Admitted A Bird?

Check bird Status: Adult Songbirds, Adult Waterfowl, and All Raptors

If you’ve dropped off an adult bird and waited the appropriate 48 hours, please use our Bird Lookup form.

We ask you to please refrain from calling to ask about the status of your bird as it takes us away from caring for the birds. Thank you for your understanding! You may email us at birdcheck@theraptortrust.org and we will answer your email within 3-4 days. Please provide the following information in your email:

• admit number or date of admission,

• species of bird, and

• the last name of the person who dropped off the bird.

Baby Songbird or Waterfowl

Non-raptor babies are evaluated upon arrival and mixed in with others of their own species. This is the best thing for their development, but makes it difficult for us to tell which baby bird is “your” baby bird! If you are still curious about the outcome of the bird you placed in our care and have given it a minimum of two months in our care, please visit the Bird Lookup form.

• Please refrain from calling or emailing to check on these young patients. This will allow us to focus more energy on necessary bird care. The rehabilitation process of a baby bird takes from two to three months.

After you drop off the bird to The Raptor Trust

The Raptor Trust staff members are specially trained in wild avian medical care and husbandry. The bird that you have entrusted to us will benefit from the most up-to-date, professional care in the field. Unfortunately, wild animals that are cared for by well-meaning but untrained people often die or are too seriously compromised physically and/or psychologically for safe release. By admitting an injured or orphaned wild animal to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, you have provided it with the best possible chance to recover and be free again. Our well-trained staff will evaluate the bird and determine the best course of action.

We can promise that the bird you admitted will receive compassionate, knowledgeable care, but we cannot promise it will survive. The fact that you were able to catch the bird indicates that it was sick, injured, or too young to be afraid of you. The natural instinct of an adult wild bird is to try to hide any illness or injury from predators—and to see YOU as one of those predators! If an adult bird seems “tame” or “calm,” it is often because it is too terrified, or simply too severely injured, to try to escape.

Every bird that recovers will be released back into the wild. It is financially and functionally impossible to keep all non-releasable birds in permanent captivity. In most cases in which a bird is permanently impaired and can no longer survive in the wild, the bird is humanely euthanized. This decision is never made without the most serious consideration of what is best for the bird.

Thank You!

Thank you for taking the time to help an injured or orphaned wild bird by bringing it to The Raptor Trust for care. We are a state and federally-licensed wildlife rehabilitation center. Our mission and our commitment is to provide the very best medical care and husbandry for the bird you have entrusted to us. Our goal, in every possible case, is to give that bird a second chance at freedom by releasing it back into the wild after rehabilitation.