I hope this letter finds you well as we enter the holiday season and inch closer to a new year. At Wildwoods, we are so thankful for all you do to make sure that we can continue our work. This year, we have admitted and cared for close to 1,000 orphaned, injured, and sick wild animals representing 121 species; responded to 1,400 inquiries regarding animals in potential distress; and provided educational programs to more than 500 people.

We’ve had a lot of growth in 2023! We completed our $40,000 capital project of doubling the size of our outdoor pre-release conditioning area and building new enclosures; installed our new pollinator garden; further diversified our funding; attracted four new foundations to our work; and received our first bequest which we are using for long-term, sustainable planning.

We are looking forward to continuing this trend in 2024 with big plans! We will be:

• Upgrading our waterfowl room. With funding from the Martha Morse Beck von Peccoz Animal PLC Foundation, we will begin upgrades this winter! These upgrades will help us to provide our waterfowl with improved long-term care, and will aid us in our biosecurity efforts as we continue to face Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.
• Increasing Veterinary Support. Volunteer veterinary assistance is unable to meet the increasing demands of the animals in our care. We are seeking funding to pay for veterinary support during our busiest months of the year.
• Initiating Longer-term Planning for Raccoons. This is a big one for us! In order for us to be able to accept raccoons again, we need to build a separate structure for them. This winter and spring will see us start the planning process of designing the structure and beginning the longer process of securing funding.

Please continue to join us on our journey of compassion and understanding. Your donation is crucial to us as we continue to advance our work. If you have already donated to us this fall, thank you for your support and enjoy our update!

Kind regards,

Jessica LaBumbard, Executive Director

This hatch year (first-year) turkey vulture was hanging out in Rick’s yard. Yes, turkey vultures have red heads! But not quite yet… Still a little too young to have that red head.

Valerie, the Wildwoods Director of Animal Rehabilitation, loves turkey vultures and was more than happy to head to Rick’s home to help him out. When she arrived, the vulture jumped onto Rick’s vehicle, but she was able to contain him and bring him to Wildwoods.

The turkey vulture received emergency care for emaciation at Wildwoods, and we started the re-feeding process. The following day we transferred him to The Raptor Center for more extensive evaluation. This vulture should have migrated south to spend the winter in the southern US or even in Central or South America. The fact that he is still here and has very poor body condition indicates that something is going on.

This barred owl came to Wildwoods after flying into a vehicle. Luckily, the driver of the vehicle stopped and scooped her up, bringing her to us for care.

She stayed at Wildwoods and received emergency support for a couple f days before we could transfer her safely to The Raptor Center. However, they reported to us that she is doing well, so we hope for a happy future for this one!