IOWA BIRD REHABILITATION
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OUR MISSIon

Iowa Bird Rehabilitation’s purpose is to recover, rehabilitate and release wild birds in Iowa.  

Our mission is two-fold:
  1. To address the immediate needs of sick, injured, or orphaned wild birds with the goal to return them to the wild
  2. The long-term goal to help educate and bring awareness to a global issue, birds are disappearing at an alarming rate and the impact on humankind and our environment.

Iowa Bird Rehabilitation (IBR) is a wildlife rehabilitation center located in Iowa where we provide care for songbirds, waterfowl, gamebirds, shorebirds, and small raptors. IBR was founded in 2012 and was formally established as a non-profit in 2018. Currently, there is no other organization in central Iowa that provides the same unique benefits we offer to both the community and nature. We have taken in over 14,300 birds to date, with an average yearly increase of 25%, admitting over 3100 birds in 2024 alone.

​IBR relies on volunteer help with rescue, transport, 
care, resource management, media, community outreach and education. We are exceptionally positioned to serve the Des Moines metro area, and beyond, in providing education, enrichment, and volunteer opportunities to people of all ages who have an interest in local avian conservation. We also provide valuable assistance, education, and advice to a growing number of people in our community who value Iowa’s wildlife.

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Iowa Bird Rehabilitation is a nonprofit, volunteer based organization whose goal is to recover, rehabilitate and release orphaned and injured wild birds in the state of Iowa. We are licensed through the Iowa DNR and have a federal permit through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Meet Our BOARD OF DIRECTORS


Jen Heins, Board Chair
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Jennie Bailey,  Vice Chair
Carole Villeneuve, Treasurer
Jeff Ewoldt, Secretary

Ron Feiner, Member
Alicia Kimball, Member
​Aaron Gebauer, Member

If your are interested in joining the IBR Board, please fill out our application.
Board Application
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HOW IBR STARTED

A baby crow named Clover is what started it all.
 
In 1999 while working on her doctorate at UC Davis in Northern California, Jenni Boonjakuakul, our founder and Executive Director, found a baby crow.  He was scared and hiding under a car, his parents crying from above and several cats circling below. She placed the young bird in a carrier and took him home.  From that day forward, Jenni’s love of birds was born, and she never looked back.
 
After moving to Iowa in 2007, Jenni quickly found there were very few rehabbers in the state that had much experience with wild birds. In 2012 she obtained her own Iowa state wildlife rehabilitation permit and started to care for birds out of her home. That first year she took in 170 birds, and by 2017 that number had grown to 773. Jenni realized she could no longer do this alone, and needed more space than the one room in her basement could provide.
 
Something needed to change, so in 2018 Jenni established IBR as a non-profit. In 2019, raised money for and built a free-standing dedicated bird building in her backyard. This allowed her to move the birds out of her basement and begin to bring in more volunteers.  In 2021 she left her full-time job to commit herself 100% to running, growing, and continuing to expand IBR so they could provide the care needed to the now over 2,000 birds a year depending on them for help.​
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​“We are now at capacity, we are continuing to take in more birds year after year, but we do not have the space to expand.”
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-Jenni Boonjakuakul, PhD, Executive Director
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​Why is our work in Iowa so important

During spring migration 800 million birds fly through Iowa, and over a billion during fall migration. This puts Iowa in the top five states in the country for numbers of migratory birds. Iowa provides an important flyway for over 400 different species of birds.
 
Birds are in decline due to light pollution, habitat loss, decrease in food sources, and other human and environmental impacts. The bird population has decreased by nearly 3 billion birds since 1970.
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“The first-ever comprehensive assessment of net population changes in the U.S. and Canada reveals across-the-board declines that scientists call “staggering.”

​– The Cornell Lab

What does the future hold for IBR

​IBR is the only rehabilitation center in the state to specialize in all types of wild birds, including songbirds, waterfowl, game birds, and shore birds, and small raptors. 

In 2024, IBR cared for over 3,100 wild birds and over 117 different species, we have already admitted over 1000 by the end of May 2024. The need is real. We are all in to build the first dedicate wild bird rehabilitation facility in Iowa. The birds need it, Iowans need it and  we need your support to take IBR to the next level and expand our abilities to provide exceptional care for a variety of birds, ranging from our smallest hummingbirds to our largest North American bird, the Trumpeter swan. 
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“We are setting out to be leaders in wild bird conservation in Iowa, guiding Iowans on ways to help and support the wild bird population we all love and depend on.”

Be the voice for birds, help us in our mission!

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Photo Credit: M//DESIGN, mdesigndsm.com
What does IBR need to continue saving birds:
  • Commercial building in town 
  • 50-100 acre land donation within 20-30 minutes of Des Moines
(IBR is a 501(c)3, this is a great opportunity for a charitable tax deduction)
 
Strategic Expansion Plan:
  • 2024: Launch capital campaign to build a permanent in town home for IBR
    • An in-town facility for admissions, medical, rehabilitation, and education $500,000
    • Raise $250,000 for 1 full time and 2 part time employees and cover basic operation cost
  • 2025-2026: Raise $250,000 each year to cover all operation costs and begin to save for a Phase 2 acreage facility 
  • 2027-2029: An off-site acreage for pre-release flight cages, rehabilitation space for large birds, and long-term facilities for education birds

Articles/SEGMENTS


Rare 19-year old osprey returns to West Des Moines  Des Moines Register ​6/6/2025
Baby bald eagles blown from nest during Iowa tornado outbreak Fox Weather 5/31/2024
A hoot of hope: Baby owl in Iowa rescued by police officers after tornado, KTIV  4/29/2024
Iowa's Century Old Bird Club, Little Village 4/16/2024
Dozens of Trumpeter Swans Fall Victim to Lead Poisoning in Iowa, KSOM  4/5/2024
Why are Iowa's trumpeter swans dying from lead poisoning, We Are Iowa  4/4/2024
Iowa Life Episode 111 3/26/2024
Iowa Bird Rehabilitation "bird lady" featured on PBS 3/26/2024
​Swans rescued from frozen Iowa lake recovering at Des Moines nonprofit, KCCI  2/27/2024
National Geographic's Joel Sartore to speak in West Des Moines, The Times-Delphic Drake University 2/21/2024
Ice Trapped Swans IPR Daily News 2/8/2024
Five Swans Rescued From Little Wall Lake  2/6/2024
DSM Magazine 2023 Nov/Dec Issue
Learning To Fly Again, Cityview 9/6/2023
Arts Festival Offers Community Outreach, WHO13 06/06/2023
Why Are Some Des Moines Geese Getting Sick, KCCI 02/02/2022
Rehabilitated geese return to Iowa City after treatment for mysterious illness, 03/07/2021
How a California Crow Named Clover Made Jenni  Boonjakuakul Central Iowa's ‘Bird Lady’, Daniel Finney 05/13/2020
Central Iowa's 'bird lady' cares for 700 injured wild birds a year, Des Moines Register 12/02/2019
The Bird Lady, Cityview 12/16/2015
The Bird Lady, Joe's Neighborhood 12/10/2015

Creating a future for our feathered friends.
Iowa Bird Rehabilitation is a nonprofit, volunteer based organization whose goal is to recover, rehabilitate and release injured wild birds in Iowa.
FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK ,  INSTAGRAM &  YOUTUBE

Address
3108 49th St.  ​Des Moines, IA 50310

Phone

515-207-5008

Email

[email protected]
© COPYRIGHT 2012-2025. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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