The Avian Conservation Center and Center for Birds of Prey
Wild birds are among the world’s most illuminating sentinel species. Birds are numerous, conspicuous, diverse, widespread, and particularly sensitive to environmental changes. The status of wild bird populations directly reflects the overall condition of our ecosystem and biodiversity as a whole. Environmental issues that impact wild bird populations often have potential human health implications as well making the study of these populations increasingly relevant and critical to our own sustainability.
The Avian Conservation Center operates
The Avian Conservation Center's medical clinic operates 365 days a year with support from more than 80 trained and dedicated Volunteer Staff members. This state-of-the-art medical facility treats as many as 1000 injured birds of prey and shorebirds each year. Since its founding, the Center has admitted over 15,000 birds for treatment and release.
The SC Oiled Birds Treatment Facility is among the most distinctive facilities housed at the Avian Conservation Center. In 2005 U.S. Fish and Wildlife and South Carolina DNR awarded the Center a $1.8 million grant for the construction of the 7,000 square foot facility, which remains the only permanent oil spill treatment center of its kind on the eastern seaboard.