Wild Bird Fund
The Wild Bird Fund is a nonprofit wildlife hospital in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. It is the city’s first and only wild animal hospital. It was started in 2001 by Rita McMahon after she found an injured Canada goose and realized there were no services for wild birds. She began caring for birds in her apartment and later expanded into a proper clinic.
In 2012, the fund opened its own facility on Columbus Avenue, next to Animal General. The building has an intake and quarantine area, imaging equipment, a waterfowl pool, an operating room, and cages. It can treat more than 400 birds at once, with up to 50 new admissions each day and about 7,000 patients each year (as of 2020). Most patients are pigeons, including many babies in the summer.
Most injuries come from window collisions, since New York City is on a major migration route for birds. Other risks include lead, rodenticide, car or bicycle accidents, fishing line, and attacks by cats or dogs. Birds are housed according to injury severity, from open flight spaces to baskets or incubators. About half of admitted birds are rehabilitated and released back into the wild; others die, are euthanized, or require long-term care or transfer to other sanctuaries.
Release sites are chosen based on migration patterns. Pigeons are often released in Central Park, while migrating birds may be released in Prospect Park in Brooklyn to help them head south more easily. The fund operates with about 25 staff members and 100+ volunteers. It does not charge for its services, relying on donations, grants, and sponsorships. During the COVID-19 pandemic, more people spent time birdwatching, which led to more birds being brought in, even though overall injuries did not rise.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 14:10 (CET).