Our wildlife rehabilitation program originated nearly 70 years ago, when Lillian Post Eliot, wife of our first sanctuary caretaker, began caring for injured and orphaned birds in the caretaker's residence. Now, with the help of 100 dedicated volunteers, we rehabilitate 3,500 animals each year. 

Hours of operation: 7 days a week 9am-5pm 

Telephone number: 503.292.0304

We would like to talk to you before you bring injured wildlife to the Wildlife Care Center.  Please call first.  Should you reach our voicemail system, please try back in a few minutes. And thanks for your concern about wildlife!

Wildlife Care Center: A General Overview: Our Wildlife Care Center is the oldest and busiest wildlife rehabilitation center in Oregon. Visit the following sites to learn more about our work:

• Wildlife Care Center: An Historical Review:  This article traces the Care Center history dating back to the 1930’s!
• “Nurturing Nature in the City” Link to a Portland Tribune article by Ben Jacklett to learn about the Care Center’s work. 

Wildlife Care Center Policies:

• What to do if you find a baby bird
• What to do if you find a baby mammal
• Wildlife Care Center does not accept after-hours drop-offs
• Wildlife Care Center does not accept non-native, domestic or exotic species for rehabilitation  

Recent and Upcoming Releases: Periodically the Care Center announces releases of wild animals back to the wild. It is a great opportunity to see and lean about some of our urban wildlife species up close. Bring the whole family! Follow this link to read about both upcoming and past releases.

Peregrine Falcon Program: Portland has a growing population of peregrine falcons nesting on local bridges. There are times when bridge construction and maintenance make avoidance of nest disturbance impossible. As part of Audubon’s efforts to protect peregrine falcons nesting in urban environments, the Care Center has developed a program for situations where disturbance of bridge nesting falcons cannot be avoided. Our center is able to remove eggs or young from the nest, raise them in captivity and return them to the wild through a process known as “hacking.”

• Robbing the Nest to Save it: Link to the following Portland Tribune site for an article by Ben Jacklett on our peregrine program.
• More information on Portland’s Peregrine Falcons

Wildlife Care Center Research and Statistics: The Wildlife Care Center provides a huge repository of data on the problems affecting urban wildlife populations. The 3,000+ animals we treat each year can tell us much about what we need to do to better live with urban wildlife.

• Wildlife Care Center Intake Summary 1995-1999:  Follow this link to see the causes of injury that brought animals to our care center between 1995-1999.
• Lillian Post Eliot’s 1944 Report to the Audubon Board Of Directors regarding birds treated at the “Bird  Clinic.” Read about rehabilitation at Portland Audubon 60 years ago: remarkably similar to the problems we see facing wildlife today!
• Banded Birds: The Wildlife Care Center occasionally receives banded bird into the center.  These bands can provide valuable information on migration, behavior and life spans of birds.

Currently at the Wildlife Care Center:  Read about some of the animals currently being treated at our center.

Stories about some of the animals treated at our center:

• Deluge of barn owls: Read about the huge number of barn owls treated at our summer during spring and summer of 2005
• Middle of Nowhere: Read about the misadventures of an imprinted (raised by humans) crow that was brought to our center.
• Meet Hazel the Spotted Owl: A story about Hazel, Audubon’s newest educational bird.