Thank you for helping these unique babies!
We have amazing news to share! Thanks to your generous support of the belted kingfishers' help me heal fund, we reached our goal to feed these beautiful birds! After a few weeks in our care we were able to release the kingfishers back into the wild.
Thank you for giving these kingfishers a new beginning and a chance to live healthy and happy lives in the wild. Without your generous support, none of the work to help wildlife like these kingfishers would be possible.
You can give these young birds a new beginning!
Dane County Humane Society’s Wildlife Center is currently caring for more than 300 native wildlife patients. Three of these patients are rather rare (and adorable) nestling belted kingfishers! The belted kingfisher is a small bird, weighing only 5 to 6 ounces, and is the only type of kingfisher native to Wisconsin.
These three nestlings were admitted in early June after their nest was destroyed. Kingfishers nest in burrows in the banks of lakes and rivers, staying close to their next meal of small fish. During some landscaping work their nest was damaged and they became homeless. Luckily, these babies were brought to us, and we will be raising these unique birds until they are old enough to return to the wild.
Because they are still young, they must be handfed live fish every hour. In a single day, each bird consumes about five dozen fish! As adults they will dive from a perch into clear water and catch fish, but for now all our little eating machines can do is open their mouths for food. They have a long journey ahead to become independent, and we expect it will take another month for them to learn to fly and to hunt for themselves. With each nestling eating about five dozen fish per day, their daily cost for food is $45. With at least one month of rehabilitation ahead of us, it will be expensive to complete their care.
Please help us raise $1,350 needed to feed these unique babies. Your gift will give them the new beginnings they need for happy and healthy lives in the wild!
Please make your donation online or mail your donation at Dane County Humane Society’s main shelter (5132 Voges Road, Madison, WI 53718), with “kingfisher” in the subject line.
DCHS's Wildlife Center is funded by generous donations from the community. Any additional funds raised will be used to continue the work our Wildlife Center staff does every day to help injured, orphaned and ill wildlife from throughout the Greater Madison region.
