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Wildlife Care Center Receives $14,000 Grant
aviary
Grant funds will help the Stanislaus Wildlife Care Center in nearby Hughson replace this existing bird aviary. Photo Contributed

A grant received by the Stanislaus Wildlife Care Center will be used to build a new songbird display aviary.

The new aviary will be the same design as the existing gazebo at the center, 1220 Geer Road, Hughson.

“This bigger aviary will let us keep more non-releasable songbirds and to separate the larger birds, such as robins and kingbirds, from the smaller finches and sparrows,” center officials noted in a press release announcing the grant.

The display aviaries are on the lawn under the sycamore trees and are open for public viewing. All the birds in these aviaries are disabled and cannot survive in the wild. At the Wildlife Care Center, the birds are allowed to live out their lives in safety while letting people get a close-up look at little birds that are often difficult to see in the wild.

The Native California Wildlife Rehabilitation Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund grants money to wildlife rehabilitation centers for facilities, equipment, supplies, and other expenses through a competitive grant program. The SWCC is fortunate to have been selected this year.

The new aviary should be completed in December or January. The center already has a golden-crown sparrow waiting for a place in the new aviary.

The Stanislaus Wildlife Care Center cares for injured and orphaned native wild animals so they can be released back into their natural environment. The two-acre facility, inside Fox Grove Fishing Access, admits 2,300 animals each year.

The center is funded only by donations. More information is available at www.StanislausWildlife.org.