Ride The Wind Wild Bird Rehab Center

04/06/2026

Who is interested in attending the
Bird and Nature Festival this June if I were to have it ?
I am not sure yet....... but Yes or No ?

04/05/2026

Hoppy Easter.....

03/26/2026

Please take a couple minutes to read this.

Wild birds used for educational purposes ?
What exactly does that mean ?

Wild birds that are permanently injured or handicapped in some way and cannot be released back into the wild.....those are the birds that are used for educational purposes.

But there is more to it than that.....it is not that simple.

In order for me to legally rehabilitate wild birds I must have :
a USFW Rehabilitation permit...and...
a State Rehabilitation permit.
Those two permits allow me to REHAB birds.

Now......if I also want to have education birds then I must also acquire two other permits.
a USFW Special Purpose Permit.... and...
a State Education Permit.
Those two permits will allow me to have education birds.

But yes....there's still more....
These permits cost money....so I have to pay for all of my permits...and renew them every couple of years and pay for them again.

And I also have to send a request in an application every single time that I want another education bird....and I have to wait to see if my request is approved...at which time I can get the bird.

So lots of paperwork and red tape involved.

And unfortunately there are only three options for birds that are
non-releasable.
Federal law requires :

1...
They must be transferred to a facility that wants them for educational purposes.
or.........
2...
I can use them for educational purposes at my own facility.
or......
3. .
They must be euthanized.

So sadly......... they can't all be saved.

It is very difficult to place non-releasable birds....many are not wanted.
And also there are many that just do not do well in captivity...so it is not fair to them and very cruel to keep those particular birds.
So euthanasia is the only choice left.

I have some educational birds....and some of you have met some of them. Cuckoos....Tanagers....Grosbeaks...Orioles and Hummingbirds.

All of my guys are well adjusted and friendly towards me...they seem content and do very well....and I give them the best care that I possibly can.

They all came in as injured adults....which makes it unusual that they are surprisingly calm and friendly towards me and eat out of my hand... and some even greet me when I walk into the room.
It took some time.... patience.... and work. But they are more than worth it....they are fantastic birds.

So......there are two reasons for having education birds...
both are obvious and important.

One reason is :

I can happily save some of these valuable precious birds from being euthanized.
They can live out their lives with me....they can be saved instead of being destroyed because of an injury.
And hopefully more in the future.

The other reason is :

My birds have a very important job.
They are teachers.
They earn their keep.

They help to show and educate people
about the value and importance of wild birds...and about their struggle to survive....especially long distance migratory species.
Which are what my guys are.

My education birds and all the other birds that come into Ride for rehab are very expensive to care for and feed.
I don't get paid for any of this...it is all paid for out of my own pocket.

And I don't have to do this....no one is making me do this...I can quit whenever I want........it's my own choice....it's self inflicted.

I simply just want to help protect birds...
I want and need to help birds.
They need our help.........now more than ever.
So here I am.

If you would like to help contribute towards the care of wild birds and play an important role in their lives....it would be greatly appreciated. You would be doing a very good thing and helping wild birds.

The last order of food that I got was $443.89....And it gets much higher when the busy season starts...not to mention all the other supplies and medications that are needed.

And in a couple of weeks I will be ordering more.....and more again... and again... and again...throughout the year.
And quite often I struggle to afford to get what they need.

It's expensive to rehab birds and to have education birds.
So if you would like to help birds and be a part of this....
the birds and I could really use your help.
Please consider a donation if you can.

If you decide to help :
All checks must be payable to me..... Tracy Brewer...
and mailed to :
Tracy Brewer
P.O. Box 368
New Richmond , Ohio
45157
Please share this...as much as you can.
Thank you....

03/16/2026

I got this little one in today.
He is a Field Sparrow ...( no not House Sparrow )
Unfortunately he is a window strike and he is not doing well.
A very nice couple ( Erin and Kevin Wimmer ) found him and rescued him. Thank you Erin and Kevin.

