The oldest and most cheerful resident of our centre. He loves talking with the volunteers and snacking on nuts.
Parrot
Released
Marko
Lifetime care
Cacatua galerita • 21 years
He came to us with severe psychological trauma and feather plucking. Today he is fully socialised and calm.
Tazik
In rehabilitation
Corvus corax
An exceptionally clever raven who is quickly learning the skills he needs to survive in the wild before release.
Eagle-owl
Lifetime careRed Book
Bubo bubo
Irreversible wing damage after a collision with a power line. He stays at the centre as an important ambassador for wildlife.
Long-eared owl
In rehabilitation
Asio otus • 1 year
In the final flight-conditioning stage in the large aviary. She is preparing for release into her natural range this spring.
White stork
Treatment
Ciconia ciconia
Found by villagers with a broken wing. After complex surgery he is regaining his strength under veterinary care.
Special residents
Every bird has a story of its own, but some of them have become true symbols of our centre
The centre’s elder
Iliusha
A 38-year-old parrot, the oldest resident of the centre
Iliusha lived a long and hard life before he came to us. Thanks to patient work by wildlife psychologists and daily affection from volunteers, he got over his fear of people, and now greets guests with a happy cry and comical dancing.
"Iliusha is our heart. That he can still trust people after everything he went through keeps us from giving up in any circumstances."
- Viktor Shelvinskyi, founder of the centre
Marko (a 21-year-old parrot)
He has a remarkable gift for imitating the sounds of the forest. His therapy went on for more than two years before he trusted human hands again.
Tazik the raven
He was hand-reared from a chick, so he is not afraid of people, but he kept all his wild instincts and now teaches younger birds to find food.
Bird species at our centre
Specialised care for the three main groups of birds
Raptors
120+ individuals
Owls, eagle-owls, hawks and kestrels. They need a special meat diet and large flight aviaries to exercise their wings.
Waterfowl
180+ individuals
Storks, ducks, herons, geese and stately swans. A system of artificial ponds and sheltered sandy shallows keeps them comfortable.
Other species
150+ individuals
Ravens, wood pigeons, pheasants, peafowl and exotic parrots. A varied group with individual feeding and enrichment plans.
Rescue stories
Real accounts of the fight for a life and a return to the open sky
Bubochka: the parrot who was found a safe home
Bubochka is an Alexandrine parakeet who came to Free Wings for temporary care from a young couple from Synelnykove. Her owners made a hard but deliberate decision: to join the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Their home district of Synelnykove lies close to the front line, and defending their own home and their own land became a civic duty for them. At the same time, they could not leave Bubochka to fend for herself. So, as they set off to defend Ukraine, they placed their beloved bird in the care of Free Wings.
