Our Purpose
Iowa Bird Rehabilitation exists to recover, rehabilitate, and release wild birds in Iowa.
Our Mission
1. Immediate Care — We respond to the urgent needs of sick, injured, and orphaned wild birds, with the goal of returning every one we can to the wild.
2. Long-Term Impact — We work to educate and raise awareness about a global crisis: birds are disappearing at an alarming rate, with far-reaching consequences for both people and the environment.
Who We Are
Iowa Bird Rehabilitation (IBR) is a wildlife rehabilitation center caring for songbirds, waterfowl, gamebirds, shorebirds, and small raptors. Founded in 2012 and formally established as a nonprofit in 2018, IBR is currently the only organization in central Iowa offering this unique combination of services to our community and to nature.
To date, we've taken in more than 17,000 birds — with admissions growing by an average of 25% each year.
How We Work
IBR is powered by volunteers who handle rescue, transport, care, resource management, media, community outreach, and education. This gives us a unique ability to serve the Des Moines metro area and beyond — offering education, enrichment, and volunteer opportunities for people of all ages who care about local avian conservation. We're also a trusted resource for a growing number of community members who want guidance and support in protecting Iowa's wildlife.
Our Standing
IBR is a nonprofit, volunteer-based organization dedicated to recovering, rehabilitating, and releasing orphaned and injured wild birds across Iowa. We are licensed by the Iowa DNR and hold a federal permit through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Iowa Bird Rehabilitation exists to recover, rehabilitate, and release wild birds in Iowa.
Our Mission
1. Immediate Care — We respond to the urgent needs of sick, injured, and orphaned wild birds, with the goal of returning every one we can to the wild.
2. Long-Term Impact — We work to educate and raise awareness about a global crisis: birds are disappearing at an alarming rate, with far-reaching consequences for both people and the environment.
Who We Are
Iowa Bird Rehabilitation (IBR) is a wildlife rehabilitation center caring for songbirds, waterfowl, gamebirds, shorebirds, and small raptors. Founded in 2012 and formally established as a nonprofit in 2018, IBR is currently the only organization in central Iowa offering this unique combination of services to our community and to nature.
To date, we've taken in more than 17,000 birds — with admissions growing by an average of 25% each year.
How We Work
IBR is powered by volunteers who handle rescue, transport, care, resource management, media, community outreach, and education. This gives us a unique ability to serve the Des Moines metro area and beyond — offering education, enrichment, and volunteer opportunities for people of all ages who care about local avian conservation. We're also a trusted resource for a growing number of community members who want guidance and support in protecting Iowa's wildlife.
Our Standing
IBR is a nonprofit, volunteer-based organization dedicated to recovering, rehabilitating, and releasing orphaned and injured wild birds across Iowa. We are licensed by the Iowa DNR and hold a federal permit through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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, IBR's founder and Executive Director, found a baby crow hiding under a car. He was scared, his parents crying out from above while several cats circled below. Jenni placed the young bird in a carrier and took him home. From that day forward, her love of birds was born, and she never looked back.
After moving to Iowa in 2007, Jenni quickly discovered how few rehabbers in the state had real experience with wild birds. In 2012, she earned her own Iowa state wildlife rehabilitation permit and began caring for birds out of her home. That first year, she took in 170 birds. By 2017, that number had grown to 773, and Jenni realized she could no longer do this alone, nor could one room in her basement hold what was needed.
Something had to change. In 2018, Jenni established IBR as a nonprofit. The following year, she raised the funds to build a free-standing, dedicated bird building in her backyard, moving the birds out of her basement and opening the door to more volunteers. In 2021, she left her full-time job to commit herself entirely to running and growing IBR, which now provides care to more than 2,000 birds a year who depend on it for help.
In 1999, while working on her doctorate at UC Davis in Northern California, Jenni Boonjakuakul, IBR's founder and Executive Director, found a baby crow hiding under a car. He was scared, his parents crying out from above while several cats circled below. Jenni placed the young bird in a carrier and took him home. From that day forward, her love of birds was born, and she never looked back.
After moving to Iowa in 2007, Jenni quickly discovered how few rehabbers in the state had real experience with wild birds. In 2012, she earned her own Iowa state wildlife rehabilitation permit and began caring for birds out of her home. That first year, she took in 170 birds. By 2017, that number had grown to 773, and Jenni realized she could no longer do this alone, nor could one room in her basement hold what was needed.
Something had to change. In 2018, Jenni established IBR as a nonprofit. The following year, she raised the funds to build a free-standing, dedicated bird building in her backyard, moving the birds out of her basement and opening the door to more volunteers. In 2021, she left her full-time job to commit herself entirely to running and growing IBR, which now provides care to more than 2,000 birds a year who depend on it for help.
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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.” |
Why Our Work in Iowa Matters
Iowa sits along a critical migratory flyway for more than 400 bird species. During spring migration alone, 800 million birds pass through the state, and over a billion during fall migration, placing Iowa among the top five states in the country for migratory bird traffic.
Yet birds are in serious decline, driven by light pollution, habitat loss, dwindling food sources, and other human and environmental pressures. Since 1970, the total bird population has dropped by nearly 3 billion.
Yet birds are in serious decline, driven by light pollution, habitat loss, dwindling food sources, and other human and environmental pressures. Since 1970, the total bird population has dropped by nearly 3 billion.
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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.” |
What the Future Holds for IBR
IBR is the only rehabilitation center in Iowa that specializes in the full range of wild birds: songbirds, waterfowl, game birds, shorebirds, and small raptors.
In 2025, IBR cared for over 3,400 wild birds representing 127 different species. The need is real, and growing. We're all in to build Iowa's first dedicated wild bird rehabilitation facility. The birds need it. Iowans need it. And we need your support to take IBR to the next level, expanding our ability to provide exceptional care for every bird that comes through our doors, from the smallest hummingbird to North America's largest bird, the trumpeter swan.
In 2025, IBR cared for over 3,400 wild birds representing 127 different species. The need is real, and growing. We're all in to build Iowa's first dedicated wild bird rehabilitation facility. The birds need it. Iowans need it. And we need your support to take IBR to the next level, expanding our ability to provide exceptional care for every bird that comes through our doors, from the smallest hummingbird to North America's largest bird, the trumpeter swan.
Be the voice for birds, help us in our mission!
