Saving Georgia's Wild Birds

 Earlier this year, Wild Nest was awarded a Bill Terrell Avian Conservation Grant from the Georgia Ornithological Society (GOS) to purchase a handheld X-ray machine and accompanying equipment and protective gear to improve the quality of care for our injured bird patients. With approximately 1,500 bird intakes each year, we see a wide range of species and injuries, from herons tangled in fishing line to hummingbirds injured in window collisions. In 2023 we treated 383 adult birds–80 difference species–including migratory birds referred through Birds Georgia’s Project Safe Flight program. Many of the victims we treat are species of concern, experiencing steep population declines in recent decades, including Chimney Swifts, Wood Thrushes, and Chuck-will’s-widows.

When a bird is admitted to the Wild Nest clinic, internal injuries, particularly from window strikes and other collisions, are sometimes not obvious with a physical exam. The radiology system has significantly improved our ability to diagnose and treat patients as it is a valuable tool for finding fractures, dislocations, foreign bodies, joint damage, organ displacement, and sometimes disease processes. This technology enables us to perform triage and treatment more quickly and precisely.

According to Nancy Eilen, Wild Nest’s founder, the X-ray machine is a “game changer.” Not only does the X-ray machine increase the efficacy and quality of care for patients at Wild Nest, it also enables our husbandry committee to collect data on the impact of window strikes, cats, and other sources of bird death and disability in Georgia. We hope that the use of this technology will provide important insights to inform conservation and education efforts for birds.