Wildbird Recovery holding fall festival
“I hope they come away with a better understanding that we are this amazing local organization that helps between 400 to 500 birds every year,” said Stacey Widenhofer, a 20-year Wildbird Recovery volunteer.
Wildbird Recovery, located on a 14-acre property, is a nonprofit organization that takes in abandoned and injured songbirds. It is having its 8th annual Fall Migration Festival on Sunday in Valencia.
Attendees can meet the facility's education birds, tour the property, watch presentations on native plants and turkey vultures and participate in the silent auction and basket raffle. There will also be education displays on bats, honeybees and other unloved, beneficial insects.
A highlight of the festival are the educational booths and speaker presentations, which give attendees the opportunity to learn something they otherwise would not know, Widenhofer said.
The organization that was founded in 1997 has a mission to make a change worldwide and in Western Pennsylvania.
This year the organization, which includes a wildlife rehabilitator, seven core volunteers and about 15 additional volunteers, has seen the most advance ticket sales, she said.
Currently, the facility has about 50 birds and just administered a baby Goldfinch, she said.The proceeds from its largest fundraiser of the year goes to the birds and gives them a jump on the following year, Widenhofer said.“The biggest expense of the year is food,” she said, adding the busiest time is from April to the end of August.In the works is also an additional flight, an outdoor aviary that is a long, skinny enclosure that gives birds a chance to exercise and become weatherproof before they are released.Birds spend two weeks outside to help them forage, hunt and fly before they are released, she said.One environmental issue is the use of pesticides and insecticides because they have an effect on wild animals and their habitat, she said, adding animals they care for come in with direct consequences of its use.The educational-packed day is sure to offer fun, she said.“The more we educate, the better off everyone is,” Widenhofer said.
WHAT: Wildbird Recovery's eighth annual Fall Migration FestivalWHEN: Noon to 5 p.m. SundayWHERE: Wildbird Recovery, 120 Forsythe Road, ValenciaCOST: First ticket costs $25 and $20 for each additional ticket. Tickets are available at wildbirdrecovery.org/fall-migration-festival and will be available at the door the day of the event.ACTIVITIES: Attendees can meet the facility's education birds, tour the property, watch presentations on native plants and turkey vultures and participate in the silent auction and basket raffle. There will also be education displays on bats, honeybees and other unloved, beneficial insects. Vegan and vegetarian food is provided by Lisa King of Freedom Farms.FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit wildbirdrecovery.org or the event's Facebook page at facebook.com/events/2400974620136449/
