Nearly a dozen American White Pelicans crowded the gate of their enclosure at Iowa Bird Rehabilitation as employee Carter Whalen approached.
He dumped handfuls of dead, finger-sized fish into tubs of water. The pelicans scooped up several at a time with their pale, foot-long bill pouches.
These pelicans were brought to the Des Moines-based nonprofit from across the state for broken wings and other injuries. Iowa Bird Rehabilitation’s goal is to help them — and thousands of other birds — recover and to release them back into the wild.
“Pretty much anything with feathers that flies through Iowa, we can admit,” said Jenni Boonjakuakul, founder and executive director.
While there are other rehabilitators in the state, Iowa Bird Rehabilitation is unique in having state and federal permits to care for avifauna ranging from humming birds that weigh less than a nickel to Trumpeter Swans, North America’s heaviest flying bird.
The center also stands out with its sheer numbers. In 2024, Iowa Bird Rehabilitation admitted nearly 3,200 birds, representing 117 species. Boonjakuakul expects the final numbers for 2025 to be similar, if not higher.
Dozens of volunteers help with rescues and transportation. They feed baby birds and provide medical care from Boonjakuakul’s home in a residential neighborhood. But the nonprofit is nearing capacity, even with more outbuildings and creative solutions.
Acquiring a larger property to build Iowa’s first wild bird hospital and education center is part of Boonjakuakul’s long-term vision.
It started with a baby crow
Boonjakuakul’s path to rehabilitating birds began with a baby crow she took in as a graduate student in California. She described it as an incredible experience, but the crow imprinted on her, meaning she couldn’t release it into the wild. Boonjakuakul turned over its care to a wildlife center in Sacramento.
“I did a lot of things wrong,” she said. “I didn’t know it was illegal at the time to rehabilitate a bird on my own without the proper licenses.”
Boonjakuakul said she wanted to “do it right.” She trained in California to rehabilitate wild birds and, after moving to Iowa with her husband, Boonjakuakul received state and federal permits.
In 2012, Boonjakuakul cared for 170 birds from a room in her basement while working full time. Her passion project quickly grew from there. The number of admitted birds increased each year by 20%-25%. She established the nonprofit in 2018, expanded her network of volunteers and left her full-time job in 2021 to focus on the center.
Iowa Bird Rehabilitation has upwards of 80 volunteers during the busiest time of year from April to September, Boonjakuakul said. But even in the slower winter months, the center relies on 20-30 people to help.
On one day in December, volunteer Cindy Bogle, carried a bowl of kibble and worms through the backyard to feed quail and kestrels. Another volunteer, Dan Ketterer, cleaned out cages in an outbuilding called the “Bird House,” while Nancy Harvey and Cindy Hansen parked in the driveway to drop off a Canada goose in a plastic carrier.
Harvey and Hansen explained they’ve volunteered with Iowa Bird Rehabilitation for the last decade and assist with bird rescues and transfers.
“Something was wrong with [the goose’s] wing. So, we went out to try to catch him, and he gave us a good run for the money,” Harvey said.
Harvey pulled open an app on her phone to show how they receive bird rescue alerts and communicate with the other volunteers and staff at Iowa Bird Rehabilitation.
Birds showing potential signs of bird flu quarantine at an off-site location to prevent the spread of disease, Boonjakuakul explained.
Expanding the nest
Boonjakuakul walked into a room where soft crates and totes with blankets and food filled shelves to the ceiling.
In the winter, Iowa Bird Rehabilitation uses the space to care for smaller birds. She pointed to a fox sparrow recovering from a window strike. Since the center does not have a space to reacclimate birds to colder temperatures, she said most of the birds will overwinter in this room and will be released in the spring.
“During the summer, this is where all of our baby birds come in to be fed,” Boonjakuakul said. “Baby birds get fed every 30-45 minutes, sometimes every 30-60 minutes, just depends on the species of bird and the age of the bird. Our baby hummingbirds actually get fed every 15-20 minutes.”
Boonjakuakul estimated 80% of the birds they take in are babies that are injured, orphaned or found in places where they can’t be left, like under a truck. She said it was challenging last summer keeping up with the number of phone calls and birds admitted to the center.
“But if we say no, there’s nowhere else for that bird to go; that bird has 0% chance of being helped,” she said. “If we say yes, and we’re a little overwhelmed … we’re still giving that bird a chance, and so, right now, I feel that’s better than nothing.”
Walking out of the nursery past wood studs and construction materials, she explained an add-on will provide a kitchen and more medical and isolation space for recovering birds. But she called it a Band-Aid as she expects the center will quickly outgrow the new space.
Boonjakuakul’s long-term goal is to build a wild bird hospital and education center on five acres in the Des Moines area.
“We do a lot of the medical ourselves. I set wings, and I set legs, and I give medications,” Boonjakuakul said. “But I’m at a point where I could use some medical help, as well.”
Many veterinarians don’t have training for wild birds or they’re worried about potential diseases that could spread to pets, Boonjakuakul said. With a bird hospital, Boonjakuakul envisions hiring a full-time vet and vet technician “to give these birds the best care possible.”
More space could also make it possible to add a pool for waterfowl, along with indoor and outdoor flight cages.
Rehabilitating and releasing birds remain central to the Iowa Bird Rehabilitation’s primary mission. But education, awareness and avian conservation have become a bigger part of the organization as it has grown, Boonjakuakul said.
Dedicated classroom space would allow the nonprofit to host trainings and community events, she said.
“My big goal in conservation is helping people understand why do we love birds, why do we need them and why do we need to help them now before it’s too late,” Boonjakuakul said.
Raising awareness about bird declines
Iowa receives an estimated 800 million migrating birds in the spring and a billion in the fall. Many use wetlands, lakes and rivers as pitstops on their way to breeding grounds in Canada, while others — like wood thrushes and bluebirds — raise their young in Iowa.
But researchers estimate the number of birds in North America has dropped by nearly 3 billion, or 29%, since 1970. They attributed more than 90% of the decline to a dozen bird families, including sparrows, warblers, blackbirds and finches.
“[Birds are] very, very important to our ecosystem, and if we lose birds, it’s probably going to pretty much directly impact humans in the future,” Boonjakuakul said.
Birds eat insects and rodents, which can carry diseases and damage crops, she added. Others play an important role pollinating plants and spreading seeds.
Joel Sartore, a National Geographic Explorer and photographer based in Lincoln, Neb., stopped by the center while passing through Iowa in December.
He opened his laptop at Boonjakuakul’s dining room table, scrolling through a spreadsheet for the Photo Ark. He founded the project to document species in the world’s zoos, aquariums, wildlife sanctuaries and rehabilitation centers.
“The goal is to get photos of every species, big or small, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates to try to show the world what biodiversity looks like at this point in time.” Sartore said. “We really do need to shape up and save habitats and think about other animals if we want to survive ourselves.”
Over the last two decades, Sartore said his team has photographed around 18,000 species, including a dozen birds at Iowa Bird Rehabilitation. He underscored the contributions of Boonjakuakul and Iowa Bird Rehabilitation in avian conservation.
“If you love birds, you really should be supporting this place. This is ‘the’ place for the state of Iowa,” Sartore said.
