The Laura Quinn Wild Bird Sanctuary is one of the most well known and respected rehabilitation centers in South Florida. The founder of this establishment, Laura Quinn, was known as the “bird lady” who gained that title from her many years out in the field rehabilitating many bird species. Although she originally taught mathematics at a school, her love for nature took over her career when she began bird woodwork out on the boat with her husband. After some time of studying many Florida Keys species, she collaborated with Dr. Robert Foley who was a veterinarian. She then sought out five and half acres of property to which the small sanctuary resides. This is due to the fact that only three quarters of one acre was allowed to be used for her house and office. Laura Quinn joined the birds and flew high in September of 2010, only about 20 years prior to the Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center’s grand opening.
credit to sam maxwell
The species that now encompass the Wild Bird Sanctuary are one in a million. Almost every resident bird has been injured in some type of way, whether from humans or just nature itself. Some of these species include the Eastern Screech Owl, the Yellow-Naped Amazon, a Blue Jay, Broad-Winged Hawks, Fish Crows, Turkey Vultures, Merlin, and a Barn Owl. Each bird has its own unique story that could explain why they were named the way they are. For example, Professor Moody and Luna Lovegood are the two Eastern Screech Owls in the sanctuary that have been residents since 2013(Moody) and 2016(Luna). Professor Moody arrived due to a vehicle collision causing his left eye to become damaged and removed. Luna arrived with left leg and wing fractures causing perching issues. Since then, they have become great companions and are extremely welcoming to the sanctuary. The meaning behind their names comes from Harry Potter characters. Professor Moody has a missing eye in the J.K. Rowling book and movie series and Luna’s character is known to be misty, distracted, and whimsical quite similar to Luna the owl. Flop was our group's favorite bird at the sanctuary. He is the Blue Jay with a uniquely sounding “meow” as his way of song. Flop arrived in 2015 after a person tried to raise him as his own, causing a lack of instinct towards predators like us. This explains why he was so friendly to us. Although this is a benefit to visitors, unfortunately Flop can not return to the wild even after his left eye injury has healed.
One of the big conclusions and important lessons I learned from this visit to the sanctuary was to immediately bring or call found and injured birds to an animal hospital. Cases like Flop’s could be avoided if us humans weren’t selfish to take an animal home with us to become a pet. Also, I noticed that many of these incidents occur due to us which is extremely sad because birds like the owls were hit by cars and some of the hawks were shot for game. If you are interested in helping out the Laura Quinn bird sanctuary, click this link to adopt a bird and donate to their care!
This stop in our trip surprised me because I am typically not a bird person. Looking at the birds here was more interesting than I thought because of the stories each bird and each exhibit had. My favorite was also Flip along with the class because I never seen a bird imitate a human so much. I typically don't see many injured birds while driving or walking but now after being at a bird sanctuary knowing how cared for these animals are and that they have been healed, I will now be on the look out more closely to help and injured bird to give them a second chance. I do agree with your point that most of these injuries happen because of us. People need to be more cautious of birds.
ReplyDeleteHi Bri! I am so glad that you highlighted the history of this sanctuary. I'll admit that I spent a lot of time observing the birds and I did not take the time to read many of the signs to learn further about the history. Flip was positively my favorite. I am very intrigued to find out that he is so friendly because he was essentially domesticated. It was very interesting to me to see the difference between a blue jay in NJ and a blue jay in Florida. It is clear that Flip had adapted to the warmer weather because he had thinner feathers than Blue Jays in NJ. This gave him a smaller and lighter appearance. I really appreciate sanctuaries like this that give injured birds another chance. I feel that people care more after they have a personal experience. I like that they can have a personal experience with the birds, and the birds would have otherwise not survived in the wild had they not been put in captivity. It is a win all around and that makes me happy
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