For any of you who are interested...there are many products and ways to make your windows safe and prevent birds from hitting them.
Markers...decals...etc. check them out.
Wish this little one luck....he needs it.

02/09/2026

Do you think these polka dots make me look fat ???

02/07/2026

I have posted this many times before but please take 5 minutes of your time to read this again....as a reminder.
It's extremely important for the birds.

I admitted this little White-throated Sparrow in about a week ago....he was a window strike.
A very nice lady Lara Lusignolo found and rescued him.

Thank you Lara for helping this little beauty........and I hope I spelled your last name right Lara.
Please let me know if I didn't and I will correct it.

If you find a bird in trouble....window strikes... hit by car etc..etc.
Pick the bird up immediately....please do not leave him sitting there.
Put him in a COVERED container so that he can not get out...
Make sure there are air holes.
Put him in a safe place indoors.
if you leave him outside a predator can get him or he can die from extreme heat or freezing temps.
Do not do anything else with him.
Leave him alone and do not open the container again.
Then call a rehabber who works with birds.
Unfortunately some people will tell you to put him in a box for a couple of hours and then take him outside and open the box and turn him loose. PLEASE do NOT do that.
Many times doing that can result in a bird's death.
No matter how active and rowdy he may get....do not release him.
He is a wild bird and he is afraid of you and will try as hard as he possibly can to get away from you regardless of how bad he feels.
As far as he is concerned you are the enemy and are going to have him for lunch
So..........
If you find a bird that has hit a window......
( or any other reason )...
Please bring it indoors....do not leave it outdoors.
I treat every window strike as a head trauma...which means the bird is kept for a minimum of 48 to 72 hours for observation...and given appropriate medications.
Those medications can be crucial at times and can result in saving a life.

Many head injuries worsen over time....they can progress to far more serious issues that were not obvious or noticeable on the day you found him.

Whenever you pick up or handle a wild bird you have just terrified and stressed him big time.
He does not realize that you are just trying to help him.
So all he wants to do is to get the heck away from you by any means possible.
Even if he feels like garbage and is in pain... he is still going to try to get away from you if he is physically able to do so.
And just because he may be able to run off or fly away from you...does not necessarily mean that he has recovered or is capable of taking care of himself out there.
It just means that he was able to escape far enough away from you so that you can not get him back now.
So the bird that you just released could now be sitting somewhere in a tree or bush ( or the ground ) with a heck of a headache.....seeing double....or blind....or dizzy....neurologic... or other injuries not obviously visible..... and not capable of defending himself or feeding himself etc. etc.

Many head injuries worsen over time....they can progress to far more serious issues that were not obvious or noticeable on the day you found him.

There have been many times that someone has called me to say that they had an injured bird...but they turned it loose and it was able to fly away....but then they noticed that the bird was still sitting in the same spot many hours later.......or the entire day....or a day or two.........and then they find it dead.
Perhaps the bird could have been saved had it been given the opportunity to get the care and meds that it needed.
So PLEASE don't leave him sitting there....and DO NOT turn him loose.
If you ever need help with a bird I would be more than happy to help you if I can.

01/27/2026

The birds are having a really rough time with this cold weather.
We are going to lose some. So we need to help them when we can.
Any feed that you offer them will no doubt help.

I feed hulled sunflower seed.....white millet seed.....thistle seed....
peanuts ( out of the shell ) and homemade peanut butter suet.

The peanut butter suet freezes after a couple hours so I bring it in and put out another...and then I swap it back out all day so that they always have one that is soft enough to eat.

I realize that it is rough for us to be running outside every couple hours to change out the food.....but if possible they could use the help.

Many of my feeders are hung right up next to my kitchen window....so in the winter I usually take the window screens out so that all I have to do is just reach out the windows to fill some of my feeders and to change out the suet. ( you can see in the video )

I still have to go outside to fill some of the other feeders.... but it sure helps to be able to fill some of them without having to go outside when it is so cold.

