Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center to Dedicate Newly Renovated Flight Cage in Honor of Generous

The Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center hosted friends and family on Friday, September 18 for the dedication of our newly renovated Flight Cage, honoring the generosity of Harvey Winer and Deborah Pizzo Di Bari.

The Flight Cage is an essential part of the rehabilitation process for large birds

• including Ospreys, Bald Eagles, Hawks, and other raptors - before they

return to the wild.

Birds in captivity can lose muscle strength during rehabilitation. Before a bird is released, our avian rehabilitation team uses the Flight Cage for carefully monitored flight conditioning to ensure that each bird has regained the strength, coordination, and endurance necessary to survive independently in the wild.

During flight conditioning, our team watches closely to ensure that a bird can successfully take off, fly multiple laps without becoming winded or disoriented, and land safely and comfortably.

A Safer Flight for Birds in Our Care

The need for improved safety in the Flight Cage became painfully clear last year when a Bald Eagle undergoing flight testing struck the chain-link roof at high speed and suffered a fatal neck injury.

Thanks to a generous donation from Harvey Winer and Deborah Pizzo Di Bari, the Center was able to replace the hard chain-link ceiling with softer plastic netting. The new ceiling provides a much more forgiving surface should a bird fly too high or too fast, significantly reducing the risk of serious injury during flight conditioning.

The improvement has already made an important difference during one of the Center's busiest seasons.

This spring and summer, the Flight Cage has been home at various times to Ospreys, Hawks, and a Bald Eagle preparing for their return to the wild. The Bald Eagle released over Memorial Day weekend completed a week of flight conditioning in the cage, and two Ospreys are currently using the facility as they work toward release.

A Gift That Goes Beyond the Flight Cage

The dedication also recognizes the broader impact of Harvey and Deborah's generosity. Their gift established a physical improvement fund that has helped The Center make important improvements throughout the facility, including:

●The renovation and installation of new plumbing in the outdoor waterfowl pens

●The purchase and construction of a shed for overwintering bats

●Improved space for quarantine and holding of other rabies-vector species

●And, most importantly, the significant safety improvements to the Flight Cage

Kathleen Mulcahy, Executive Director of the EAWRC said “Gifts like Harvey and Deborah’s can make the difference between life and death for the wildlife of the East End.Having clean, safe and up to date spaces to treat the animals allows us to be able to give the best care for the animals.”

Harvey Winer praised the great works that the Volunteers of the Wildlife Rescue Center do every day 24 hours a day, and referred to a saying in the Torah that is he who saves a life, saves all lives, referring in this case to the work of the Center’s staff and volunteers saving the wildlife of the East End.