After an online fundraiser called Wildlife Wednesday raised $23,420 dollars, Greenwood was ready to expand and build a whole new aviary for crows. This new space was built to allow Greenwood to raise orphaned crows into adulthood. Now we get to watch these little crows grow into their feathery attitudes.

This building took a lot of work from volunteers, staff, the public, and other partners. One example is the large perches that hang in the enclosure. We put an ask out to the public to bring us tree limbs free of small twigs and branches in order to create the moving perches. When we received enough limbs, our staff and volunteers worked to drill holes and attach chains to hang them with. This allows the perches to move naturally with the wind and also makes them extremely durable. It’s just one of many ways we worked together to complete the enclosure. We feel pretty accomplished!

Now that the aviary is finished, we have released a few sets of siblings into  the enclosure. They are learning to perch from moving branches and are flexing those flight muscles!

During their time at Greenwood, we try to make sure the birds don’t get too comfortable around humans. Rehabilitators wear special black-feathered masks giving positive types of care, like feeding. When they are doing more  tasks perceived as negative by the birds, like administering shots, they don’t wear the masks. Learn more about this tactic in an article from KUNC.

Greenwood is so happy to have folks from the community that supported this cause. With your dollars, we were able to build a place for orphaned crows that will prepare them for a successful life out in the wild.