I do not have a picture of him but many years ago during a bitter cold winter a little Yellow-rumped Warbler showed up at my feeders and was looking really bad and I knew he was not going to survive.

So I opened one of my kitchen windows several inches and put a couple live mealworms on the inside window track hoping the little guy might see them and eat them.

Then I stepped back far enough away that hopefully he wouldn't see me but I could still see him.
Then I waited and watched to see if he showed back up.

It took awhile before he came back.....but by golly he saw them and actually hopped right onto the track and ate them.

And then surprising the heck out of me...instead of leaving..... that little guy must have thought it felt a lot warmer because he actually hopped on in through the window....took a few steps and sat on the window sill INSIDE my kitchen.

I couldn't believe he did that but I think he was cold and desperate enough to try to find some warm place to rest.

He stayed there for about 15 minutes and then casually walked right back out the window like he owned the place... and flew off.

It was really freezing so I immediately closed the window.

Then probably about an hour later....Dag Nab It...
there he was back again.
And to make me feel even worse....he was huddled up against the window.

Now I had a problem....how could I help him......
because it was freezing out and I couldn't leave my window open....and besides he wouldn't come back in again anyway.

So now I'm worried.....
If I opened the window it would scare him off....
but I didn't know what else to do...
So what the heck....once again I opened the window a few inches....
which yes... scared him.... and yes..... he flew off.

But I put a couple more live mealworms on the track again anyway.....and then I waited to see if he would come back.
I could not imagine that he would.

But what the heck do I know........

Weren't no flies on that little bird.....
because he was back in a couple of minutes...
found the live mealworms and chowed down.....
and then miraculously that little guy came back in the window and sat on the window sill in the kitchen just like before.

He stayed for a bit and then strolled back out and left.
If birds could smile......
he would have been grinning from ear to ear.

I ran over and closed the window again.

I had to do something.

Ok......I had an idea.....

I opened the window a few inches....measured the opening....took a piece of cardboard....measured it and cut it to fit the opening all the way across.
Then I cut out an inch square of the cardboard at the end of one side so that there was only a small square about an inch that remained open....making a little door.
Then I taped the cardboard to the window.

I then put a shallow dish of live mealworms and a dish of water on the window sill inside my kitchen.
So.....if he decided to come back he could go in and out of the tiny little door into the kitchen all day long and eat and drink all he wanted..
The little genius did.....several more times that day.

I had stuff to do so I was not in the kitchen except every once in awhile just to peek around the door to see.

Sometimes he was in there and sometimes he wasn't.

I was growing an ulcer hoping no other birds got any ideas.

When it got dark I closed it up.

I got up real early the next morning.....put his door in....set out his buffet and went about my day and left him to his day if he decided to show up.

And he did.

This went on for probably another 3 days and then he stopped coming in.
The weather had gotten better.....and I saw a Yellow rumped Warbler at the suet feeder after that......so I assumed it was him.

Birds are so much more intelligent than we give them credit for.
( except for Doves )

That little Warbler was amazing.
I will never forget that.
How can you not love birds.....

01/22/2026

EARTH DAY....
Everyone has a birthday.
Well.... today is Earth's birthday.

Earth gives us gifts each and everyday of our life.
And without it's gifts...
We would not be here.

Earth gives us....
Trees for clean air...shade...and protection.
Soil to grow the food on your table....
Water....
Birds...
Pollinators....

Do something wonderful for the earth today.
Give it a gift....
Give something back to it....
Because it never fails to give to you.

Plant a tree.....
Create a pollinator garden....
Stop using chemicals....
Clean it up....

And not just today.....
Take care of it each and everyday.
You want a clean healthy and safe earth in which to live ?
It's up to all of us.

And in return...
Earth will appreciate and thank you....
By providing you with a safer...healthier place to live.

