The Atlas Obscura Podcast · Friday, July 17, 2026
The Wild Bird Fund rehabilitates approximately 10 to 20 birds daily during slower seasons and over 100 per day during migration periods. Catherine O'Quill notes that the overall success rate is around 35-40%, a figure impacted by the severe condition of many birds brought to them.
“What's the success rate for birds brought into the WBF? Um, it really varies. I would say overall, it's probably somewhere around 35, 40%. That may not sound like the best percentage in the world, but consider how many birds the Wild Bird Fund takes in.”
“Catherine says that the Wild Bird Fund during their slower seasons gets about 10 to 20 birds a day. At their busiest during migration periods, they get over 100 a day. I don't even like to talk about success because in some cases, there are a lot of patients that we get in who are just dying. They're dying. The reason that the person was able to pick them up was because they were dying.”