Bird Rehabilitation, Rescue and Education

​by Shelly Short

 

What happens when your husband brings injured birds home for you to care for? You become a bird rescue of course! That’s exactly what happened to Jody Kieran of Fallen Feathers Organization, located in Peoria, Arizona. When Jody started caring for birds with her husband and 6 children she knew very little about birds in general much less about how to care for them so she started by contacting other bird groups for information. As she says, “you realize that back when I started doing this, the internet and such did not exist so I didn’t know a whole lot about birds other than they eat different things and lived in different places.”

After caring for several birds, the head of a local bird rescue group Jody was in regular contact with asked if she would be willing to take in more birds. Out of a desire to provide a real-life experience for her teenage daughter who had aspirations to become a veterinarian, she agreed to begin caring for birds regularly. The ‘Bird Lady of Peoria’ was born!

After several years of continued experience and a growing reputation with bird care and rehabilitation, when the local group closed she became the one people brought birds to. She realized that it would be difficult to stop the work that had grown into a successful bird sanctuary and instead chose to start Fallen Feathers Organization for Rescue, Rehabilitation, and Education.

Fallen Feathers now takes in about 1000 birds of all types per year. They are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization completely devoted to the care of birds. They are licensed by the state but they do not receive any government funding. They operate on volunteers, donations, and their personal financing to continue their work. It is completely a work of devotion.

Many of the birds that are brought in are common varieties such as sparrows, starlings, and wild migratory birds. However over the years they have received many exotic birds that have been abandoned or their owners have passed away, leaving no one to care for them. Fallen Feathers has been founded on the principal of non-discrimination and that every living thing is important and deserves to be treated well, a lesson she taught her children to translate to how they treat people as well. Their stated mission is: “We are dedicated to protecting the health and well-being of wild and exotic birds. We help rescue orphaned, lost, and injured wild and exotic birds. Our goal is rehabilitating them back to health and releasing them back into the wild or locating their owner in the Peoria/Phoenix Arizona area.”

When possible, Fallen Feathers releases wild birds once they are ready to be reintroduced. However, sometimes they can not be released due to sustained injury, inability to forage, or in the case of exotic birds simply can’t be done. This is where adoption may come in. Fallen Feathers has a unique adoption policy that many would do well to have. The adopting “family member(s)” must come and volunteer with Fallen Feathers first. They can play with the birds, feed, and care for them. If they start to bond with a bird then they may take it home for a “sleep over” for a couple of days. They then bring the bird back, discuss the experience with Jody and then if it seems to work, take the bird for extended stays until it is permanent. This way the bird and “family” has the opportunity to transition well. If that particular bird doesn’t work, they may try a different one. Fallen Feathers does not have an adoption fee, but rather the adoptive family member(s) must volunteer to earn the bird. This allows Jody to be sure that they are ready and will care for the birds well. Their belief is that by volunteering first, people can learn how to handle the birds and understand what the commitment level is for care. It’s likely that if more people volunteered first there would be less abandoned birds!

Fallen Feathers also offers education presentations to public schools on the do’s and don’ts of handling abandoned or sick birds. They also bring some of their non-releasable birds to show the children and discuss the differences in types of birds. They have several volunteers, many who are in their teens that help during the summer instead of spending time doing other things. It’s a learning experience for them and a great community service project!

Because this organization has grown over the years in the volume of rescued birds as well as volunteers it is in serious need of a much larger location. The birds just keep coming!
As previously noted, this is a 501(c)3 organization and donations are tax deductible. Please visit the Fallen Feathers website for more information on donating, or even volunteering if you are located in the Phoenix area. Also visit their YouTube channel Fallen Feathers Rescue to see some great videos about the organization and volunteering.

…..oh and one last thing, Jody’s daughter became a veterinarian!