About 89 baby snowy egrets and black-crowned night herons were left homeless after a tree fell in downtown Oakland, urging an animal rescue group to call for help last week.
International Bird Rescue asked for volunteers who could help them in feeding and caring for the baby birds. Executive director JD Bergeron said the animals were rescued after an old ficus tree split in half and fell last week.
“But what it does mean every single day is feeding the little ones every 60 to 90 minutes, keeping all the birds in a clean enclosure, proper food and warmth, water, (and) daily checks to make sure their weight and their health status are good,” Bergeron said.
Currently, the rescue group is tending to more than 200 Bay Area water birds at their hospital in the city of Fairfield. The additional 50 snowy egrets, 22 black-crowned night herons, and 17 eggs would need more hands on board to make sure they received intensive care and round-the-clock support.
“A lot of these birds did suffer trauma from falls so we have to take care of any wounds that came from that as well,” Bergeron said.
Unfortunately, 20 birds died when their tree fell.
Massive and leafy ficus trees were used by the birds since nesting about 10 years ago in downtown Oakland.
“Most of those trees are really enormous canopies and their roots are underneath concrete so they cannot spread to get the support they need and gravity takes its toll,” Cindy Margulis, executive director of Golden Gate Audubon Society said.
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