Care and rehabilitation for sick, injured, and orphaned wild birds.

Welcome to BirdCare Aotearoa

BirdCare Aotearoa is a registered charity dedicated to providing care and rehabilitation for sick, injured, and orphaned wild birds.

Based in Green Bay, Auckland, we are the largest avian hospital and rehabilitation centre in Aotearoa New Zealand by the sheer number of birds cared for, admitting over 6,000 birds every year.

Most birds are brought to us by members of the public, as well as by the SPCA, Department of Conservation, Auckland Council, Fish & Game New Zealand, veterinary clinics, and other wildlife rehabilitators.

Alongside our rehabilitation and release services, we engage in research and advocacy, and provide education and training for other wildlife rehabilitators, veterinarians and allied professionals, wildlife rangers, students, and members of the public who want to learn how to make a positive difference in the lives of wild birds.

Established in 2009 as the New Zealand Bird Rescue Charitable Trust (NZBRCT), we have evolved from a “cottage rescue centre” to a professional wildlife hospital and rehabilitation centre. In 2021, we rebranded to BirdCare Aotearoa.

With your generous support, we give wild birds a second chance at life.

Found a bird?

Generosity Generator: thank you for helping us raise over $20,000!

Our Generosity Generator crowdfunder has now closed. Thanks to your incredible generosity, we raised over $20,000! This is a huge boost ahead of what we expect to be our busiest ever baby bird season.

Heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you who donated, shared our campaign with others, or helped in any other way. We’re absolutely blown away by your generosity.

If you didn’t manage to donate to our crowdfunder, you’re most welcome to make a donation directly through our website.

CURRENT NEWS:

Seeking an Avian Hospital Manager

19th April 2023

To help increase our capacity in the future, we are currently seeking corporate sponsorship and partners.

Please email if you know an organisation who may like to sponsor BirdCare Aotearoa.

A big thank you to two very special girls!

BirdCare Aotearoa would like to thank sisters Scarlett (10) and Mila (7) who raised $510 from their fundraiser at St Joseph’s school in Orakei www.facebook.com/sjorakei

Scarlett and Mila sold chocolate chip cookies, lolly cakes and homemade lemonade. They love animals, and have also fundraised for the SPCA in the past.

St Joseph’s school is a little school with a very big heart, teachers and parents fully supported the initiative and were very impressed with Scarlett and Mila’s commitment.

   

The team at BirdCare Aotearoa are very grateful to these wonderful girls for their dedication and support of the care of precious wild birds. Their donation will help to feed a lot of hungry baby birds this summer!

Seeking Volunteers 🐦

BirdCare Aotearoa is currently in search of more volunteers, in particular for helping to care for birds and/or raising bugs. There are also a range of other support roles available, including building, maintenance, reception and administration tasks.

If you or anyone you know may be interested in joining our team as a volunteer, and are based in Auckland, over 18 years of age, and available for a minimum of 5 hours per week, please click here to find the list of currently available volunteer roles or email volunteer@birdcareaotearoa.org.nz for more information.

Volunteering roles are hugely rewarding, and are essential to the operation of BirdCare Aotearoa. Full training is provided in relation to bird handling and care. We are extremely grateful for the support of all of our wonderful volunteers, we couldn’t do this without you.

Kororā/little penguin chick at BirdCare Aotearoa

A few lovely gift ideas 🎁

The team at BirdCare Aotearoa are hugely grateful to all of our wonderful supporters – we couldn’t do this without your generosity – it is very much appreciated, thank you! 

Here are a few ideas to help with your gift shopping

Gift Certificates – We have a lovely range of electronic gift certificates available here

The Good Registry – If you’re unsure what you’d like for receive for gifts, you can set up a gift registry for your family and friends to donate to BirdCare Aotearoa in your honour!

Artwork, jewelry, clothing and dog leads – Thank you so much to the following amazing organisations for supporting BirdCare Aotearoa!

Fangnfinn artworks available on Trademe – 10% of proceeds of any other artwork purchased before end of December will be donated to BirdCare Aotearoa

Tara Cassidy Fine Artist

All proceeds from Tara’s website (www.taracassidy.com) until 31st Dec will be heading to Bird Care Aotearoa on New Years!

Leah Ingram Artist – kaki print

15% from the sale of this print will be donated to the BirdCare Aotearoa Charity

Tania Mallow – Cook’s Petrel limited edition necklace

All funds raised over and above cost for the first 10 necklaces has been donated to BirdCare Aotearoa

30% of the funds raised from the second 10 necklaces will be donated to BirdCare Aotearoa

Bird Shirts – Weka T-shirts

Half the profits from each tee sold will be donated to Bird Care Aotearoa

Lead the Way – Dog leads

Sales of these leads promote bird safety on beaches, and support BirdCare Aotearoa

Good in the Hood: A huge thank you to Z Energy!

BirdCare Aotearoa received a total of $2,780 as a result of the awesome votes received at the following four stations:

Z Mairangi Bay, Milford, Sylvia Park & Tom Pearce Drive (airport)

We are so grateful for the wonderful support – this will help to feed many hungry baby birds this summer!

       

Generosity Generator: thank you for helping us raise over $20,000!

Our Generosity Generator crowdfunder has now closed. Thanks to your incredible generosity, we raised over $20,000! This is a huge boost ahead of what we expect to be our busiest ever baby bird season.

Heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you who donated, shared our campaign with others, or helped in any other way. We’re absolutely blown away by your generosity.

If you didn’t manage to donate to our crowdfunder, you’re most welcome to make a donation directly through our website.

Past Event: Bird of the Year 2022: Vote for Cookie!

Voting open: 17th October – 30th October 2022
Location: Online

BirdCare Aotearoa is proud to have campaigned for the beloved Cook’s petrel (tītī) for Bird of the Year 2022 – Look out for our campaign again next year!

The 2022 winner has been announced – Congratulations to the gorgeous little Southern Alps dweller the pīwauwau rock wren! 💚

You can learn about awesome Cook’s petrels on Cookie’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages.

Latest news

Protect our Petrels – New website

1st Jan
Introducing a new website www.protectourpetrels.com coordinated by BirdCare Aot...

Tabletop exercise was a success

29th Oct
Wildlife Welfare – Creating Preparedness for a Potential Catastrophic Weat...

Botulism

14th Jun
Botulism is a natural toxin produced by a bacterium (Clostridium botulinum) comm...
View stories
Photo by Simon Runting

How you can help

Volunteer: From running errands to gardening, maintenance and caring for birds, there are many ways you can help.

Fundraise: Get creative and have some fun while raising money to support our life-saving work.

Involve your business: Get your team together for a volunteer day or hold a fundraiser.

Join our team: Make a difference by working alongside our small, friendly team of professionals.

Donate: Your donation will help us provide life-saving veterinary care for thousands of wild birds.

See how you can help
Photo by Simon Runting
Photo by Simon Runting

Ways to support us

As a charity, we rely entirely on the support of our wonderful donors and partners.

If you would like to support us financially, there are many ways you can contribute. You can make a one-off donation, become a monthly donor, treat your family or friends to a gift certificate, or donate items or services from our wish list.

You can also organise a fundraising event, set up a gift registry in BirdCare Aotearoa’s name, donate through payroll giving, or leave BirdCare Aotearoa a gift in your will.

Find out more

Our partners

Help us to help the wild birds of Aotearoa!

Our work is only possible because of the generosity of our partners. We have many exciting opportunities for businesses to contribute to our work. If you would like to partner with us, please email support@birdcareaotearoa.org.nz.