01/21/2026

12/25/2025

I was driving down the road the other day and in a hurry to get home.
Suddenly a bird flew out across the road and the car in front of me hit her.
The bird bounced off the car and landed on the right side of the road.

The car that hit her kept going......and I was going too fast to immediately stop....and it was also a country road with no place to pull over so I had to keep going until I got to the next nearest driveway which was on the left.

I pulled into that driveway...turned off my car.... got out... locked it.... put my keys in my pocket.. and began walking down the road back toward the bird.

I stayed on the opposite side of the road that the bird was on because I was parked up the road a bit and could not see the bird yet.
I did not want to scare it by approaching it too quickly.

So I'm walking and searching until finally...........
there it is....
a female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

Now I start crossing the road slowly walking toward the bird.
Since the bird was still sitting there quietly and not moving and apparently not aware of me....my plan was to sneak up on it and grab it.

Things were going perfect as planned and I was within inches of grabbing the bird.......

that is until Murphy showed up.

You guys know who Murphy is don't you ?
Murphy's Law ?
That Murphy.
He follows me around all the time.

I was inches away from grabbing the bird...it was calm and quiet and not moving....this was going to be a piece of cake compared to some past chases that I have had to participate in.

But Murphy had other plans.....because Murphy apparently yelled BOO or pinched the bird or something to scare it because the bird suddenly for no reason took off sprinting up into a yard.

And not just any old yard.....this yard's owner was overly fond of Christmas inflatables and decorations. They were everywhere.
And that's where the bird headed.

There were tons of decorations. And rows of assorted inflatables which were in front of rows of bushes. And the bushes were right up against the porch's foundation behind the inflatables.

I lost sight of the bird when it disappeared under Frosty The Snowman.

So now I had to try to figure out how I was going to maneuver through this obstacle course of all of those inflatables in order to find the bird.
I was sure hoping that the owners were not home.

So I got down on my hands and knees and started crawling around among Santa...and Rudolph ( with his nose so bright )..and Frosty as well as eight hundred and fifty two thousand other inflatables and decorations.

This was no easy task..... because there were cords and ropes and tie downs and lights and stakes everywhere.

I still did not see the bird....so I thought she might have gone under the bushes and was huddled up against the foundation of the house.

So after fighting with Santa...and Frosty......and the rest of the gang....and trying to crawl under bushes.....

Hot Diggity Dog...there she was....

in the corner where the porch meets the stairs which would make her easier to grab.

However....I still couldn't quite reach her so I was going to have to lay down on the ground and scoot under the bushes as best and fast as I could.

And while I was crawling around all of those inflatables I couldn't help but knock into some of them which caused them to move around and rock back and forth.
And since it was a quiet day with no wind....it must have looked pretty strange....and drew attention.

Yep.....that it did.

At that very moment I wished I had Dorothy's red shoes from the Wizard of Oz

" There's no one home.."
" There's no one home.."
" There's no one home. "

Because while I am laying under the inflatables and bushes I suddenly hear what sounded like a door opening followed by a woman's voice yelling.......

" WHAT THE F&% # ARE YOU DOING ??? "

" GET THE H # OUT OF MY YARD ! ! ! ! "

My first response in my defense was to try to explain.....but before I could even get a second word out she yelled

" I'M GOING TO CALL THE POLICE ! ! ! ! "

And she went inside and slammed the door.

Uh Oh....... #&%@.... there was a good possibility that I was going to be on an episode of " COPS "

I only had 3 choices now....

1st choice ........ I could go knock on her door to try to explain.
or....
2nd choice........ I could forget the bird and run like @ #!&
or.....
3rd choice......... I could continue until I got the bird.

I decided the 1st choice would never work-----

Because I don't think she would have opened the door to someone that looked like a lunatic with mud all over them and pieces of shrubbery sticking out of their hair.

I debated on the 2nd choice----
That was very tempting...I have to admit I thought about it.....
but then guilt set in.

