For more than 20 years, Seymour’s Bird Refuge in Cumberland has both cared for and re-homed birds, but in 2020, the pandemic almost forced the refuge to shut down.
When the pandemic hit, the
on-site bird supplies store that supports the refuge had to shift to curbside
service only from March 2020 to July 2020.
Customers began ordering supplies online, diminishing the primary income
stream for the refuge, said owner Andrea Tims.
Once they were able to
reopen, she said, people were slow to return to the store.
Donna Gerardo, a longtime volunteer for the refuge, was compelled to do something to help. She organized a GoFundMe page for the rescue, with an initial goal of raising $8000, which would have supported the refuge through the end of March.
The $8,000 goal was what Tims told Gerardo she needed to pay taxes, order supplies for the store, and other basics just to keep the doors open, Gerardo said.
“I really thought that was pushing it,” she said. But when the fundraising page went live, “money started rolling in,” she said. “We got excited when we met our goal, then we doubled our goal. I want to make it to $20,000 now.”
By March 30, the page had raised $19,400.
“The more donations we
receive, the longer the sanctuary can remain open,” Gerardo said.
With the extra funds, Gerardo
said, Tims can plan ahead and take care of projects that have been let go, such
as a new walkway for wheelchair access.
Tims’ mother started
Seymour’s Bird Refuge in 2000. When she
was diagnosed with cancer in 2009, Tims stepped up to both care for her mother
and care for the birds.
When her mother passed away in 2011, she took over the rescue “because we had so many, and where do you take them with this many birds?” she said.
Seymour’s is a true labor
of love.
“I can’t afford to draw a
paycheck and be able to feed the birds,” Tims said. “Pretty much anything the store does goes
right back into the shelter.”
Currently, Tims said,
there are about 60 birds in the rescue facility, and she has 10 birds in her
home as well.
Seymour’s is the only
licensed bird rescue in Maine that adopts birds out. They were the only
licensed facility in the state until Siesta Sanctuary in Harmony opened, but Siesta
is a retirement home for parrots and does not re-home birds.
There are strict adoption
guidelines, Gerardo said, to be sure that those adopting can take care of the
bird they request.
Tims said often people
come in looking for a parakeet or cockatiel but get distracted by the Macaws
they see in the back.
“Tunnel vision sets in,
but they don’t have the experience to handle a bird with 500 pounds of bite
pressure on its beak,” she said.
Birds are more difficult
than cats or dogs to re-home, she said.
“They want to be part of
the flock, so if you’re on the phone they’re screaming louder. They’re just
trying to join the conversation,” she said. “That’s what they would do in
nature.”
The rescue is not set up
as a non-profit, and Tims prefers not to do fundraising.
That’s why the impact of
the pandemic was so difficult.
“We are gaining a little bit of ground since
the GoFundMe, but we’re not where we were,” Tims said. “The GoFundMe has
definitely opened some eyes.”
A story that ran on News
Center Maine has also brought some regulars back in, she said.
Tims said that with the
current donations, she can keep Seymour’s open into the fall.
“Once winter hits again
and we’re buying fuel oil again, things are going to start really getting tight
if we can’t get the foot traffic back where it was,” she said.
Anyone wishing to help can
search the GoFundMe site for Seymour’s Bird Refuge. Bird owners can help by
visiting the store and purchasing supplies.
Tims also offers limited short-term boarding for birds when space
allows.
For more information on
Seymour’s Bird Refuge, visit https://www.seymoursbirdrefuge.com/. <
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