You can also make an impact by helping to fund the life-saving work happening each day at The Bird Rescue Center. Together we'll ensure more birds get a second chance at a healthy life in the wild!

When native plants are incorporated into local landscaping they allow birds to forage more naturally and, in light of our recent Salmonella outbreak, offer a safer alternative to feeding at concentrated spaces like feeders, preventing the spread of disease while still allowing us to enjoy them as visitors to our gardens.

The native plants you choose for your yard will determine the kinds of birds you attract. Plants that offer fruit, seeds and nuts will attract different birds than those that offer nectar. The latter will also attract caterpillars and butterflies. For migrating birds, we need to match their window of migration to the "produce" available in our gardens.

For example, stunningly beautiful Cedar Waxwings love berries so a good choice for them might be the Frangula californica (California Coffeeberry) or the Heteromeles arbutifolia (Toyon or California Christmas Berry) that bears fruit during their winter migration through our area. To attract Hummingbirds, you'd want to select a plant that produces nectar, so the Scrophularia californica (California Figwort or Bee Plant) would be a great option.

Check out this extensive native plant database from the Audubon Society—simply enter your zip code and you'll get a long list of native plants as well as the different bird species they will attract.

This beautiful bird is a Cedar Waxwing, one of the species that migrate through our area during the winter months on their way to the more southern parts of the US and Panama. In addition to the many potential hazards all birds face—predators, disease, being hit by a car or flying into a window—migrating birds have some additional challenges. They must find adequate food sources that don't require them to stay for long. They need a quick source of sustenance and then they're back journeying with their flock. Cedar Waxwings are well known for their "dine and dash" foraging behavior being able to strip entire trees and shrubs of their fruit overnight!

Found listless on the ground, this particular bird came to us on January 30th. We found a wing fracture and treated the fracture with a wing wrap to immobilize it in the correct position for healing. With his wing now healed, we are beginning physical therapy (PT) to get him into tip top flying condition so he can continue his long flight south.

The first step in PT is to immobilize the wing and perform gentle extensions to improve range of motion. When we did this, we discovered a patagial knot which is now requiring massage therapy. The patagium is the stretch of skin on the leading edge of a bird's wing extending from the shoulder to the wrist. The knot was likely caused by the wing's lack of motion during the healing process. The massage therapy is similar to what we humans might enjoy from a favorite masseuse!

The biggest challenge in treating these birds is being able to orchestrate their release. If their flock has moved on while in care with us, it poses a serious problem. Since they travel in groups and depend on each other during their journey, we can't release a single Waxwing to journey alone. Even releasing a pair is concerning.

So what to do? Reconnaissance! Volunteers go into the field to listen for their distinctive, high-pitched calls. We also reach out to a network of birders and even use birding software to try and find flock hotspots. When these steps fail, we've resorted to "Wanted" posters to locate another group of migrators for them to join!

We're hoping none of the above will be necessary for this little guy, but as is always the case at BRC, we'll do whatever is necessary to ensure he gets his second chance at life in the wild!

Donate online using the button above, or mail your check to:

The Bird Rescue Center

PO Box 475

Santa Rosa, CA 95402

Your gift will make a life-saving difference.