Sarasota seabird sanctuary rescues, rehabilitates and releases thousands of birds each year

Guests strolling through Save our Seabirds learning center will immediately see more than just seabirds at the facility. 

"Here at Save our Seabirds we have a ‘bird walk’ and you can come out and visit all of our birds, which are non-releasable," stated Aaron Virgin, CEO of Save Our Seabirds. "We have owls, hawks, brown pelicans, of course, and then we have some non-natives like parrots, macaws and cockatiels."

Virgin says Save Our Seabirds is the only facility in Southwest Florida that can rescue, rehabilitate and release injured birds. Each year it receives more than 5,000 calls about birds in distress. 

"Some of the birds that come here are either injured, they have an eye injury or a wing injury, and then there are those like the parrots, which are former pets. People don’t realize how loud they can be or how long they live, so they have a permanent home at Save our Seabirds," Virgin explained. 

READ: Rescue group pleads for help as they rescue hundreds of pelicans from Skyway pier

Save Our Seabirds was originally called the Pelican Man Sanctuary. It was founded in the 1980s after Dale Shields, a.k.a. the ‘Pelican Man’, found an injured brown pelican. After calling several agencies and learning that no one was rescuing and rehabilitating birds, he decided to take matters into his own hands. 

"We have scores of volunteers who go out and rescue. They bring the birds back to us. We have a thriving animal hospital and veterinary staff to rehabilitate as many of these birds as possible and release them back into the wild," Virgin said.  

READ: Injured pelicans along Skyway fishing pier may be casualty of inexperienced anglers 

Save Our Seabirds is open daily from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and admission is free. 

LINK: Learn more about Save Our Seabirds and how to volunteer at saveourseabirds.org

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