Safe Wings Ottawa needs volunteers to help with building monitoring (patrolling), driving, rescuing birds, outreach and other tasks, especially during migration in spring (April to early June) and fall (August to early November), but also during the rest of the year. Training is provided. See below for descriptions of volunteer roles.
Building Patroller/Monitor
Monitor buildings by foot, bike or car to rescue injured birds and collect birds killed by window strikes and arrange to deliver them to our rehabber.
- Must have own transportation, be independent and self-driven, like exercise (walking/biking downtown zones) and be dedicated.
- Starting just before sunrise is ideal, but monitoring can be done throughout the day. We use Better Impact sign up system to ensure even coverage across the team and across the seasons.
- You should be comfortable with the idea of picking up dead birds and handling injured birds safely. Training is provided.
- Must keep detailed notes, including when and where each bird is found. The data that we collect through monitoring is vital to determining the problem areas in Ottawa and helps us direct our future efforts.
- You are encouraged to choose a particular area or specific buildings to monitor on a regular basis. This approach is most efficient and rewarding, and provides the most valuable and consistent data.
- Live birds need to be transported to our rehab facility in Gloucester. Ideally the patroller is responsible for this.
Driver
On occasion, volunteer drivers are needed to transport injured birds on short notice from Safe Wings volunteers or members of the public to our rehabber in Gloucester, or to the Wild Bird Care Centre, and sometimes to facilitate transfers from our rehab to the Wild Bird Care Centre for medical treatment.
- Must have your own transportation and be available often on short notice (we use an alert system when in looking for a driver). The use of OC Transpo for live birds is not recommended.
- Must be willing to transport live birds safely. This means moving them as little as possible, keeping them level, and providing a cool, quiet environment during transport (windows closed, no radio, no pets and no young children. Birds cannot be put in the truck of a car).
Rescuer
Respond to requests for help with injured birds.
- Must be comfortable with the idea of handling birds and willing to learn the correct way to contain live injured birds, or have experience handling live birds. Rescue/rehab experience is ideal. Training can be provided.
- Must have a net, boxes, towels, leather gloves and other rescue equipment available, and be ready for anything.
- Must have good problem-solving and people skills.
- Must be responsible for own transportation and available often on very short notice
Education, advocacy and outreach
Share our message on how to prevent window strikes. Review development proposals and draft correspondence to planners, building owners and operators. Help us plan and deliver local educational and fundraising events. Use your social media savvy to help us share the message online.
- Must be comfortable communicating with the public at various technical levels (generally basic) and staying consistent with Safe Wings messaging.
- Preference is given to volunteers who also volunteer for building monitoring, as this is the best way to become comfortable with and knowledgeable about our program.
Emergency Hotline Phone Volunteer
We operate an emergency hotline to support the public when faced with bird related emergencies. Regardless of the fact that we focus our efforts on window collisions, volunteers on the phone team field calls from the public related to various types of bird ‘emergencies’ from baby birds that have fallen out of the nest, fledglings, window collisions, injured (e.g. motor vehicle collisions) or sick birds found by Good Samaritans to hit by cars and duck/geese families in danger. Training is available.
- Knowledge of general bird behaviour, common injuries and illnesses. Be able to ask questions to assess the situation and inform a decision on next steps
- This is a public service type of position. You will be the voice of Safe Wings so great interpersonal skills is a must!
- Volunteer from the comfort of your own home.
- Be willing to commit to a minimum of 1 year (hopefully you like it so much that you stay longer).
- Volunteers sign up for recurring pre-defined shifts.
- Must have your own phone with unlimited calling and data capabilities. Access to internet is also required.
- Be a great problem solver, very organized and able to stay calm under pressure.
Other
- We can always use help translating texts to French, maintaining the website and social media accounts, graphic design, organizing events, fundraising and more.
- We sometimes use emails to volunteers to ask for help with specific tasks.
Interested in one of these opportunities or have an idea about how you can share your skills in another way? Complete the application form today. You can also read our volunteer manual here.
