Hi everyone, I have a question for all of you. Do you like birds? Regardless of your answer, if you passed by a hurt bird on the side of the road or saw a baby bird stuck on the ground in your backyard, would you try to save it? Well, taking caring of injured birds is what Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research is all about.

My name is Colin Perkins-Taylor and for my Senior Project I will be doing volunteer work at Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research in Newark, Delaware. Tri-State Bird is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1976 with the intention of saving injured birds and nursing them back to full health so that they can be released back into the wild. Each year, thousands of birds are injured or killed by cars, power lines, and wind turbines, all of which are man-made. However, most people who see a hurt bird don’t try to save it. They leave its fate for nature to decide, which almost always results in death. What many don’t realize is that with proper veterinary care, these birds can not only become fully healthy again, but they can be released back into the wild and live a normal life. All of the birds that Tri-State takes in are birds that have been reported by pedestrians, and 95% of the birds that Tri-State takes care of get released back into the wild. Here is a picture of the facility bird-care facility:

Although I have already completed three volunteer training sessions and know my way around the facility, I am sitting here tonight scared for what tomorrow, the first official day of my project, holds. I’m terrified of not putting enough Vitahawk, a vitamin supplement, in the raptor’s food or forgetting to put a rock in the birds water dishes since they don’t have any depth perception. I just don’t want my forgetfulness or lack of knowledge to affect the birds I’m taking care of in any way. Hopefully everything turns out alright. Fingers crossed!

Please check out my blog over the next two weeks to learn about my experience and hopefully see some pictures of the birds I’m taking care of!