Open house and supper a success for Hudson bird shelter

Le Nichoir co-founder and wildlife biologist Lynn Miller said several first time visitors came to the July 12 open house, while more than 70 supporters of the non-profit wild bird rehabilitation centre were invited to an annual Friends of Le Nichoir sit down dinner later the same night.

The meal took place in the centre’s 150 year-old barn that has played host to sick, injured and orphaned wild birds on an as needed basis for the past 14 years.

Though the renowned rehabilitation centre is ready to take its services to the next level by expanding and incorporating on-going education into its mandate, Miller noted that Le Nichoir is always in need of volunteers to become bird ambulance drivers, transporting birds from the Jean Talon SPCA to the centre, along with other places.

In addition, she said, donations are always sought to help keep the birds supplied with worms, medicines and professional care.

Miller also shared the success story of a young mourning dove that was recently released into the local avian population.

When it was brought to Le Nichoir by a local family, staff noted that the bird’s neck crop – the crop in the dove family serves to hold a pile of food safe until the bird can find a quiet place to digest – had been cut open when it was nabbed by a cat.

“The holes (the cat) left in the bird before it was rescued could have been a death sentence,” Miller said, explaining that the bird would have dehydrated and eventually starved if unable to hold its food.

“Le Nichoir is lucky to have Dr Amanda Glew from the Hudson Veterinary Hospital to respond to emergencies such as these,” Miller noted.

In the end the mourning dove was anaesthetized so that Dr. Glew could clean and stitch its wound. “Within minutes of waking up, the bird was perched happily and ready to head back to Le Nichoir and food,” said Miller with a laugh.The mourning dove was successfully released in Hudson during the past week and Miller thinks he may be hanging around Le Nichoir.“During our open house I saw a mourning dove calmly sitting nearby that looked a lot like the one we helped,” she noted.

Le Nichoir, located at 637 Main Rd, Hudson, is open to the public, to visit the centre, or for more information about volunteering or donating, call 450-458-2809.