The Pelican-- Flyaway Bird Rescue

By Valerie Andersen
​The Flyaway Bird Rescue Facility is here to help, but YOU can help them too!

​     Northern Nevada finally has a new licensed bird rehabilitator – Suzette Feilen. Her facility (located in Silver Springs - about an hour from Reno) is called the Flyaway Bird Rescue, a 24/7 operation operated out of Suzette’s house. Many Nevada agencies including the Dept. of Wildlife, Animal Control, the Humane Society, police and fire departments as well as local veterinarians send her injured birds – from large raptors (owls, hawks) to the tiniest hummingbirds. When avian botulism hits, she’ll start getting ducks and other waterfowl. She has even rehabbed pelicans!

     Anyone who finds an injured bird can contact her for help at 775-515-9832. She told me, “I don’t judge.” Yes, she even accepts pigeons and starlings. In just one day (while I was visiting her for this article), four people brought birds that needed care. At this time of year, she is inundated with baby birds who were separated from their parents.
Note: Just because a small bird is out of the nest does not mean their parents aren’t still feeding them. You can also return a featherless birds to the nest, if it’s accessible and still occupied.

     Running a facility with no outside funding is a challenge and incredibly expensive. Every day, pounds of raw chicken are needed to feed the meat eaters who would normally get worms, insects, rodents, and other prey. To release the owls that she’s nurtured to adulthood, she needs to supply them with live mice to prove they can hunt on their own. Before they are fed live mice, dead mice are used. Both add a significant amount to her food bill. Live mice can cost up to $5 each. Then there’s bird seed, baby bird formula, syringes, cages, and a million other expenses. Although she has a critical care out-building, when temperatures soar over 90 in the summer, the most severe and needy cases must be brought indoors– to her house; she has several rooms set up as bird infirmaries for those most in need. Some type of cooling system for that building would be helpful. Outdoor shade structures are also needed. If you would like to donate towards any of these expenses, monetary donations can be sent to her Venmo account: SuzetteFeilen@suzette-feilen. You can also Zelle her donations using her name and phone number.
Food donations can be called in with a credit card at Benson’s Tack & and Feed: 775-882-7999 

     Volunteers are needed and there is a task for every comfort level - from cleaning cages, filling water bowls and cutting raw meat, to feeding the birds. If you’re comfortable with direct contact, you can feed the meat eaters raw chicken pieces with special tweezers ,or use a syringe-like dropper to feed special formulas and nectars to the babies. Computer help is also needed in setting up a website and Facebook page. Clerical help is needed for managing the intake forms and keeping a record for every bird. There is no end to how you can help! To volunteer, contact call her at 775-515-9832 or email [email protected]


About Suzette
Although Suzette recently licensed her own facility, she has been in the bird rehabilitation business for over 31 years. She received her degree in wildlife biology from the Univ. of Nevada, Reno taking courses from our own Education Coordinator, Alan Gubanich. Her love of birds started when she volunteered for the Wild Wing Project run by Lisa Ross in Las Vegas while she worked full-time as a professional dancer in the casino shows. She also ran the Never Enough Ballroom dance studio with her husband in Reno for years. (You should see the photos!) When she moved to Reno, she volunteered 23 years for Nancy Laird, a wildlife rehabilitator in Washoe Valley (which has now closed). Before getting her own license, however, she also worked under Evelyn Pickles license who still runs the Dayton Valley Wildlife Reststop.