Wildside Rehabilitation and Education Center

09/14/2026

Happy Endings!
This time of year we see a lot of red-tailed hawks. They leave the nest and then struggle to figure out life. Hunting is hard, finding new territory to call their own, and of course man made struggles like vehicle collisions and building strikes. Only 20-30% of red-tailed hawks make it through their first year.
This one will get another chance! Came to us starving, we were able to provide good meals and help it get its strength back. This young one is now flying the skies again!
We are thankful for the continued support!
Check out the comments for more pictures and how to donate!

09/13/2026

Don’t forget about Michigan! Check out Michigans story and help us complete outdoor housing for our ambassadors!
Please share! Thank you!

https://wildside-rehabilitation-educatio.betterworld.org/campaigns/bald-eagle-flight-enclosure-perm

🦅 ❤️ 🙏

Would you be open to converting your generous one-time gift of into a recurring monthly contribution? Regular support enables us to better focus on our mission.

09/05/2026

Violet says Happy International Vulture Awareness Day! Please take a moment to appreciate our flighted cleanup crew!

Vultures are nature’s way of clearing disease and parasites from our environment using strong stomach acid and enzymes and a powerful immune system. Some fun facts for those that don’t already know, Turkey Vultures p**p on their own legs to use their urates (the white part) as an anti-parasitic, preventing bugs from crawling up their legs. Vultures, despite their seemingly gross diet, are obsessively clean; they preen for long periods of time and bathe repeatedly, killing parasites that crawl off their food and leaving them absolutely gorgeous. And part of that cleaning ritual is sun-bathing, where they use the UV rays from the sun to produce vitamin D and kill bacteria, viruses, and creepy-crawlies.

So if you’re out and see a vulture flying overhead, please stop to say Thank you! And if find roadkill on or close to the road, please move it at least 5 feet away from the road, so our feathered friends are less likely to be hit.

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09/03/2026

Snow Update! 🦅🦅

No news is good news! Just wanted to share some pictures of Snow! Almost time to go into a larger enclosure and make gradual progression to the largest flight cage again.
She is doing all the things she needs to… eating, resting, stretching, flapping. She is in good spirits and enjoys her time outside!

We will of course update next time we take radiographs, but for now, enjoy the pictures and know Snow is doing well. ☺️

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09/01/2026

Another way to help!

We recently received our new Kroger Community Rewards Program number!
Wildside Rehabilitation and Education Center is RM536!

If you shop at Kroger, please consider connecting your rewards card with our organization and we will receive funds from Kroger for your purchases! Please go to kroger.com for more details!

We can not help the animals without the help of our community. We are 100% donation run with countless hours given by volunteers! We have no paid employees.

We appreciate all of the support!

09/01/2026

🌿 Happy New Month from all of us at Wildside Rehabilitation and Education Center!

A new month means another opportunity to care for the wildlife that depends on us.

To every volunteer who gives their time, energy, skills, and heart, thank you. Your dedication helps make our work possible and gives sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife a chance to heal and return to the wild.

As we begin this new month, we also invite our Wildside family to continue supporting our mission. Every donation, no matter the size, helps provide food, medical care, rehabilitation, and the supplies needed to care for the animals in our care.

💚 Volunteers keep us moving.
💛 Donations keep the care going.
🌿 Together, we make a difference.

Support Wildside today

Care. Rehabilitate. Release.

08/25/2026

By the power of imping, this red shouldered hawk was released back into the wild!

Imping is an ancient falconry and wildlife rehabilitation technique used to repair a bird's broken flight feather by splicing and gluing a healthy donor feather onto the remaining shaft. Because feathers are made of dead keratin, the painless process instantly restores flight until the bird naturally molts.

Good luck out there friend!

Photo credit National Audubon Society

08/25/2026

Every dollar makes a difference, and every dollar comes from people like you.

Wildside is 100% volunteer-run and entirely funded by donations. There is no government funding behind this work, just a community that shows up for Michigan's wildlife again and again.

This year alone, we are on track to care for over 1,200 sick, injured, and orphaned animals across more than 50 species. Every one of those animals needs medical supplies, food, and hands-on care to have a chance at recovery, and none of that happens without support.

Your donation directly funds:
Medical care for injured and sick patients
Food and enrichment for animals in recovery
Daily supplies that keep our clinic running

If Wildside's mission means something to you, consider making a donation today. No amount is too small, and every gift brings another animal one step closer to going home. 💚

Donate today!

08/24/2026

Found injured, orphaned, or sick wildlife? Here’s what to do.

Before attempting to help on your own, please contact us first. Our licensed rehabilitators can walk you through the safest next steps, both for you and the animal, and let you know exactly how to proceed.

Wildside is available for wildlife emergencies 9am to 8pm, 365 days a year, because animals in need do not wait for convenient timing, and neither do we.

📞 517-663-6153
📧 [email protected]

Save this post so you have it when you need it, and share it with friends and family so more people know what to do in these moments. Your quick call could be exactly what saves a life. 💚

08/23/2026

Snow Update!🦅🦅

Thank you for your patience on this update. This week has been a mess of preparation and an attempt to renest our young Barn Owl. Yes, you read that right, we have our first ever, in 31 years, WILD Barn Owl!

This week’s update highlights the bone healing process. Snow’s most recent radiographs highlight two steps of the healing process.

The first and most obvious part is the bone callus. In the image, the bone callus is a halo surrounding and connecting to the bones around the fracture. Bone callus starts as a blood clot caused by the original fracture. Collagen, cartilage, and new blood vessels grow into this clot, creating the soft callus that keeps the fracture site stable during the healing process.

New immature bone starts to grow into the fibrous structure of the soft callus, hardening it and improving the force-carrying capacity of the fracture site. This new bone makes the callus opaque in radiographs, appearing more visible and defined as shown in Snow’s radiographs.

The next step of the healing process, which has already begun, is remodeling. The edges of the fracture site appear to dissolve into the hard callus between the bone ends as the immature bone hardens.

The future of this healing process is shown in her old fractures, where remodeling has removed the unnecessary bone not carrying forces of movement until the surface is smooth.

The usual time for a wrist fracture to heal in a bird of prey is 8-12 weeks, so she is a little less than half-way through the healing process before she can get back in the flight cage and start wingercising!

Thank you for your continued support on her journey and all our beautiful (and sometimes spicy) patients!

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