Bird Rescue Trying To Find More Volunteers As Bird Intake Spikes
WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. (CBS4) - One of the only wild bird rescues on Colorado's Front Range is short on staff and looking for help. Staff at the Wild Bird Rescue and Rehab facility in Wheat Ridge says the number of people bringing in birds spikes during the summer and right now, the group says they are short on hands to handle them all.
"You are busy. It's like a cycle," one staff member told CBS4. "Doing dishes and laundry and answering the phone and coming over here and feeding the 30 minutes and going into ICU, you have to be on it," she said.
Right now, the small, paid staff and a handful of volunteers are getting the job done, but Executive Director Carmen Rutschka knows a stretch of good weather means more people bringing in injured and abandoned birds.
"We are constantly getting birds coming in anywhere from five birds to 20 birds in a day," she said.
More birds means that "to do" lists gets longer.
"Right here we have some little sparrows, they are being fed every hour," Rutschka said
The need for extra hands grows. The nonprofit says their volunteers are essential, but can sometimes be tough to find.
"Instead of having to close our doors and close intakes, what we would rather do is find more volunteers."
Skylar Meyers has been with the group for about a month and lends a hand wherever needed.
"Just trying to get through a good amount of food for everybody," he said feeding a trio of birds.
His hours at the facility are good experience as he works toward a career as a vet tech, but he says for anyone with time to spare, it's time well spent.
"It's rewarding, it really is, it's nice to see that 'Hey, cool, we helped,'" he said.
You can sign up to help online by visiting their website and clicking on the How to Help tab.