'Just birds, birds, birds': Local wild bird rescue meeting greater needs

Margo C. Pope
·3 min read
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Karen Lynch, director, of the facility raised Shema the Sand Hill Crane from a baby. Lately, the young bird has been trying to fly around the area. Ark Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation rescues and rehabilitates a variety of local birds in their facility located at 2350 Mizell Road St. Augustine, FL 32080.Photo made March 16, 2023.[Fran Ruchalski for the St. Augustine Record]

“Birds. Birds. Birds.” That’s how Karen Lynch, St. Johns County’s long-time wild bird rescuer, describes the wild bird population in April and the months ahead.

“April is the beginning of five months of just birds, birds, birds … this is when (birding) really starts to take off,” the founder of The Ark Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation, Inc., said. “Everyone’s got babies … songbirds, cardinals, blue birds, blue jays, mockingbirds, chickadees, wrens, hummingbirds, night herons, spoonbills, wood storks, egrets, and more.”

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Lynch said her 2022 bird log covers five ledger pages, all hand-written, of species received, released, transferred, pending, and other outcomes.

“It’s the season of controlled chaos for the rehabbers,” she said. “It’s a fun season. A new baby seems to lift your spirits.”

Ark began in the 1990s led by Lynch. Volunteers then were local animal caregivers and worked rescues in St. Johns County. They needed a rehab center near pristine wetlands for injured birds to be kept overnight or longer.

In 2003 the St. Augustine Beach City Commission set aside a 15-acre site including a large brackish pond for Ark rehab. It is not open to the public as it is a working rehab but runs off donations.

“The birds feel safe there,” Lynch said. “We ensure the pond is full of fish. Some we buy, some is donated. Bigger fish we cut up.”

A pelican comes in for a landing by the 15 acre pond. The facility rehabilitates several pelicans each year and they are welcome to return any time. Ark Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation rescues and rehabilitates a variety of local birds in their facility located at 2350 Mizell Road St. Augustine, FL 32080.Photo made March 16, 2023.[Fran Ruchalski for the St. Augustine Record]

The Ark releases rehabbed birds in the area where they were found.

“We have it all - a lot of successes and a lot of tragedies,” she said. “Some don’t make it and have to be euthanized.”

Meanwhile, the migration northward is underway through Florida from as far as South America. The Ark is prepared.

“Volunteer Thaida Bonner is my number one subpermittee and rehabilitates all our adult and baby geese and ducks as well as tortoises, turtles, and small mammals,” Lynch said. “Subpermittees are people posted on my permits who are legally allowed to care for wildlife on their own premises under my supervision.”

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“We could not run without the nearly 20 volunteers who help with cleaning, wildlife rescue, and transport,” Lynch added. “We need more.”

Volunteer Mary Foulks, has run the Facebook page for the past five years. She came to Florida in 2016 after being a rescuer for domestic animal groups in Georgia and Tennessee.

“One of the main reasons for birds in distress is because their habitats are being destroyed; more habitats are disappearing as developments increase,” Foulks said. “The migratory birds are worn out. Baby birds are falling out of their nests.”

Kaye Lee, volunteer coordinator of Eagle Watch in Duval, Clay, and Nassau counties, has known Lynch since 2021. The two met through an eaglet rescue by Lynch, work closely on rescues and transport to the Avian Reconditioning Center in Apopka and the Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland.

Ben the juvenile Black-backed Gull had been hit by a car on the Vilano Bridge and was unable to stand. Ark Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation rescues and rehabilitates a variety of local birds in their facility located at 2350 Mizell Road St. Augustine, FL 32080.Photo made March 16, 2023.[Fran Ruchalski for the St. Augustine Record]
Ben the juvenile Black-backed Gull had been hit by a car on the Vilano Bridge and was unable to stand. Ark Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation rescues and rehabilitates a variety of local birds in their facility located at 2350 Mizell Road St. Augustine, FL 32080.Photo made March 16, 2023.[Fran Ruchalski for the St. Augustine Record]

Lee says Ark has had a “tremendous impact” because it has absorbed other regional rescues. Amy Koch is the Eagle Watch coordinator for St. Johns and Putnam, but the Eagle Watch rescue center is in Duval.

“The injured birds, however, did not stop coming,” said Lee. “Karen is basically the only rehabber for shore birds in Northeast Florida.”

Meanwhile, Lee says, she and Lynch will collaborate on housing birds in both sanctuaries; the Eagle Watch center in Duval will take the raptors and birds of prey, and the shore birds will go to the St. Augustine Beach center.

“Karen needs hired help to expand to meet the needs she now serves,” Lee said. “Through our collaboration, we will keep this friendship going. We both have a love and passion for the birds.” Anyone interested in becoming an Ark volunteer or would like to donate to the cause can call (904) 679-1533 or (678) 523- 3754.

This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: Local wild bird rescue meeting greater needs