New York City's only wildlife rehabilitation and education center. If you find a bird or small mammal in need, please bring it in. We are open 9-7 daily.
565 Columbus Ave. NYC
Joined May 2009
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This is an unbelievable development in the life of this historic nest. Thank you to @nycbirdalliance and @NYSDEC for quickly acting to stop further destruction.
It was a bad West Nile Virus summer at WBF and throughout NYC. We admitted more young red-tailed hawks and crows with the virus than in recent years.
Here's a thorough article from Kirstyn Brendlen @brooklynpaper, who spoke to our raptor supervisor Rachel Frank.
brooklynpaper.com/climate-ch…
Why is this bird “taking a nap” on the sidewalk?
The answer is, of course, a window collision. This brown creeper has just suffered a concussion or severe head trauma and can’t move or fly. He feels awful.
📷: Ben Hatch
The “spectacles” on a blue-headed vireo help us humans identify this beautiful fall migrant, but sadly they do absolutely nothing to help this bird avoid a collision with a window.
What would help: bird-safe markings on the outside of the glass. These products, which usually involve a small pattern spaced 2 inches apart over the whole external surface of the glass, make windows visible to birds and can nearly eliminate bird collisions.
Window collisions kill at least 250,000 birds a year in NYC and more than a billion nationwide. The good, if frustrating, news is that they are so preventable!
It’s high migration all week! If you see a bird sitting or lying on the sidewalk, please gently get the bird into a small container, such as a paper bag or cardboard box. Close the container, adding a few air holes if needed, and bring the bird to WBF or another wildlife rehabber near you (ahnow.org). If you’re unable to transport right away in NYC, keep the bird with you in a quiet, dark place and contact [email protected] to ask if a volunteer is available.
📷: Phyllis Tseng
Patient no. 13,000 for this epic year is a brown creeper. This little beauty spends most waking hours vertical, walking up the trunks of trees foraging for insects.
This creeper, like the 11 others we’ve admitted this fall, was the victim of a window collision.
📷: Suzanne Highland
We’ve now had FOUR days this fall of 100+ patients a day. You can help a creeper, a wren or a white-throated sparrow. And many pigeons!
wbf.app.neoncrm.com/forms/fa…
We’ve had our woodcock suites prepped for a few days, waiting for their arrival.
And they’re right on time. Migrating through the city’s glass gauntlet on their way further south.
We’re caring for two now, both victims of window collisions.
📷: Rachel Frank
If you find a woodcock sitting stunned, please approach slowly to avoid flushing them back into the window. Gently toss a cloth over the bird and place them in a paper shopping bag. Close the bag securely and bring them to WBF or a wildlife rehabber near you. They can’t survive their injuries if released right away, so bringing them into care offers the best chance.
📷: Ben Hatch
Oh hey, look who's at City Hall 👀
We were extremely honored to receive this proclamation recognizing our work for the city's wildlife during the inaugural Animal Welfare Chamber Event of the NY City Council's Animal Welfare Caucus.
📷: NY Media Unit
We feel you, buddy. It’s been a rough few days!
This Cooper’s hawk suffered an unknown accident and fractured two bones in the right wing. Because the fracture is midshaft, far from the joints, it has a decent chance of healing.
We’ve splinted it and we’re providing supportive care until this hawk can be transferred to The Raptor Trust.
The good news is that he’s strong, alert and healthy otherwise (read: a little bit scary!) and we hope this will serve him well in the coming days.
📷 (taken before he was able to use a perch): @tristanahigg
Wild Bird Fund retweeted
The Lenape say that if you dream about an owl, it will become your guardian. Of course, it’s actually the owls who desperately need our protection. If you haven’t done so, please sign the petition below to curtail the use of rodenticides!
(Nov 2025 in Central Park)
#birdcpp
Cronenberg is just glad to have his double case of stringerfoot treated. But this pigeon has the distinction of being the 12,500th patient to arrive in 2026! (an 11% increase over last year).
📷: @tristanahigg
Wild Bird Fund retweeted
To all the Flaco, Barry, and wildlife lovers out there, please sign this petition to urge lawmakers to restrict the use of rat poison in our city. Here is the link to the petition:
actionnetwork.org/petitions/…
🦉 84% of dead birds of prey found in NYC tested positive for anticoagulant rat poison, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Wildlife Unit.
Most bait boxes in NYC use poison that stops blood from clotting, so a poisoned rat bleeds internally over several days before dying. That means the rat stays alive long enough to be caught and eaten by a predator, and the poison moves straight up the chain.
Flaco, the beloved eagle-owl who escaped the Central Park Zoo, had four different rodenticides in his system when he died.
Meanwhile, NYC still has an estimated 3 million rats — this approach isn't even solving the problem it's meant to solve.
The good news: there are ways to reduce rat populations that don't rely on poison. Rodent-proof trash containers, sealed composting, and blocking off burrows and food sources all reduce rat numbers by cutting off what rats need to survive — without harming the hawks, owls, and other wildlife that share our city.
Sign the petition and tell NYC lawmakers to invest in solutions that work for people and wildlife alike: 🔗 buff.ly/85TK4Pw
There goes Lancelot. “He’s OK now!”
This herring gull was found limping and unable to fly. We suspect an accident, but it’s not clear exactly what happened. Fortunately there were no fractures, and after 8 days of care and pool time in the clinic, he was fully recovered and ready to return home.
Good luck out there!
🎥: AnnaBeth Crittenden
“Release the bittern!”🦑
And we did release this American bittern back into the grassy wetlands where he’s most at home. This bittern collided with a window, and a brave soul rescued him and brought him to the clinic. He was fully recovered after several days of care and we were happy to see him off.
These secretive marsh birds stand tall in the grasses, their necks stretched up to look like reeds, while gazing below with their low-set eyes scanning for prey. We’d hate to be an unsuspecting frog or crayfish under this guy’s gaze.
These birds have daggerlike beaks and strong necks. They can be very dangerous to handle in care, and we always work in pairs and wear goggles.
In this scenario, he’s defensively trying to look big and scary. Well done, sir!
🎥: Stephanie Wood