Birds Only: The Maine Rescue That’s Saving Our Feathered Friends

I recently had a backyard BBQ with friends and neighbors. A table full of food was out, beers were chilling in the cooler, and people were just beginning to arrive when a friend spotted an injured baby bird on the ground that had fallen out of its nest. Talk about a mood-changer. Suddenly, we went from grill masters to animal rescuers.

So what do you do with a tiny feathered casualty? Call Animal Control? Get in touch with a Wildlife Rehabilitator? And do we even have those in Maine? After a few phone calls, I was directed to Avian Haven.

If you've never heard of them, they’re a nonprofit dedicated to the rehabilitation and release of Maine’s injured, sick, and orphaned birds. Their work is made possible solely through the generosity of public donations, since they receive no state or federal funding. They have transport volunteers all over the state, ready to help bring injured birds to their facility. Yes, just birds. They’re like the avian ER, ICU, and rehab all rolled into one.

Not being a bird connoisseur by any means, the woman on the phone asked me what kind of bird it was. I had no clue. I sent her pictures, and it turns out it was a baby robin. She told me what to do until a volunteer could get there. A big thanks to Karen, who spends her retired days rescuing birds as a volunteer.

Tucked away in Freedom, Maine, Avian Haven was founded in 1999. What started with a modest number of 300 birds a year has soared to approximately 3,000 admissions annually. That’s a lot of winged patients! They’ve treated about 34,000 birds from more than 100 different species to date.

Pictured here is one of their interns tending to the hourly feeding time.

A local resident released three robins that were rehabbed back to health at the Avian Haven facility. Prior to that, he rescued a fledgling in the grass before approaching mowers got to the helpless youngster.

The clinic and rehabilitation team provide medical care in a modern facility, and they’ve designed their rehab spaces to mimic natural environments. They’re also big on research and education, sharing their wisdom with wildlife pros and the general public alike.

So while our BBQ might have started with a bit of unexpected drama, it ended on a high note, knowing that the baby bird was in good hands at Avian Haven. If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, or you are interested in becoming a volunteer, now you know who to call: the bird rescuers of Maine.