Flint Creek Northerly Island Wildlife Rehabilitation Center Opened April 1

Facility is the only rehabilitation center within Chicago city limits

By Sharon Parmet

On April 1, an injured bird’s chance of survival in the Loop jumped exponentially with the opening of Flint Creek Northerly Island Rehabilitation center, just minutes from downtown Chicago in the former Miegs Field terminal building (now the Northerly Island Field House). Flint Creek Northerly Island is a satellite operation of Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation center located in Barrington, Illinois, and founded by rehabber Dawn Keller.

Flint Creek Northerly Island will be the first wildlife rehabilitation facility within city limits, and will be used primarily to rehabilitate and care for birds injured during the spring and fall migration seasons when they collide with buildings as they make their way along migratory fly ways that take them through the Loop. It will also help birds hit by cars, tangled in fishing lines and birds of prey that have sustained injuries. Flint Creek Northerly Island will accept injured birds by appointment only.

The Chicago Bird Collision Monitors (CBCM), a volunteer organization of about 70 individuals, patrols an approximately one square mile section of the Loop each morning during the migration season to collect birds injured by collisions with buildings. The Loop sits on a major flyway that birds follow during their north-south migrations. When birds reach the Loop (or any other major metropolitan area) they can get drawn to building lights, and get confused by reflective glass, which they attempt to fly through. It is estimated that about seven million birds, composed of approximately 300 species, fly through the city each year.

Before the opening of the Flint Creek Northerly Island facility, CBCM volunteers would have to drive injured birds to rehabilitation facilities up to an hour or more away from downtown Chicago, using up time that could have been spent looking for additional bird casualties. The opening of Flint Creek Northerly means that birds injured and picked up by CBCM volunteers will receive medical attention sooner, boosting their chances of survival and allowing monitors to extend the time they spend monitoring the Loop.

Last migration season (fall 2005), CMCB volunteers rescued more than 1,100 injured birds. Of these, about 80 percent of birds treated at Flint Creek in Barrington were successfully released. That percentage is expected to rise with the opening of Flint Creek Northerly Island.

Flint Creek Northerly Island fits into a larger plan for the former Miegs Field airport to be transformed into a large nature park. Funds raised by a concert venue installed on the island (the Charter One Pavilion) which will be in place for several years, will help offset the costs of the plantings, trails and other features that will be needed to create and sustain the Northerly Island nature park.

The Chicago Park District is currently providing the space in the old terminal building for free, and the center will be funded by private donations. The facility plans to kick off a fundraising campaign to raise funds needed for outdoor rehabilitation cages, equipment, supplies and permanent staff. If you are interested in making a personal donation toward the Flint Creek Northerly Island rehab clinic, cash donations are welcome and tax-exempt. You can contribute online at the Flint Creek web site www.flintcreekwildlife.org. Checks made payable to Flint Creek may also be sent by regular mail to: Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation Inc. 117 S. Cook St., #145 Barrington, IL 60010.

Flint Creek Northerly Island is made possible by the joint efforts of CBCM, Flint Creek Rehabilitation’s founder and director, Dawn Keller; Bob O’Neill, president of the Grant Park Conservancy, and the Chicago Park District.