The 3rd choice was the winner ---
I am very stubborn....I started it and I was going to finish it. Besides that.....the bird needed help and I was not going to desert her now. So I continued.

FINALLY....... I was able to reach and grab the bird.

And after carefully but quickly making my way through the maze of inflatables....me and the bird headed happily back to my car as fast as we could go.

I couldn't wait to get out of there.

I got to my car and reached into my pocket to get my keys.......

But Murphy had yet another idea.

#%@! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME ! ! !

I couldn't find my keys...they were not in my pocket.

Panic set in............

I frantically searched the ground by my car.....NOPE.

That could only mean one thing. They must have fallen out of my pocket while I was crawling around on the ground.

Murphy apparently didn't want me to leave before the cops arrived......no fun in that......

so he thought a delay would be a good idea just to give them a better chance to get here before I left.

I didn't know what else to do......I was still holding the bird and now we had to head back over to that woman's yard to find my keys.

I was hoping the irate woman was not looking out her window as the bird and I arrived once more in her yard.

I was also hoping that I found my keys and got out of there before the cops showed up and told me to put both my hands up.
That might not end well....since I was still holding the bird in one hand.


So......after searching I finally found my keys next to Frosty.
I picked them up.....and started to walk away but then I stopped.

All of this put me in a GRINCH mood......and just for a moment I was really tempted to punch Frosty...kick Santa... knock Rudolph over and deflate some of the other reindeer.

But then I noticed a nativity scene in the yard....so I decided not to pick on Santa and his friends....because I knew baby JESUS was watching.

And besides.....maybe...just maybe I hoped that Santa would give me some presents since I was so nice and took the time to help the bird.

But I knew better.....Murphy always makes sure that Santa never stops by my house.

Merry Christmas......
And Tiny Tim said.....
" GOD bless us everyone "

11/24/2025

Happy Thanksgiving.......

11/23/2025

This little Red breasted Nuthatch has been coming to my feeder for at least a week now. This is a terrible picture but it is taken out my kitchen window with my little ancient Kodak Easy Share point and shoot Camera.,..,.so this is what you get....but works for me.

He is eating the Peanut Butter Suet Recipe. EVERY single bird loves this and they will wait in line to get to it.
Here's the recipe if you want a huge birdie crowd lined up at your feeders.

Eastern Bluebirds fight over it...and Pileateds will knock at your door for it.
I have had Rose-breasted Grosbeaks eat it...and Warblers.
It's not my recipe.....I found it in a book and I have made it for many years.

It's easy to make and store....
and it smells like peanut butter cookies when you make it..
So there is a bonus for your chore.
Ha.....I made a rhyme.....
----------------------
2 cups peanut butter ( I use the smooth )
2 cups real lard... ( no substitutes...NOT Crisco )
4 cups " quick oats " oats
4 cups corn meal ...( I think yellow corn meal works best )
2 cups white flour
2/3 cup white table sugar
Handful of raisins if you want.
---------------------
Melt lard and peanut butter in large pot over LOW heat...stir constantly or it will burn
Take off heat and mix in dry ingredients.
You need to work quickly because it starts setting up fast.
When done it should be the consistency of really thick cooked oatmeal.
Put it in your container(s) and let it sit overnight at room temp. to cool.
------------------------
The pans I use to put the mixture in are approx. 3 inches high...
And I make the cakes 1 and 3/4... to 2 inches thick...but you can make them however thick you want.

But if you make them too thin they will break and crumble.

I line my containers with plastic wrap on the bottom and up the sides....that makes it easy to get out of the pan...otherwise it sticks.

If you line the pan good enough....you can just turn the pan upside down on your kitchen counter and it will fall right out.

Cut into squares after cooled...and store.
**Get everything ready BEFORE you start cooking it...because you won't have time after.
I make 4 times the recipe at a time.
Make it....I promise you won't be sorry.