{"id":68268,"date":"2026-04-25T07:07:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T07:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/68268\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T07:07:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T07:07:11","slug":"bird-hospital-in-warsaw-treats-sick-and-injured-birds-then-returns-them-to-the-wild","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/68268\/","title":{"rendered":"Bird hospital in Warsaw treats sick and injured birds, then returns them to the wild"},"content":{"rendered":"

When a male bullfinch smashed into Marcin Jarzebski\u2019s apartment window, he took it in but realised it needed expert treatment. So the next morning he brought it to Warsaw\u2019s new emergency room for wild birds.<\/p>\n

He prepared a shoebox for the tiny, plump bird with a black head, gray back and reddish chest feathers. Then he took it as one of the first patients to the new drop-off center for sick and injured birds at the entrance of the Warsaw Zoo.<\/p>\n

“The bird stayed with us overnight, but unfortunately it probably has a broken wing so we brought it to the bird hospital,\u201d Jarzebski said.<\/p>\n

The 24\/7 emergency room in the Polish capital is actually a system of automated metal containers \u2013 something like a parcel room \u2013 where the containers can keep the birds warm in winter. The boxes send an immediate signal to the bird hospital just a few meters away, where veterinarians bring the birds for diagnosing and treatment.<\/p>\n

Jarzebski filled out a questionnaire and carefully placed the shoebox and the paper form into one of the containers, assured that the bullfinch would now have its best chance of surviving.<\/p>\n

The box system, designed based on ideas of the workers at the bird hospital, locks the birds in to keep them safe until a doctor can collect them. The drop-off center, which opened in February, is boosting the efficiency of a bird hospital that has operated at the Warsaw Zoo since 1998 and now treats about 9,000 patients annually.<\/p>\n

\"TreatedTreated storks are seen in an external cage.<\/p>\n

Care for other creatures<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the brainchild of the zoo director, ornithologist Andrzej Kruszewicz, who said that people have a responsibility to care for creatures whose habitat they have altered, such as that of the bullfinch.<\/p>\n

“This bird is a child of the forest who, during migration, didn\u2019t understand the window,\u201d Kruszewicz said.<\/p>\n

“Humans often cause problems: car accidents, crashes into windows, electrocutions, tangled strings on storks\u2019 legs,\u201d he said. “All this is humans\u2019 fault and they should feel responsible to give these birds a second chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Typical patients at the Warsaw Zoo include common songbirds like tits, sparrows, thrushes and starlings, as well as pigeons. However, in a green city like Warsaw, which has the river Vistula running through it, rarer species also can appear.<\/p>\n

\"WarsawWarsaw Zoo employee Magdalena Zawadzka holds a wounded male bullfinch.<\/p>\n

Hospital manager Andzelika Gackowska says that warm winters caused by climate change have meant birds that were previously migrating south, including cranes or herons, are choosing to stay in Poland.<\/p>\n

“Birds who stopped migrating because of warm winters were caught off guard by such a harsh winter as this year,\u201d Gackowska said. Some birds developed anemia during the cold months because of tough conditions and insufficient nutrition, making them more vulnerable to disease.<\/p>\n

The emergency room was financed in part with money from Warsaw\u2019s citizen budget, a program that chooses projects based on their popularity in online surveys of city residents.<\/p>\n

\"WarsawWarsaw Zoo employee Filip Woluch holds a pigeon he took out of its cage for feeding and cleaning.<\/p>\n

Bird behaviour<\/p>\n

Warsaw Zoo workers say residents have become more conscious about providing help if they see a sick bird, although they also warn against overzealousness, saying that people shouldn’t pick up young and healthy birds that they might believe are orphans.<\/p>\n

“In spring, we always make an information campaign warning people not to \u2018kidnap\u2019 birds,\u201d Gackowska said. “Birds take care of their small ones differently than humans. If we see a baby bird on the grass alone, it is likely just training how to fly independently.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the bird hospital, veterinarian assistants are constantly on their feet, feeding and giving medicine to the various birds, located across multiple rooms depending on species and degree of illness.<\/p>\n

Once birds are stronger, they are placed in large cages outside, to readjust to their natural environment before being released.<\/p>\n

Releasing the cured birds back into their habitat is the ultimate goal, veterinarian Ewelina Chudziak said.<\/p>\n

“We are fighting for freedom,\u201d she said. \u2013 AP<\/p>\n

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