WARSAW, Poland (AP) 鈥� When a male bullfinch smashed into Marcin Jarz臋bski鈥檚 apartment window, he took it in but realized it needed expert treatment. So the next morning he brought it to Warsaw鈥檚 new emergency room for wild birds.
He prepared a shoebox for the tiny, plump bird with a black head, gray back and reddish chest feathers. Then he took it as one of the first patients to the new drop-off center for sick and injured birds at the entrance of the Warsaw Zoo.
鈥淭he bird stayed with us overnight, but unfortunately it probably has a broken wing so we brought it to the bird hospital,鈥� Jarz臋bski said.
The 24/7 emergency room in the Polish capital is actually a system of automated metal containers 鈥� something like a parcel room 鈥� where the containers can keep the birds warm in winter. The boxes send an immediate signal to the bird hospital just a few meters away, where veterinarians bring the birds for diagnosing and treatment.
Jarz臋bski filled out a questionnaire and carefully placed the shoebox and the paper form into one of the containers, assured that the bullfinch would now have its best chance of surviving.
The box system, designed based on ideas of the workers at the bird hospital, locks the birds in to keep them safe until a doctor can collect them. The drop-off center, which opened in February, is boosting the efficiency of a bird hospital that has operated at the Warsaw Zoo since 1998 and now treats about 9,000 patients annually.
It鈥檚 the brainchild of the zoo director, ornithologist Andrzej Kruszewicz, who said that people have a responsibility to care for creatures whose habitat they have altered, such as that of the bullfinch.
鈥淭his bird is a child of the forest who, during migration, didn鈥檛 understand the window,鈥� Kruszewicz said.
鈥淗umans often cause problems: car accidents, crashes into windows, electrocutions, tangled strings on storks鈥� legs,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ll this is humans鈥� fault and they should feel responsible to give these birds a second chance.鈥�
Typical patients at the Warsaw Zoo include common songbirds like tits, sparrows, thrushes and starlings, as well as pigeons. However, in a green city like Warsaw, which has the river Vistula running through it, rarer species also can appear.
Hospital manager And偶elika Gackowska says that warm winters caused by climate change have meant birds that were previously migrating south, including cranes or herons, are choosing to stay in Poland.
鈥淏irds who stopped migrating because of warm winters were caught off guard by such a harsh winter as this year,鈥� Gackowska said. Some birds developed anemia during the cold months because of tough conditions and insufficient nutrition, making them more vulnerable to disease.
The emergency room was financed in part with money from Warsaw鈥檚 citizen budget, a program that chooses projects based on their popularity in online surveys of city residents.
Warsaw Zoo workers say residents have become more conscious about providing help if they see a sick bird, although they also warn against overzealousness, saying that people shouldn’t pick up young and healthy birds that they might believe are orphans.
鈥淚n spring, we always make an information campaign warning people not to 鈥榢idnap鈥� birds,鈥� Gackowska said. 鈥淏irds take care of their small ones differently than humans. If we see a baby bird on the grass alone, it is likely just training how to fly independently.鈥�
In the bird hospital, veterinarian assistants are constantly on their feet, feeding and giving medicine to the various birds, located across multiple rooms depending on species and degree of illness.
Once birds are stronger, they are placed in large cages outside, to readjust to their natural environment before being released.
Releasing the cured birds back into their habitat is the ultimate goal, veterinarian Ewelina Chudziak said.
鈥淲e are fighting for freedom,鈥� she said.
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