MORGANTOWN — This year will mark the 10th anniversary of the Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia (ACCA), a local bird rescue organization that does a lot more than care for our area’s wild birds.
Started in 2012 and located just outside of Morgantown in Cheat Lake, the center’s mission is to conserve the region’s wild birds through research, education and rehabilitation. “We wanted to be an umbrella that all sorts of projects could fit under that had to do with conserving wild birds,” said Executive Director Katie Fallon.
The ACCA is licensed by the US Fish & Wildlife Service to treat and rehabilitate injured, ill or orphaned wild birds, including raptors (birds of prey), eagles, songbirds, waterbirds, waterfowl, and sea birds.
Fallon said the group is able to take in, treat, and rehabilitate “all species of native migratory birds.” They are also licensed to possess non-releasable birds for educational purposes. “That includes almost everything from hummingbirds and robins all the way to vultures and eagles, and everything in between.”
2021 was the organization’s busiest year ever, admitting around 650 individual birds throughout the year, Fallon said. On average, the group usually sees about 50-60 different species of birds a year — last year, 82 different species were brought in for treatment.
The most commonly seen patients are American robins, which Fallon said they saw 79 of last year. They also treat a lot of red-tail hawks, eastern screech owls, barred owls, house finches, cardinals, and blue jays.
The group also saw the rarer snowy owl, which the center has only seen a few of in their 10 years, Fallon said. The owl, which came in very sick, unfortunately was not able to be saved. “It was really cool to see one, but really sad that she didn’t make it,” Fallon said.
The ACCA works in conjunction with the veterinarians at Cheat Lake Animal Hospital (CLAH), who admit the sick or injured birds, assess their injuries, and treat them appropriately.
Fallon says most of their time is spent with treatment and rehabilitation. Sick or injured birds found by the public can be brought to CLAH 24 hours a day. The birds are seen by a veterinarian shortly after admission where they receive X-rays, are given any necessary medications, antibiotics or pain relief, and are rehydrated.
Some of the most common injuries seen are birds that were hit by a car, attacked by a cat or dog, nests getting destroyed, window strikes, unknown trauma, and a few that are illegally shot. Fallon said they also see some “toxicities like lead, that scavenging birds can sometimes eat when there is lead ammunition in a carcass.”
The overall goal is, of course, to restore the bird to a condition where it can be released back into the wild, but that cannot always be the case. If the bird’s injuries are very severe or they are going to be uncomfortable living under human care, they are humanely euthanized. However, some non-releasable birds are able to be re-homed at other facilities and used for educational purposes, as long as they have appropriate personalities and can live under human care.
The ACCA has placed birds all over the country including California, Florida, Wisconsin, and Missouri. They sent two eagles to live at Dollywood in Tennessee and the Columbus Zoo has three of the ACCA’s birds in their Neotropical Songbird Aviary.
The group has 13 birds of its own, all who would not survive in the wild on their own, kept to use for education, and hope to add more.
Some of their birds include an American Kestrel named Killy, who imprinted on humans at a young age; Canaan, the red-tail hawk who was shot and missing part of its wing; Sheryl, the crow who was hit by a car; and Mac, the bald eagle who has soft tissue injuries after a fractured wing and can’t fly well enough for release — just to name a few.
The ACCA uses the birds permanently in their care for community education programs. These non-releasable birds and ACCA educators travel to schools, libraries, scout camps, and elsewhere to help engage audiences in the role of birds in healthy ecosystems and why conserving birds is important.
Cheyenne Carter, ACCA avian trainer and educator, does enrichment and husbandry training with the birds and works with them using positive reinforcement techniques so they can showcase more of the birds’ natural behaviors and give more interactive programs.
The group is currently building a new facility at Ridgeway Farm in a partnership with the Human Animal Bond organization, which will provide a home for the non-releasable birds used for education.
Fallon said the new facility will have an outdoor classroom for students to come and see bird presentations and where groups will be able to schedule tours. The facility will have 14 bird enclosures that should be able to house 20 birds that are a part of the education program. Each enclosure will be larger than the current facilities and tailored to the specific species of birds that will be living in them.
“The farm will be more accessible so we will be able to reach a lot more people with our educational messaging,” Fallon said. “We are hoping to be able to start doing presentations and events sometime this spring.” All injured and rehabilitation birds will still be taken in and housed at the current facility at CLAH.
The West Virginia Young Birder’s Club, which is open to children of all ages and promotes a healthy lifestyle through birding while encouraging an appreciation for West Virginia’s native wild birds and Appalachian ecosystems, is also sponsored by the ACCA.
The ACCA is also currently involved in two citizen science-based research projects. One is an American kestrel nest box program, putting up nest boxes resembling holes in trees in areas with appropriate habitats. You can see three of these nest boxes at the West Virginia Botanic Garden.
They are also involved in a long-term study on lead in avian scavengers. Every summer researchers go to known turkey vulture nesting sites and take blood samples to test for lead in turkey vultures.
“They are a great species to study to see how much lead is out in the ecosystem, because they can eat a lot of lead and not die,” Fallon said. “Where something like a bald eagle only needs to eat a piece of lead the size of a grain of rice to become very sick. Lead is not very good for humans, either.”
Due to the volume of birds admitted, the group relies on volunteers, WVU students and interns to help care for, feed, and clean out enclosures. They have about 40 volunteers, some helping out a couple times a year and some a couple times a week — anyone can help out, no experience necessary.
“We take very seriously the welfare of the birds and want them to live the best possible lives while under human care. We try to make all of these experiences for them as positive as we can by not forcing them to do things and giving them as many choices as possible,” Fallon said. “When our organization got started 10 years ago, that was one thing we wanted to make sure we always focused on was using positive reinforcement and not forcing the birds to do things they didn’t want to.”
If you would like to help the birds at the ACCA but are not able to volunteer your time, check out their website accawv.org to find links to items you can order online, including an Amazon wishlist where you can buy everything from food and toys for the birds to useful supplies. There is even a link to a site where you can buy Tundra the peregrine falcon a box of quail, his favorite.
You can also take the initiative to bring any injured or possibly sick bird you find to the ACCA through CLAH. You can also call or text 304-906-5438 if you are unsure if a bird needs help.
If you prefer to shop local, Wild Birds Unlimited at Suncrest Towne Centre in Morgantown also has a list of items you can purchase from them to be donated to the ACCA.
Follow the Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia Facebook page to see birds who have been admitted and released by ACCA along with upcoming events like the Morgantown Birding Cup, Morgantown Migratory Bird Day, International Vulture Awareness Day, and of course the ACCA 10th Anniversary Celebration on July 16.
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