Tawny owl; cause of injury: orphaned
Human Hands Hold the Fate of These Fragile Birds
A Dutch shelter rehabilitates birds that have fallen victim to the hazards of urban living.
Since 2009, city dwellers have been more numerous than their rural counterparts. And as humans continue to flock to urban areas, birds are following right behind, for better or worse.
Populated areas offer birds a lot of amenities—easy access to food, warmth, nesting sites, and protection from predators. But there’s no such thing as a free lunch, even for our feathered friends. When Dutch photographer Anjés Gesink started volunteering as a “feeding mom” at Vogelklas Karel Schot bird shelter in Rotterdam, she saw firsthand that cities create deadly hazards for birds.
While Gesink spent her evenings in a room filled with the sound of squawking, feeding orphaned chicks every 15 to 30 minutes, the dangerous implications of humans and birds sharing space became
