Wings Rehab Centre

09/09/2026

It’s always busy at Wings Rehab Centre, where injured and orphaned wildlife arrive needing care and rehabilitation.

This month’s Charity Spotlight takes a closer look at the work happening behind the scenes, including the growing number of trauma-related injuries caused by fishing hooks and line, as well as the orphaned squirrels currently in care.

There are also simple ways our community can help. Properly disposing of fishing line and hooks can prevent serious injuries, and the centre is currently accepting donations of frozen fish, live worms, dried mealworms, bleach, dry kitten food and nitrile gloves.

📍 Donations can be dropped off at 5281 Middleside Road, Amherstburg, seven days a week from 9 AM to 8 PM.

Read the full Charity Spotlight in the September issue of Amherstburg Living and learn more about Wings Rehabilitation Centre. 🐢🦉🐿️

09/04/2026

‼️ATTENTION‼️

Yesterday’s big storm caused severe damage all over Essex-County. With one confirmed tornado and a second possible one there is extensive damage everywhere.

When cleaning debris please keep an eye out for wildlife in need of help, baby season is not over! Squirrels are on their second litter of the year, some songbirds are still nesting and other mammals like opossums & Cottontails are also with young. Please also keep an eye out for adults aswell.

Our phones have been ringing off the hook all morning. Our dedicated staff and volunteers are working hard to ensure everything at the centre is running as smoothly as possible. We have also coordinated and set up triage/drop off locations at a few locations around Essex County to stabilize patients before they arrive at the centre.

So far, we have admitted the following, which had storm related injuries:
Squirrels (adults & young of year)
Bats
Mice
Cottontails
Songbirds

Today, we are going to be hit with another severe thunderstorm so make sure to keep eyes open for wildlife that may need our help.

If you come across and injured wildlife please do not feed or give it water, place it in a box and keep the individual warm and in a dark place until it can get to us or one of our responders. To keep wildlife warm you can place a heating pad on low under the box, use a water bottle with warm water and wrap it in a cloth (placed in the box with wildlife), fill a sock with rice and warm it up (placed in the box with wildlife).

Please be patient with us as we navigate through these next couple days filled with chaos. Please only leave one voicemail, do not send Facebook messages/emails regarding injured wildlife (unless instructed otherwise via phone or Facebook post).

Our wildlife hotline can be reached at:
519-736-8172

Thank you all,
Wings Wildlife Rehab

09/03/2026

Last night a storm blew through Windsor-Essex County and surrounding areas that produced very high winds. These winds had the potential to cause damage to trees, shrubs and man-made structures such as sheds and houses.

Our wildlife hotline has been ringing off the hooks all morning and staff are triaging intakes as they come in. Most wildlife coming in are soaked, cold and lethargic.

Nests, such as squirrels can also be blown out from trees. When outside please keep an eye out around the base of trees, sides of roads and houses for injured or orphaned wildlife that may need our help.

Birds & Bats of all ages and sizes can also be directly impacted by these winds and can end up stranded in wrong places, such as open fields or parking lots. Injuries can also be sustained to their fragile bones.

If you come across wildlife that appears to be injured please call out Wildlife Hotline (519-736-8172) so staff can assess the situation to determine what next steps are for the individual.

Please note: Email and Facebook messenger are not monitored frequently and all inquired regarding wildlife MUST be directed & reported to our Wildlife Hotline.

Stay safe & thank you for thinking of our wildlife

08/25/2026

We are so happy to share this fantastic news!

08/21/2026

We would like to send out a huge thank you to Willowwood RV Resort for their generous donations through this fundraiser!

08/20/2026

It’s been a very busy week so far at the centre!

We are at the point in our season where babies have slowed down and we are now admitting wildlife with more trauma related injuries. This week we have admitted several birds and even a turtle that have been victims of fishing lures, hooks and line. Please remember to be responsible and properly dispose of fishing line and hooks, and stay diligent when fishing - if you accidentally hook a turtle or bird DO NOT CUT THE LINE OR ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THE HOOK YOURSELF! This must be done by professionals. Wildlife that is hooked will need topical treatments, pain management and sometimes antibiotics. Releasing wildlife instead of bringing them in for rehabilitation can result in a painful wound & infection or even a slow and painful death.

