LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Redbud Audubon Society is pleased to announce that Ashton Kluttz, executive director of The Bird Rescue Center in Santa Rosa will be guest presenter on Thursday evening, March 17, starting at 7 p.m. on Zoom.

To register for the program, go to www.redbudaudubon.org and click on the registration link on the home page. The link will be sent to you the day of the meeting.

The Bird Rescue Center, located in Sonoma County, treats an average of 80 Lake County patients annually.

Kluttz reports that most of their osprey and bald eagle patients have come from Lake County in recent years.

The hospital cares for close to 3,000 native birds annually. Patients are a combination of songbirds, raptors and water birds.

Eighty percent of the birds that come to the center have injuries that are a result of human-related interactions such as flying into windows, being electrocuted by utility wires, being hit by cars, being attacked by pet cats and more.

The center also receives hundreds of herons and egrets each year from the Ninth Street rookery located in downtown Santa Rosa.

The Bird Rescue Center was founded in 1976 and during the first few years, was an association of volunteers working from their homes.

In 1980, the center was granted permission to occupy a vacant Quonset hut on Sonoma County’s Chanate Road campus.

Kluttz completed her bachelor’s degree in environmental studies at Washington College in Maryland. She began her career as a wildlife rehabilitator in 2009 with the Marine Mammal Center in Marin County.

Her tenure with The Bird Rescue Center in Sonoma County began in 2010. Striving to provide the best care for local wildlife, she obtained her Registered Veterinary Technician certification in 2018, has co-authored a chapter on towhee care currently included in a wildlife care book for facilities around the world, and has served on the board for the California Council for Wildlife Rehabilitators that provides community, protocols, and information to all California wildlife facilities.

Everyone is urged to join this fascinating Zoom program to learn about The Bird Rescue Center and hear behind-the-scenes stories of bird rescue (particularly of Lake County patients), and unique avian observations from the last few years.