Congress of the Birds seeking donations to build aviary for rehabilitated birds

CHEPACHET, R.I. (WLNE) — The United States Congress will be on recess until after the Veterans Day Holiday in November, but another congress is hoping you’ll elect to offer a little bit of assistance.

As a one of a kind entity in Rhode Island, Congress of the Birds is a non-profit sanctuary and bird hospital rehabilitates all types of injured birds from those with the widest wingspans to the tiniest talons.

“So this bird, you can see all of his feathers all gone he’s completely missing his tail because of a glue trap, all of his feathers here, said founder Sheida Soleimani.

“His wings and his primaries are completely destroyed so he needs to get a waterproofing bath and he’s going to be with us until he regrows all of those tail feathers because he’s not going to be able to fly again until that,” she said.

She said her mission started from a young age.

Her mother, an Iranian refugee whose identity requires protection, was a nurse who she said nurtured both people and pets back to good health.

Now, she’s working to grow that inspiration to an even greater reality by creating a new 42-acre aviary.

“We are in the middle of the land center right now. We’re in the midst of building our first enclosure,” she told ABC6.

And that’s where you can help.

She has started a GoFundMe with a goal of $50,000 to maximize the care they’re able to provide to rescued birds, with an emphasis on safety.

“We’re building a predator proof base right now so because we’re out in Chepachet, there’s a lot of predators out here, that could harm the birds, so we want to make sure that we’re building huge, kind of hardware cloth basket in a sense, lots of gravel, something that’s really impenetrable for predators to get into,” she said.

And with that protection and specialized care, workers and volunteers with Congress of the Birds look forward to seeing their hard work and your support pay off by giving these birds another chance at life, and the freedom they so deserve.

“We’re rehabilitating from when they’re young to be able to come out and practice flight and get ready to go back into the wild and they’ll be released here back onto this gorgeous land,” she said.

Congress of the Birds also needs volunteers to help clear the land and learn the specialized skills needed to care for the birds.

They also offer educational opportunities for students and educators.