Bird Species that Mount Vernon Songbird Sanctuary Specializes in Rehabilitation
Mount Vernon Songbird Sanctuary cares for small migratory songbirds. We also focus our expertise on hummingbirds, woodpeckers, swifts and swallows and killdeer. Some of these species are facing a decline in population due mostly to habitat loss on both their wintering and nesting grounds, or have specialized feeding methods or housing needs. These species require care different from the other songbirds we care for. Offering the proper diet and understanding their normal behavior is required to successfully rehabilitate and release them back to the wild.
CHIMNEY SWIFT, Chaetura pelagica Chimney swifts are probably the most unique birds we care for. They are described by people as a flying cigar with wings. Chimney swifts are arial insectivores which means that they eat only in flight. Their bill design does not allow them to pick up food with their bill. They are heard "chittering" in flight and can fly up to 500 miles a day seeking out food. They have a toe design that does not allow them to perch, but instead cling to vertical surfaces. They roost and nest in unlined chimneys and smoke stacks and occasionally in large hollow trees, which is what they used until the Europeans settled in America. They build their nests with saliva and tree twigs, breaking them off in flight. Their saliva acts as glue adhering a saucer shaped nest to the inside wall of a chimney. We mostly receive chimney swifts into rehab after heavy rainstorms, which dissolve the saliva causing the nest to fall down. Young swifts can also lose their grip on the small nest and fall. They are mostly seen flying above older cities with older homes that have suitable chimneys for nesting. With more and more Chimneys being lined and capped chimney swifts are losing nesting sites.
While in rehabilitation swifts have to be hand fed once an hour for 12-14 hours each day, sunrise to sunset. We have a large flight cage tfoir them to practice their flight and a real chimney for them to roost in and fly in and out of. Chimney swifts learn from other swifts, therefore they need to be released at a roosting site so they have other swifts from which to learn. In some years late in the season swift babies have had to be driven south to catch up with migrating chimney swifts.
hatchling Chimney Swifts
Nestling Chimney Swift
Fledgling Chimney Swifts
SWALLOWS We also specialize in BARN Swallows, Hirundo rustica; and occasionally care for other swallows such as BANK SWALLOW,Riparia riparia;CLIFF SWALLOW, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota;NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW, Stelgidopteryx serripennis;TREE SWALLOW, Tachycineta bicolor. Swallows have long, pointed wings, and are acrobatic flyers, catching insects in flight. Barn swallows are our most commonly admitted swallow. They make mud nests adhered to the inside walls and ceiling of wooden barns, garages, sheds and porches.. They are usually admitted from either their nest falling down or falling out of the nest. Swallows have the largest flight cage at our facility because they need such a large area to practice their acrobatic flight.
nestling Barn Swallows
fledgling Barn Swallows
fledgling Tree Swallow
fledgling Barn Swallows
RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, Archilochus colubris The only hummingbird to breed on the east coast. Hummingbirds have a very high metabolism and require a specialized diet. They are most commonly brought into rehab from falling from the nest, and being caught by a cat. When being prepared for release we decorate the flight cage with the favorite plants of hummingbirds, so they become acclimated to finding their natural source of food. They also eat insects for protein and are able to find them in the flight cage.
male ruby-throated hummingbird
fledgling ruby-throated hummingbird
WOODPECKERS DOWNY WOODPECKER, Picoides pubescens; RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER, Melanerpes carolinus;NORTHERN FLICKER, Colaptes auratus; PILEATED WOODPECKER, Dryocopus pileatus; YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER, Sphyrapicus varius; HAIRY WOODPECKER, Picoides villosus. Our most commonly admitted woodpeckers are downy, red-bellied and northern flicker. Woodpeckers nest in hollowed out tree cavities and are most commonly admitted from their tree being cut down, or fallen down. Please try not to cut down trees during the nesting season. Northern flickers are commonly addmitted from being hit by a car, as they forage on the ground for ants. Please keep an eye open for flickers and other birds while driving. Woodpeckers require a huge amount of insects, the larger the bird the more insects they consume. In their flight cage we have nesting boxes to simulate where they would roost for the night in the wild. We also have live and dead trees so they can learn and explore while being prepared for the wild.
male pileated woodpecker
fledgling hairy woodpecker
injured northern flicker
northern flicker
junenile hairy woodpecker
KILLDEER,Charadrius vociferus. Killdeer are a shore bird, but are very commonly found throughout the inland. They nest directly on rocky ground, sometimes in gravel driveways. They are also known to nest on rock covered roof tops. They are precocial, meaning they are born with their eyes open, covered in down and can feed themselves soon after being hatched. They still require assistance from their parents for a few weeks for being kept safe from predators and warmth. They commonly are admitted from being orphaned, sometimes being separated from their parents.
