Kelsey Davis longed for a quiet sanctuary. Johnny Walsh wanted to make a small but meaningful impact on conservation. And Nancy Eilen? She was just doing what she’d done since childhood — helping every lost or injured creature that crossed her path.
Together, they’re among 200 volunteers at Wild Nest Bird Rehab Inc., a Decatur nonprofit dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing injured and orphaned birds back into the wild.
Since opening in 2021, Wild Nest has — at no cost to rescuers — treated more than 5,600 birds, most injured by cats, dogs or window collisions, or separated from their mothers too soon.
At its heart is Eilen, a licensed wildlife rehabber and Wild Nest’s founder.
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
“I was the person who would stop traffic to get the squirrel out of the middle of the road. Or the snake. Or the turtle,” she said. “I am that crazy lady.”
A place for every bird — and every bird lover
Wild Nest is Georgia’s only 501(c)(3) nonprofit exclusively dedicated to wild bird rehabilitation. The rehab runs strictly on volunteers, including federally licensed rehabbers, veterinarians, student interns, trained caregivers, and those who keep the administrative and fundraising sides rolling.
The busiest time of year — April through August — is fast approaching. That’s baby season, when tiny songbirds, separated from their mothers, arrive in droves. Volunteers dedicate themselves to these fragile creatures, hand-feeding them every 30 minutes, which makes 28 times in the 12-hour day.
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
“Rehabbing is kind of intense and kind of hard,” Eilen admitted, “but completely worth it.”
Taking flight
Eilen was ready to dive into wildlife rehabilitation full time when her youngest child went off to college. She trained under Melanie Haire, a veteran songbird rehabber, and the two worked closely, often out of their own homes.
Then COVID-19 hit and calls about injured birds skyrocketed from one or two a month to one or two a day which was more than they could handle alone.
With the help of fellow bird lovers, Eilen moved her operation from her basement to a small apartment in Ormewood Park and later to its current home in Legacy Park in Decatur.
Last year alone, 1,568 birds came through its doors.
Volunteers keep Wild Nest soaring
People come to Wild Nest for different reasons, but they all stay for the same one — they fall in love with it.
Jennifer Gilmer had no idea Wild Nest existed until July 4, 2022, when she found a baby bird in her yard. After an online search led her to the rehab center just four miles from home, she started volunteering. Now, she’s part of the leadership team, devoting 35 hours a week to keeping Wild Nest running.
“It’s been so meaningful and purposeful for me,” she said.
Kelsey Davis, a longtime animal rescue volunteer, joined in 2021. After her young son’s battle with cancer, she sought a place of peace and purpose.
“I just fell in love with it,” she said. “It is my quiet place.”
Credit: Photo credit to Dana Brooks (@lady.bird.brooks on IG).
Credit: Photo credit to Dana Brooks (@lady.bird.brooks on IG).
Even after moving to Athens, she still drives twice a month into Decatur. She spends half the day at Wild Nest and the other half caring for birds at Zoo Atlanta. Her husband is now Wild Nest’s treasurer.
Johnny Walsh saw Wild Nest’s call for volunteers on Facebook in 2022 and decided to try it.
“I was just looking for a way to get involved in conservation,” he said. “And I fell in love with it. I’ve been going back ever since.”
Now, he leads one of the rehab’s three daily shifts, working alongside fellow volunteers like Christi Wiltse, an audiologist heading into her third baby season.
Credit: Photo credit to Dana Brooks (@lady.bird.brooks on IG).
Credit: Photo credit to Dana Brooks (@lady.bird.brooks on IG).
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s also an awful lot of fun,” Wiltse said. “The volunteers are always super fun people. They are older people and younger people.”
Keeping Wild Nest flying
Wild Nest runs entirely on volunteer labor and donations. While occasional grants and contributions from board members help, most funding comes from private donors — many of whom first discovered the rehab by bringing in an injured bird.
“It really does warm my heart to see this many people care as much as I do,” Eilen said.
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
Beyond their beauty and song, birds play a vital role in pest control, pollination and maintaining ecological balance. Yet, North America has lost nearly 3 billion birds in 50 years, including Georgia’s state bird, the Brown Thrasher, mainly due to habitat destruction, climate change, pesticides, outdoor cats and window strikes, Eilen said.
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
“If we had a bigger facility, we could do more,” she said. “We get calls from all over Georgia — and even neighboring states — because so few people do this.”
For more information on volunteering, go to www.wildnestbirdrehab.org/volunteer
To learn more about donating, go to www.wildnestbirdrehab.org/donate
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