,500th patient to arrive in 2026!

This is about 11 percent more patients than we had at this time last year. Much of this increase has been in the past month, during one of the busiest falls we remember. Fall migration always brings in a lot of window-collision victims (migrators passing through the city, drawn in by the bright lights and tricked by the reflections on the walls of glass). But the storms and rain have also brought us a deluge of pigeons. Bad weather can be the tipping point for a bird already suffering from other ailments, such as stringerfoot or an illness.

Stringerfoot happens when string or hair becomes wound around their toes, cutting off circulation and causing infection. Pigeons lose toes and whole feet to this human-caused condition — a result of carelessly disposed garbage.

Cronenberg is also happy for the regular supply of healthy bird seed and a seed bowl to sit in to take the pressure off his recovering feet. Soon, we’ll send him back out to strut confidently among his flock.

You can help! Please donate via 🔗bit.ly/wbfdonate to help more birds like Cronenberg

📷: Tristan Higginbotham

10/10/2026

There goes Lancelot. “He’s OK now!”

This herring gull was found limping and unable to fly. We suspect he had some sort of accident, but it’s not clear exactly what happened. Fortunately there were no fractures, and after 8 days of care and pool time in the clinic, he was fully recovered and ready to return home.

Good luck out there!

🎥: AnnaBeth Crittenden

10/08/2026

“Release the bittern!”🦑

And we did release this American bittern back into the grassy wetlands where he’s most at home. This bittern collided with a window, and a brave soul rescued him and brought him to the clinic. He was fully recovered after several days of care and we were happy to see him off.

These secretive marsh birds stand tall in the grasses, their necks stretched up to look like reeds, while gazing below with their low-set eyes scanning for prey. We’d hate to be an unsuspecting frog or crayfish under this guy’s gaze.

These birds have sharp, daggerlike beaks and strong necks. They can be very dangerous to handle in care, and we always work in pairs and wear goggles.

In this scenario, he’s defensively trying to look big and scary. Well done, sir!

We are in peak fall migration. Please consider donating to help us care for migrators big and small. 🔗bit.ly/wbfdonate

🎥: Stephanie Wood

10/08/2026

Another update on the GWB Port Authority pigeon netting situation.

⚠️UPDATE 10/8: There are 4 birds who have been trapped behind netting for a few weeks. They aren't going into the traps ...
10/08/2026

⚠️UPDATE 10/8: There are 4 birds who have been trapped behind netting for a few weeks. They aren't going into the traps and aren't moving. These birds need urgent medical attention. If you call , please specifically ask that these 4 birds be removed and given to the rehabbers

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In August we told you about a massive pigeon netting situation at the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal managed by the Port Authority of NY & NJ and a contractor, Bell Environmental Services, they hired to exclude and remove birds over a huge area under the bridge. The company was using traps to catch the birds and then release them. But their careless methods did not prevent a number of birds from dying and many babies from being separated from their parents.

We took in many of the birds, as did volunteers and our partners in care. In late September, we admitted one adult pigeon that had been left trapped without food or water for 5 or 6 days. By the time this bird arrived at the clinic, he was so emaciated that his organs had begun to fail. We ended his suffering humanely.

Without the constant vigilance of the volunteers on site, and the attention of the media, we are certain that many more birds would have been left to die.

We’re sorry to report that this shameful situation is still going on. We’re told that birds are still trapped behind the netting. Those caught in the traps are being left longer before release, some on the floor of a cooling area where they are susceptible to flooding and predation by rats. And some were allegedly removed from the site in a vehicle instead of being released.

If you’d like to help, please send a letter via this form: 🔗vfar.org/pigeons

You can also call the Port Authority at (201) 346-4100 to request that all pigeons be released safely into the hands of rehabbers and that the Port Authority commit to releasing all trapped pigeons within 24 hours. Please be POLITE. Any other approach is counterproductive.

Thank you for your willingness to speak up for pigeons!

