Become A Volunteer!

We need you.

Ways to Volunteer

Working On-Site

Working on site means you work weekly shift/s at the rescue feeding the birds, cleaning cages and helping with general avian husbandry of resident birds that live here. You can work as little as one 4 hour shift a week, or commit to more shifts if you want to learn how to care for clinic/rehab patients as well. The minimum shift required is once a week, but there is no limit on how many shifts you can work and no glass ceiling as to the knowledge available, the more you come, the more you learn.

Transporter

Transports are one of the most critical parts of rescuing birds. If you choose to be on the transport list, you will be contacted when there is a bird in your area that needs to be picked up and brought to the Skywatch Clinic. No special training or skills are required, most of the time we just need the bird kept in a box or a safe place off the streets so it can be confined until you bring it in.

Administrative/Marketing

If you would like to help from home or perhaps with tasks not directly dealing with our feathered patients, we also have administrative opportunities and marketing opportunities. This might include helping with fundraising efforts, promoting and helping with events, distributing flyers, and more.

Hotline Coordinator

Much like an ambulance dispatcher, you will be on a hotline that handles calls about injured birds. You would have a set shift time where you would need to be available to take phone calls and then arrange for a transporter to pick up a bird and deliver it to the rescue. You would perform this task from your home.

SkyWatch Helper

An on-site helper who can commit to one 3hr shift per week. This position will not work directly with rescue patients but more house-keeping type tasks. (These tasks might include: Rescue laundry, mulching, planting etc.

Who can volunteer?

We need volunteers of all shapes and sizes!  There are many different ways you can volunteer. Whether you want to work hands on or help run the rescue effort, there is something for everyone.  Volunteers must be 18 or older.

For more details on volunteer requirements, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator at [email protected].

What are the benefits?

Feeding these cuties does not feel like work at all, the time passes by so quickly. Your shift will be over before you know it! Volunteering during baby bird season is very rewarding. You get to watch these babies develop into fledglings and ultimately adults who are ready to be released. It is well worth your time and effort. 

Volunteer Form

    *All volunteers must be 18yrs of age or older*

    Your Name (*required)

    Your Address (*required)

    Date of Birth (*required)

    Your Phone Number (*required)

    Your Email (*required)

    What type of volunteering are you interested in? (*required)

    Hands on volunteers and capturing volunteers must have no allergies, a healthy immune system, and no physical limitations. Some positions require that you take a capturing and handling class.

    Capturing & TransportingTransporting onlyFundraising (Dinner Events, silent auctions, yard sales etc.)Working On-Site (Feeding, Cleaning, etc.)Administrative (work from home)

    When are you available to volunteer? (*required)

    Can you commit to a weekly schedule?(*required)

    yesno

    Reason for Volunteering (*required)

    College creditInterested in helping birdsCommunity Service

    If you selected "Community Service" in the previous question please describe in detail why you must perform community service (i.e. graduation requirement, criminal offense - be specific, citizenship requirement, etc.)

    Prior skills or experience (it's okay if you don't have any!)

    Do you have reliable transportation?

    yesno

    *If you have selected "Capturing & Transporting", "Transporting", or "Working Onsite", please answer the following questions: *

    Do you have any physical limitations? (*required)

    yesno

    If you answered yes to the above question please describe your limitations in the area below.(*required)

    Are you able to run if necessary?(*required)

    yesno

    Additional Comments

    *Skywatch Bird Rescue Conducts Background Checks on all Volunteers*

    Acknowledgement Required

    Volunteering can be very very rewarding and educational however, full disclosure, and in the interest of being blatantly honest, before applying to volunteer, PLEASE consider the following things:

    1. Volunteering can be hard work, not all the tasks are fun, or exciting or cool. Most of the work we do is grunt work. It involves a lot of bending over, picking things up from the ground, lifting full buckets, scrubbing poop, disposing of old fruits & vegetables, meats and fish, dragging heavy wagons, washing dishes, doing laundry, raking out old substrate and spreading new bedding, etc. If you have a bad back or knees, this environment will not be a realistic work environment for you. There really aren't light duty tasks here, everything still involves lifting and lots of bending over. You may want to consider an administrative position from home, where you can still help us, but while physically being comfortable, and just come visit the birds when you feel like seeing them. There's also transports and fundraisers you can do.

    2. You're not learning rehab. One 4 hour shift a week is not enough time to learn Avian rehab, those that are serious about learning rehabilitation need to commit a lot more time and weekly hours to learn rehab. Seasonal volunteers are caring for the resident birds' daily needs. (see tasks above) consider an internship if you want to learn Avian rehab.

    3. You DO NOT start off holding a bird on the glove like Raptors. Its not like visiting the rescue when u see a volunteer with a bird on the glove. Those volunteers have put in LOTS of hours over months to get to that point. Most people that apply to volunteer are not experienced with bird husbandry, their species, or their diets, so you're learning bird care from the ground up, and the only way to get to the tasks that are "cool" or fun is to have a lot of training first, which means committing the time. This means you first learn how to feed the chickens and the ducks, and the more time you commit, the more training you get, so ultimately your tasks and your chores do become more interesting, amazing and very unique, but it doesn't start off like that.

    4. If you're squeamish about bad smells, bugs, and other things like that, this is not the right environment for you. Our work is outdoors, so when it rains, we're working outside in the rain. We're not working indoors in a comfortable air controlled environment. You will get scratched occasionally, or pecked or bitten etc, and there's a lot of bugs attracted to the produce we work with, the work can be very messy.

    5. You have to show up for your shift even on holidays. We're not working with canned goods on the shelf, these are live animals that depend on everyone to show up and be reliable and dependable. So if you're shift scheduled on a birthday, or some public holiday, we still rely on you showing up. Birds don't celebrate holidays and they need care regardless of the day. Planned absences can be arranged, but just being no show is the worst thing you can do at a non-profit.

    If you're applying to volunteer please consider those factors. More than 95% of applicants waste our time. Most of the other 5% work 3 or 4 shifts and then fall out, wasting our time that went into training them. They did not expect the work to be so hard, or messy, often physically taxing, and beginner people are often disappointed that their tasks are not more fun right away.

    A rescue can only exist if it is supported by the local community's manpower, so if you enjoy being in the company of amazing animals, and are willing to do the hard work to make a difference in their lives, then we can really use your help!.

    I acknowledge and have considered these things, and I still wish to volunteer