We have also seen a large increase in cat - related wildlife admissions, like this Green Heron nestling. Unfortunately, this little one has sustained ruptured air sacs, puncture wounds and infection after a feral cat had attacked the individual.

The second round of baby squirrels has also hit and we are now caring for 30+ orphaned squirrels, most with injuries they sustained after falling from high places or hard ground like cement.

08/07/2026

Can you help us?

Over the past few weeks our centre has admitted a high-intake volume of Gulls. We are currently caring for 9 gulls, including Ring-billed Gulls & American Herring Gulls, all of which are recovering from various injuries.

Because of the increased intake of these magnificent, fish-hungry gluttons we are in DIRE NEED of Fish. We are looking for donations of Lake Smelt & other fish to ensure we can continue to intake and care for more gulls and other fish-loving wildlife that may need our help.

* Please note we can only use raw fish that is un-battered.

Fish can be purchased at fisheries such as; Presteve, Taylor Fish Company, Loop Fisheries, The Fish Store, Omstead foods & Dockside Fisheries just to name a few. 

We appreciate all the support, donations can be dropped off at Wings 8am - 9pm daily.

08/02/2026

Thank you very much Euro Sheds for the donation!

💚 Giving back to our community, one project at a time.

We were happy to donate lumber to Wings Rehabilitation Centre, where it was transformed into raccoon nest boxes and squirrel houses for local wildlife.

It's inspiring to see how a simple donation can become safe shelter for animals in need.
Thank you to everyone at Wings Rehabilitation Centre and the dedicated volunteers who make projects like this possible. 🦝🐿️

07/29/2026

Last Week, we asked everyone to guess whose’ eggs we currently had in care.

We are excited to share that they were Eastern Foxsnake eggs!

One of the adult female Eastern Foxsnakes we have in care was Gravid, during a daily check of the enclosure staff had noticed she laid eggs! This female was recently released back to her home after recovering from a car strike, once her offspring hatch. They too will join their mom back in wild.

This is a reminder to please watch for wildlife on roads, far to many lives are lost on roads.

07/28/2026

Exciting news!

We are happy to partner with the Essex County Field Naturalists’ Essex County Nature Turtle Conservation Committee and assist with the stabilization of injured turtles and salvage eggs from deceased females.

Conservation is a multi-organizational approach ❤️🐢

Let’s Shellebrate!

📹🔴Reporting Live from the Turtle Conservation Committee: Hatchlings are here!!

This afternoon, we have exciting news to share. Our first hatchlings of the 2026 season have hatched!

Please give a warm welcome as these Northern Map Turtles make their appearance to the world.

During this past May, their mom had laid her eggs on the side of a busy gravel road. Luckily, the female was observed while nesting and trained volunteers from our very own Turtle Conservation Committee arrived on the scene that evening to carefully excavate the nest and bring the eggs back for incubation. Because of the work these dedicated volunteers do, these hatchlings will now be released back to the area they were found.

Want to get involved in the fun?

Please consider joining the Turtle Conservation Committee! Please email: [email protected] for more details.

Want to help our committee help even more turtles? Consider donating to our turtle conservation fund to support our conservation efforts!

Donations can be made via:

Etransfer: [email protected]
*please make sure to note in your donation that funds are to be used for the Turtle Conservation Committee.

Cheque: addressed to the Essex County Field Naturalists’ Club
*please make sure to note in your donation that funds are to be used for the Turtle Conservation Committee.

We would like to thank everyone for all their hard work making this possible, from the dedicated volunteers to the community who submitted reports of nesting turtles and even those who shared and spread awareness of the important conservation efforts we have taken on.

Thank you,
The Turtle Conservation Committee

*Please note that all work carried out is done so with proper provincial permits & registrations.