HAZEL PARK, Mich. – Greg Kilby loves to go hunting for birds with his dog, Max. But one day, he and his wife, Molly, came across a baby bird that deserved a second chance at life.
"We were out going for a walk after a big rain storm," Kilby said. "I happened to notice a nest, a bird nest, that had been blown out of the tree. So, we went over and took a look at it and saw a couple of eggs lying on the ground. Then, looking down where the water was raging, there was a little tiny bird."
The Kilbys scooped the bird and the nest up and took it home. They put it in a cardboard box with a light to keep it warm while they figured out how to care for it.
After calling around for help, the couple was told to find a local licensed bird rehabilitation specialist.
They had never heard of such a thing.
Their search led them to Marg Sapp, owner of Wild Wings -- rehabilitation for birds.
"She responded within about an hour," Molly Kilby said."She called me back and said, 'I can take it.'"
Sapp is a veterinarian by day and started Wild Wings in January.
"I kind of just fell in love with the songbirds and realized that there was a need," Sapp said.
She rehabs birds like the one the Kilbys brought her out of her Hazel Park home where she lives with her husband. Wild Wings is the only bird rehab center in Oakland County.
This year, she's already cared for 103 feathered animals.
"Some birds I get and I have for two days and they're released, and then some birds I've had for months," Sapp said.
Typically, the birds she has for months are the tiniest ones that come in needing the most care.
"They can't regulate their body temperature," Sapp said. "Their eyes are closed. Their ears are closed. They don't have any feathers. It only takes about five minutes for them to get too cold to where they can't live."
Fortunately, the bird the Kilbys found -- a Robin named Bernadette -- will live.
"I feel like we did something right," Greg Kilby said. "The good Lord blessed us and blessed the little bird."
And once she is back to full health, along with the others Sapp has rehabbed, they're released back into the wild.
"It is really fulfilling to see them fly away when you are taking them from that and then you watch them grow up," Sapp said.
If you happen to find an injured bird or one that needs care, make sure you keep it in a warm place immediately first.
Email: WWbirdrehab@comcast.net