Enthusiastic Crowd Flocks to Discovery Bay Wild Bird Rescue Open House
[caption id align="alignnone" width="1536"]
This tiny saw-whet owl is one of 25 ambassador birds who live at Discovery Bay Wild Bird Rescue. [/caption]
By Nhatt Nichols
Last Saturday, humans of all types flocked to Discovery Bay Wild Bird Rescue to meet owls, hawks, and other feathered creatures. Open for the first time in six years, the facility was finally ready to showcase the improvements it made to its medical and education facilities, as well as raise money for its continued improvements and programming.
[caption id align="alignnone" width="1536"]
Volunteer Terry Persun holds a retired falcoln. [/caption]
Founder Cindy Daily said, “People showed up in droves on Saturday, and we just loved having all the people there here. I mean, it was overwhelming. It was more than we ever expected to see, but it was a great time. I think everybody had a really good time.”
Daily also stressed the importance of donations to the mostly volunteer-run bird rescue program and her pride in what they’ve accomplished since their last open house.
“We wanted people to see where their donation dollars are going,” Daily said. During COVID, Discovery Bay Wild Bird Rescue invested in expensive medical equipment and opened an on-site medical facility. They can now do their own surgeries, X-rays, and lab work with the help of retired veterinarian Dr. Ginny Johnson.
It isn’t just the medical facilities that have been improved since the last open house. Daily and Education Director Joseph Molotsky have been working towards having a larger education program that will allow school kids to come to the facility and meet their ambassador birds in person.
The ambassador birds are an important part of what makes the bird rescue so special. These are birds that can no longer return to the wild, either because they were raised to be pets or are ex-falconry birds, or have suffered an injury, like losing an eye, that makes them unable to survive outside of the rescue’s facilities.
Daily said, “We have 25 Ambassador birds; we use them in education programs throughout the community, all over Sequim, Port Angeles, and Port Townsend, and they even go down to the Willapa Bird Festival. And then in the spring and summer, they do another job, which is to take care of orphan baby raptors.”
Thanks to the help of donors, there is now a covered area with seating for students and brand-new enclosures that allow visitors easy viewing of ambassador birds when they aren’t busy being surrogate parents.
“Classes of kids with their teachers can come and we'll do programs here. We'll talk about bird issues, things the birds are facing every day of their lives,” said Daily. “All the ways that we can harm them, but also about the ways that we can help them.”
Having done a test run last spring, they hope to regularly welcome students and other visitors in 2025.
The funds raised during the open house will also help with the day-to-day running of the facility, which inflation has also affected. The cost of everything from mice and rats to birdseed has risen, alongside the costs of items like bleach, paper towels, and Kleenex.
“The cost of just doing wildlife rehabilitation is high,” said Daily, stressing that they hope donations from Giving Tuesday will help sustain them.
Discovery Bay Wild Bird Rescue primarily relies on donations and grants; if you would like to help support them, there are a few ways you can do so. They offer opportunities to sponsor an ambassador bird through their adoption program and are also part of the Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife program that uses funds from personalized license plates to support programs like their wildlife habilitation center.
You can learn more about Discovery Bay Wild Bird Rescue on their website and support them through their donation page.
Photos by Nicole Persun.
