Summit Aviary & Bird Rescue

Also available is this pair of house pigeons! These are not currently in my care and are being posted for a friend since I am at capacity.

Paloma is the male, and Holly is the female. Holly is a racing pigeon from Texas, banded in 2017. Paloma was found on a roof in Akron. These two have been paired together for a long time and are very bonded. Paloma is a good dad, so he gets fussy when you swap the eggs, but outside of the cage he’s sweet. They are used to being handled and held, and do very well with it.

Again, located in Akron OH but we do not ship. Please reach out with any questions or interest!

Hi everyone, huge thanks for all the condolences last week, as well as the patience with getting back to people. I sincerely apologize, as I know closing so abruptly was a major inconvenience in what was effectively the first week of the baby season. I really do appreciate all of the kindness sent my way.

Unfortunately, we experienced the unexpected loss of my first bird, a starling named Prince. I have gone ahead and included some photos so you all can "meet" him, as I never really talked about my personal birds here. But honestly, Prince was my best friend. He changed my life enormously and is THE reason Summit Aviary exists. It has been very difficult for me to cope with this, and I feel like I have lost a part of my own heart. I miss him more than anything.

That being said, I know the best way to honor his memory is by continuing the mission that started with him. I am tentatively re-opening for intakes on a case by case basis, so please feel free to reach out if help is needed. I do not have a large capacity right now and am still grieving, so please be aware that I may be unable to commit, but I will definitely try to point you in the right direction if I am unable to help.

I will also be posting some available pigeons within the next week here, as well as volunteer recruitment posts for fosters and transporters.

I hope you all have a wonderful week 🐦‍⬛

Hi everyone, as we head into spring, I need to make an announcement and set some ground rules about my capacity and schedule moving forward.

I need people to understand that I am just one person. Occasionally, I have help from a friend or my husband. Otherwise, it’s just me.

I am, to my knowledge, one of the only avian rescues specializing in pigeons and non-natives in the area. I receive nasty messages and voicemails for not being immediately available during the workday. I have been called names or guilt tripped for being unable to drop everything to travel to every bird needing help and pick them up myself. I have had people threaten birds in an attempt to strongarm me into taking them. This stuff is really really tough.

On top of my rescue work, I have a full-time job, a family, and my own birds (many of whom are special needs, requiring lots of specialized care). These parts of my life HAVE to come first, because otherwise there is no leftover energy FOR them.

There have been years where I raise over 50 babies in just a few months during springtime. I take humane cases, pet surrenders, disabled birds, and emergency intakes; more or less year round. I put in hours upon hours of work to get birds rehabilitated, socialized, adopted, placed at sanctuaries, or released where possible. And the money to do all of this - feed these birds, house them, give them enrichment and toys, rehabilitate them, take them to the vet, provide specialized care for their disabilities – 99.9% of it comes out of my own pocket, as I don’t receive funding of any sort aside from donations and adoption fees.

Point being this: I put everything I have into this, but lately, have been neglecting myself pretty heavily in the process trying to keep up. I have an autoimmune condition that causes my body to attack my peripheral nervous system and joints, moreso when I am exhausted or stressed. I am still recovering from a major hip reconstruction surgery that took place less than a year ago. And being a rescuer takes a huge mental toll, too – I am almost always filled with immense guilt and pressure to keep this up, because I am aware that there may be nobody else to help the birds that I cannot take.

But now, my current workload is directly worsening my wellbeing, and I am really struggling to get through the day without making decisions that are directly detrimental to my physical or mental health.

I don’t say these things to garner praise or pity. I am just trying to make it exceedingly clear how much this means to me. I love my birds – and the ones that aren’t mine, too. They make my life worth living, and I am honored to have this responsibility. But the way that things are now is not sustainable, and if I try to keep it up, it won’t be long before I am unable to keep doing it at all. I can only take so many 18 hour days. And that is why I need to make sure that I am taking care of myself, too – without me, there is no Summit Aviary.

If we have already made plans for an intake or adoption, I am committed to those and nothing will be changing. However, over the next couple of weeks, I will be setting up some new guidelines as far as intakes, capacity, and my time commitments.

Posts will be made to go over the changes that will take place, but the biggest one is that adoptions, rescue intakes, and phone calls will likely be scheduled as appointments. Rather than me filling every gap in my waking hours, ideally, I will have set “business hours". Additionally, during baby season, I will likely be closed to the majority of pigeon intakes, or I risk spreading myself much too thin.

I understand that this will likely be frustrating to some people, and I do sincerely apologize. But my top priority is making sure that in five, ten, fifteen years, I am still here and able to keep doing this. I am happy to answer any questions, and as mentioned, more information will be provided in the days to come. Thank you!