75 Orphaned Birds

The Issue: Orphaned Songbirds' Special Needs

Orphaned songbirds require a diet that mirrors the foods available in their natural habitats. To develop properly, they may need specific fruit, seeds, or insects. Woodpeckers can eat approximately 300 bugs every day, and swifts eat roughly 150 mealworms every day. For facilities that care for these birds, that can add up; Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota goes through approximately 70,000 mealworms a week during its peak season, and spends nearly $15,000 annually to feed all of the injured birds in its care.

The Campaign: Funding Insects for Injured Birds

If this Grassroots campaign raises $500, then Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota can fund two weeks of food for 75 orphaned songbirds. Each additional $50 raised will fund one week of food for 15 songbirds. The bird food constitutes a healthy diet similar to what the birds would eat in the wild, and including grubs, mealworms, and crickets.

You can follow the progress of this and other Grassroots campaigns at the Groupon Grassroots website.

Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota

Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota (WRC) was founded in 1979 as a student club at the University of Minnesota Veterinary College, and received a few dozen animals for care every year. Today, its team of nine full-time staff, including four medical professionals, cares for 1,600 injured and orphaned baby songbirds during the summer, and up to 100 animals a day during its busiest season. More than 50 species of birds ranging from chickadees to woodpeckers enter the center with a variety of injuries. The staff members place the birds in the avian or waterfowl nurseries where they rehabilitate them and prepare them for hunting and surviving in the wild. WRC aims to release as many birds as possible into the wild.