CASTLE HAYNE, N.C. — Skywatch Bird Rescue is a facility that rescues, rehabilitates and provides sanctuary for birds and also educates the public on these feathered friends.
What You Need to Know
- The rescue center was opened by Amelia Mason in 2010
- It houses an average of 3,000 birds per year
- Volunteers there help wild, migratory and surrendered birds
Skywatch has been saving birds since 2010, and it all started with Amelia Mason.
“I realized that there really needed to be an avian-focused rescue here,” Mason said. “A focus for birds specifically.”
Her love of birds and other wildlife started at a young age. She grew up exploring South Africa’s Kruger National Park and Golden Gate National Park.
“A lot of my time was spent growing up there, you know, working sometimes on summer vacations or just obviously spending time in that environment with all the rangers, trackers, veterinarians,” Mason said. “So as a child, obviously that’s a lot of wildlife experience I gained there, experiences I had kind of tagging along with all the adults.”
Now, as an adult herself, she’s a federally licensed wildlife rehabilitator. She’s created a safe haven for wild, migratory and surrendered birds — something that she says is less common than it should be, especially on the coast.
“This is a really busy hub for migratory birds, so the fact that no one was rehabbing them on a federal level or that there was no clinical care being provided,” Mason said. “When you see that pelican on the beach with a broken wing or when you see the one that swallowed a fish hook, other than finding a nearby vet willing to euthanize them, there’s no care facility at all even though there’s such a huge bird interest here, and I found that very surprising.”
With the help of volunteers, her vision of giving birds a second chance to soar came to life.
“Because that’s our ultimate goal is to rescue and rehabilitate wild animals,” said Caroline Little, a volunteer with Skywatch. “Focusing on avian care, but releasing them into the wild, that’s my favorite part.”
Even the ones that aren’t able to be released are still given a good life.
“It’s cool that we’re able to do our job in rescuing and rehabilitating the birds,” Little said. “But then also for a lot of these birds as you can see, they have sanctuary here and a safe place to live out their retirement.”
For Mason, seeing the birds happy and free is simply the best part.
“Seeing young orphans that you’ve spent a lot of time, manpower and money raising,” Mason said. “You know, be strong and vigorous and go into the wild and take flight to kind of start their life is kind of satisfying and rewarding.”
The Skywatch Bird Rescue is looking for volunteers who can work onsite with transportation, marketing and working with their hotline. The nonprofit also accepts monetary donations and donations of bird feed, pharmaceutical supplies and building supplies. You can learn more about the organization here.