Flight Rooms Expanding at WRC
As we start to see signs of spring, snow melting away, birds on the move, and of course, our first baby squirrel admit, the WRC staff prepares for the influx of thousands of animals. Right now, we are making improvements to our flight rooms, which are used to house hundreds of migratory and resident adult songbirds, as well as orphaned songbirds that are raised in our avian nursery.
Flight rooms are, for most of our wild bird patients, the last stage of rehabilitation. Once the birds recover from illness or injury, or have learned to fly, they are placed in flight cages to gain the strength and endurance needed to survive in the wild. In these cages we provide various forms of enrichment and food sources to prepare the birds for release. Natural perching, various types of bird feeders, as well as natural food sources, such as mealworms and fruits, encourage foraging behaviors.
After many years of use, our current flight cages need to be rebuilt. With the help of long-time volunteer Steve K., we have found a plan that will provide us with two additional flight areas taking us from 4 flight cages to 6 flight cages. This may seem like a small increase to most, but for us it’s huge. A lot of little songbirds will fit into these two additional cages. We are finalizing plans and beginning to look at the materials we will need and hope to begin construction soon.