10/06/2026

What an amazing collaboration! We are so grateful to Rockland Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation for taking on the care of these 3 pigeons rescued from the ongoing Port Authority GWB bus station netting situation. And to Woodstock Farm Sanctuary for giving them a home. 🩶

The ovenbird definitely appeared dead. The bird lay, eyes closed, beside a window in Brooklyn Bridge Park. But when a r...
10/05/2026

The ovenbird definitely appeared dead.

The bird lay, eyes closed, beside a window in Brooklyn Bridge Park. But when a rescuer went to examine the body, the bird woke up and squealed. Very much alive!

This bird was then gently closed inside a paper bag and transported to the Wild Bird Fund. After two days of care and observation, she was cleared for release.

Anyone who regularly monitors bird window collisions has encountered this situation. Like humans, birds can get knocked out by a blow to the head. Being surprisingly alive, or being feisty after being picked up, does not mean the bird is OK, though. Concussions manifest over time, and the bird may have other injuries you can’t see. This is why we always recommend taking a bird who has hit a window to a wildlife rehabber. The bird will have the best chance of survival if not left outside to fend for themself while recovering from injury.

The point is: lying down doesn’t mean dead! It’s good to check (only if you’re comfortable; use gloves or a cloth if you’re wary of touching the bird). If you’re not sure, you can place the bird in a closed paper bag anyway and wait for a bit. Pretty soon, it will be obvious. You can test the legs: on a dead bird, they will be stiff.

Please consider reporting both injured and dead window-collision victims to dbird.org. It’s quick and it will give many losts lives an afterlife in useful data.

Good luck out there, ovenbird! 🧡

We are in peak fall migration. Please consider donating to help us care for migrators big and small. 🔗bit.ly/wbfdonate

Among our hundreds of incoming patients during this busy fall migration are lots of Northern parulas — 36 in the past we...
10/04/2026

Among our hundreds of incoming patients during this busy fall migration are lots of Northern parulas — 36 in the past week! These colorful warblers are everywhere right now if you know where to look (and please look! you won’t regret it).

Like all migratory birds, they are susceptible to bright lights and reflective glass. Many will die or be injured colliding with windows.

These are just a few of our recent parula guests, all recovering from injuries sustained during window collisions. You’ll also notice a cheeky bay-breasted warbler hopping among them.

Most birds die on impact with a window, and those who survive suffer concussion, eye injury, shoulder injuries and more. If you find one on the sidewalk, please stop to help. Placing them gently in a paper bag, closing the bag, and getting them quickly to a wildlife rehabber might give them a second chance to continue their migration. Please don’t release the bird, even if they perk up. They usually have injuries you can’t see and will only fly off to die elsewhere if released.

Window collisions are preventable! Turning out lights at night and adding markings spaced 2 inches apart over the outside of windows are the simple solutions. If you live or work in a building that regularly kills birds, please say something! Talk to the management. There are many good products and design solutions. Bird-friendly windows are beautiful windows.

We are in peak fall migration. Please consider donating to help us care for migrators big and small. 🔗bit.ly/wbfdonate

📷: Lily Lugo

10/02/2026

It’s the time of year when we need to stock hornworms for our cuckoo guests.

We have two yellow-billed cuckoos in house right now. Both are victims of window collisions, and both are strong and feisty, with a great chance of return to the wild.

Cuckoos are big fans of caterpillars! They especially like finding a large trove, such as webworms or tent caterpillars, and will quickly take them out.

Window collisions are preventable! Turning out lights at night and adding markings spaced 2 inches apart over the outside of windows are the simple solutions. If you live or work in a building that regularly kills birds, please say something! Talk to the management. There are many good products and design solutions. Bird-friendly windows are beautiful windows.

We are in peak fall migration. Please consider donating to help us care for migrators big and small. 🔗bit.ly/wbfdonate

🎥: Lily Lugo

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565 Columbus Avenue
New York, NY
10024

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Thursday 9am - 7pm
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