WildBird rehab center gives failing foul a second chance

June 15, 2007

By Will Elliott

Frontiersman

HOUSTON - The young eagle crouched in the corner of the enclosure, scared.

In better times she'd be soaring, but an injury and infection incapacitated the 15-pound raptor and threatened her life. With the help of a new wild bird rehabilitation center in the Mat-Su Valley, the eagle's foot and leg are healing, and center staff is hoping she'll soar again.

Houston-based nonprofit Alaska WildBird Rehabilitation Center enters its second year of operation this summer, and already the center has outgrown its present home, says director and founder Kent Briske. A former paramedic, Briske started the Valley clinic out of his Prader Lake home because previously the only treatment option for sick or injured wild birds was in Anchorage. Last year, the center helped rehabilitate 250 birds, including eagles, ravens, owls, small birds and water fowl.

“The Valley needed a rehab center,” Briske said. “And now we're in desperate need of a bigger location.”

Some of the birds are hit by cars. Others are baby birds who have been orphaned. Still others hit windows or were tangled in fishing line. What they all share is slim chances of survival without the center's help, Briske said. Sometimes that help is just a safe place for orphaned young birds to grow up before they're released back into the wild. When injuries are severe, things get a lot more complicated.

Hook, a male bald eagle, was hit by a bus in the Denali area. He lost an eye and needed a partial amputation of a wing. Medication and surgery were necessary to save him.

Medical equipment and drugs crowd the shelves above the prep and exam tables at the infirmary housed on Briske's property. Volunteers can set up an IV for a sick bird, give injections, take an X-ray, or perform other treatments. For more serious situations, the center partners with the Palmer Veterinary Clinic.

“We are so lucky to have that relationship,” Briske said. “We appreciate it so much. A lot of other centers have to pay for their vet care.”

The Palmer clinic provides those advanced services for free.

Volunteers there and from the community make the center possible, Briske said. Some drive for over an hour to help with the birds. Twenty people regularly help, joined by another 20-30 periodic volunteers. The center treats birds seven days a week, so more volunteers are always welcome, Briske said.

“I'd never be able to run this by myself,” Briske said.

Briske has footed much of the bill for the center, though, along with the center's permit holder, Cheryl Gardner.

It's been expensive, Briske said. “I don't even want to try to quote what we've spent.”

But it's been worth it every time a bird is saved, he said.

Many birds are released into the wild after treatment. Those the center thinks won't make it on their own join the center's outreach program.

Hook is one of those birds. The center is required to make educational presentations to groups and schools as part of its state permits. Valley resident Ed Podgorski has been spending time with the eagle regularly, and when Hook is comfortable with him the bird will leave the center and live with Podgorski. The pair will make monthly presentations to teach people more about birds of prey and their place in Alaskan ecology.

“The guys at work are pretty envious,” Podgorski said.

Hook will likely live a long time, and that means a large commitment from Podgorski. Friends have promised to contribute freezer-burnt fish or moose and caribou scraps, but the cleaning, care and presentations are Podgorski's responsibility - one he's looking forward to.

“I never get sick of seeing a bald eagle,” he said. “And it's hard to explain why. There are a lot of reasons, but I can just sit with the eagle for an hour. It's peaceful.”

Hook will be trained to be comfortable in public but will always be a wild animal, Briske said. “By no means are these our pets. We don't baby them, we respect them.”

Presenters like Podgorski are the public face of Alaska WildBird Rehabilitation Center, but there are plenty of less demanding ways for volunteers to help, Briske said.

“Anything people can do, we appreciate it,” Briske said.

Volunteers can donate food, build enclosures, care for baby birds or help treat injured adults.

The center also seeks help with all business-related issues, like office work, web design and grant writing. Donations of money, materials and services are all key to the center's survival.

For more information, call the center at 892-1670 or e-mail kbriske@gci.net. Photos of the birds and center are available at www.shutterfreaks.com/gallery2/lauriejo and for sale through the center.

Contact Will Elliott at 352-2252 or will.elliott@frontiersman.com.