- Finnegan - Jim Pollock
Portland Audubon's Wildlife Care Center provides a permanent home for several non-releasable native birds. Each of these birds came to us with an injury so severe that they would be unable to survive in the wild.
Sponsoring a bird is a great way to learn more about these incredible creatures while helping us meet the birds' food, medical, and housing needs. You will also provide support for our education bird program, in which the birds serve as ambassadors for their species and Portland Audubon in classrooms and at events.
Your support will help provide:
- Food - we provide a natural, species specific diet for each bird.
- Health care - an annual exam, routine diagnostic tests, vaccinations and any special care needed.
- Bird handler training - handlers go through extensive training about bird behavior, natural history and legal issues.
- Housing - each bird has a safe, appropriate cage that is cleaned and inspected daily.
- Accessories and equipment - appropriate jesses, perches, handling gloves and traveling cases.
As a Wild Thing Sponsor, you will receive: A tax deductible
adoption, a beautiful color photo of your bird, a collectible Wild Thing
button featuring your bird, a genuine Wild Thing Sponsor Certificate, a
personal history of your sponsored bird, general information on the
species, information about helping injured wildlife, and recognition on a
Wild Thing sponsor board in the care center.
You may sponsor a Wild Thing online, or download and complete a form, and send to: Membership Department, Audubon Society of Portland, 5151 NW Cornell Road, Portland, OR 97210
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 Finnegan the Peregrine Falcon
Finnegan arrived at the Wildlife Care Center in the spring of 2000.
He was removed from his nest by biologists who discovered that he had a
deformed foot that would make him unable to hunt effectively in the
wild. Peregrine Falcons are the fastest animals on earth, diving at
speeds of up to 200 miles per hour.
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 Hazel the Northern Spotted Owl
Hazel was found on the ground in the Mt. Hood National Forest. She
had injuries to both eyes consistent with some sort of impact, and her
feathers were in terrible condition. Sadly, the damage to her primary
feathers extended down to the feather follicles. After more than a year
of effort, it was clear that she would never again regain the ability to
fly.
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 Jack Sparrowhawk the American Kestrel
Jack was found summer 2006 near Hazel Dell, Washington. He was brought
to the Wildlife Care Center where it was discovered that the tip of his
left wing was missing. Because Jack is missing the tip and is unable to
fly, he cannot be released back to the wild. Kestrels are the smallest
of the five species of falcons found in Oregon.
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 Julio the Great Horned Owl
Julio was found as a nestling after the tree containing her nest was
cut down. Julio was raised by humans and never learned how to be an owl.
By the time she was brought to the Wildlife Care Center in the spring of
2005, she was five years old and it was too late to reverse the
imprinting that had occurred.
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 Lillie the American Kestrel
Lillie came to Portland Audubon in the spring of 2009 with deformities
that were the result of her being taken from the wild at a very early
age and fed an inappropriate diet. The resulting rickets caused her
bones, including her jaw, to be malformed. Unable to survive on her own,
Lillie cannot be released back to the wild. Lillie is named after Lillian Post Elliot, the wife of Portland
Audubon's first caretaker and our first "unofficial" wildlife
rehabilitator.
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 Ruby the Turkey Vulture
Ruby was found near McMinnville, OR, and reported to the care center as a tame Turkey
Vulture. Care center staff determined Ruby had probably been
illegally taken from the wild as a baby and imprinted onto humans. As a
result, Ruby cannot be returned to the wild and will remain at Audubon
as an education bird.
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 Syd the Red-tailed Hawk
On one of her very first flights after leaving the nest, Syd was
struck by a car and fractured her left wing. The bones healed, but Syd
is only able to fly very short distances. Syd goes to lots of schools
and community events and allows people to get an up-close look at one of
our most beautiful birds of prey. Syd has lived at the Wildlife Care
Center since 1990.
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 Aristophanes the Common Raven
Aristophanes came to Portland Audubon’s Wildlife Care Center in May
2008 as a young bird, born just a month or two previously. He had been
taken from his nest and raised by humans during a crucial
phase of his development. As a result, he became imprinted upon, or
socially bonded with, people instead of ravens.
After he arrived, an attempt was made to place him with a pair of wild
ravens already raising a nest of their own young of the same age. Despite their attempts to feed and care for him, Aristophanes took no
interest in the other ravens and he continued to seek out humans for
interaction. Sadly, he was returned to the care center and deemed
unreleasable because of his comfort level with humans and lack of
survival skills for living in the wild.
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