Soaring Spirits Sanctuary: Beech Creek Bird Rescue Provides a Haven for Birds in Need
By Emily Wright
BEECH CREEK – When Jenna Hogrefe first started rescuing, rehoming, and rehabilitating birds as a hobby, she never imagined it would turn into a full-time job, but four months ago, that’s exactly what happened when she found herself overwhelmed with cases of birds in need of help or a home.
“It started as a side hobby about 4 months ago and then it blew up, to the point that I had to get myself registered as a nonprofit organization in order to be able to help all of the birds that people were contacting me about,” Hogrefe shared. As word began to spread about her willingness and capability to take birds in and properly care for them, people from outside Clinton County began to contact Hogrefe. According to Hogrefe, her mission is to be able to help as many birds as possible.
Hogrefe’s mission is to be able to help as many birds as possible, and because the need for a bird rescue in the area became evident to her, Soaring Spirits Sanctuary was born. Hogrefe founded the Beech Creek-based nonprofit, which is dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating, and rehoming birds in need. Hogrefe’s willingness to travel any distance to pick up surrendered birds sets Soaring Spirits apart from other bird rescues. “We have no maximum distance and no travel fees,” Hogrefe emphasized. “Our main goal is to provide birds with a safe and loving environment while they await their forever homes.”
When asked what inspired her to begin rescuing and rehoming birds, Hogrefe shared that her parents were bird lovers, and she’s been surrounded by them her whole life. “I’ve had birds since before I could walk and talk,” she went on to say. As a bird lover with a literal lifetime of experience and familiarity in caring for birds within a home environment, Hogrefe’s experiences with two bird owners who wanted to get rid of them by any means inspired her to undertake the effort.
The first bird Hogrefe rescued was a parakeet with severe health issues that included neurological damage. Hogrefe heard about the parakeet through word of mouth, as she had become well-known for her love of birds. The parakeet had been living with a resident in a retirement home, and when its owner was no longer able to care for it the responsibility fell on management at the retirement home, who claimed that they knew nothing about caring for a bird. “They’re not a common household pet and a lot of these birds outlive their humans,” Hogrefe explained.
When management discovered that the parakeet was experiencing obvious health issues, they planned to release it outside of the retirement home and hope for the best, however, Hogrefe was able to intervene before that happened. “When I heard about that, I contacted them right away to ask about rescuing the bird,” she said. “I had a feeling that they would allow me to take it because they’d said that they didn’t want to deal with it,” she added. After picking the bird up at the facility, Hogrefe put a considerable amount of effort into its rehabilitation due to its medical conditions. Hogrefe hand-fed the bird due to the severity of its medical issues, and according to a veterinarian that she has since partnered with, the bird’s prognosis was not good. “He was only supposed to live for another 24 hours, but I kept him alive for six more days, so that was really emotional for me,” Hogrefe shared.
“At about the same time I was taking care of the parakeet from the retirement home, somebody else contacted me and basically said, ‘Hey I have these two parakeets and I don’t really want them anymore’. The person was very vague about the situation, and it turned out that they’d neglected and malnourished the parakeets to the point where they didn’t want to deal with the vet bill, so they passed them off to me pretending like they had no idea that the birds had severe health issues,” Hogrefe said. After rescuing the birds, Hogrefe discovered that they both had parasitic infections and injuries as a result of being neglected by the former owners. Both parakeets required extensive rehabilitation; however, Hogrefe shared that they are still with her and both have since made a full recovery under her care.
“Those two cases that I had side by side really made me think, ‘Okay, I’m really good at this, I love doing it, I’m feeling fulfilled while doing this work, and I feel like this is my calling’,” she said.
According to Hogrefe, parakeets are the most common bird breed that she rescues, and the reason behind this is that parakeets are easily accessible. Most pet stores, especially big box chain pet stores, stock parakeets since they are easily mass-produced and have a long lifespan. She emphasized that the need for a bird rescue is evident because many first-time bird owners are uninformed about the responsibility involved in owning a bird, how to care for them, and how a home must be modified for the bird’s safety. Hogrefe maintains that when a bird is adopted without this understanding, it often ends up in a bird rescue.
When it comes to rehabilitation, Hogrefe partnered with a friend who is a veterinary technician in Lock Haven to help her with birds that have sustained illnesses or injuries she’s not equipped to treat herself. With her lifetime of experience in handling birds, Hogrefe is prepared to nurse sick or injured birds back to health in most cases when they’re surrendered to her. “I’m able to do pretty much anything that doesn’t require an x-ray,” she said before adding that she can also handle wound care and a variety of other medical issues. She keeps a supply of medications on hand for treating specific illnesses in the birds she rescues, and she puts an emphasis on devoting time to care for neglected birds.
Hogrefe operates Soaring Spirits Sanctuary from her home in the Beech Creek area, and she is currently housing four rescue birds with a fifth possibly arriving this week. She recently received several large bird cages that will enable her to rescue birds of all sizes through a donation made by T&D’s Cats of the World, an animal rescue organization located in Penns Creek. “Before I got the cages donated to me, I was not equipped to house larger birds, but I am now, so I just need more supplies for larger breeds,” Hogrefe said.
Although the Soaring Spirits Sanctuary headquarters is in Beech Creek, when it comes to rescuing or rehoming a bird, Hogrefe prefers to travel to the person wanting to surrender or adopt. “I’ve driven all the way to New York City, Connecticut… I’ll go anywhere, especially depending on the urgency,” Hogrefe said. “When it comes to someone who is serious about adopting, I personally would rather go to them so that I can see their home and make sure that all the safety hazards and stuff are cleared and that they’re prepared to adopt the bird,” she added.
Hogrefe puts a lot of emphasis on educating potential adopters, making them fully aware of the responsibility that comes with having a bird. “I like to make sure that they’re aware of what they’re getting into, that they have a safe environment for the bird, and that they have an environment that’s appropriate for the size of the bird,” she explained. “If someone wants to adopt a macaw but they live in an apartment with a closed floor plan, it’s absolutely not going to work; they risk getting evicted and then the macaw will end up back in a rescue,” she emphasized. “I look for safety issues that a lot of people don’t realize can cause harm to a bird, so I prefer to go through and educate potential adopters about that. I always say that if I’ve come through your house, listed things that are unsafe, and it’s scared you away from getting a bird, then I’ve done my job because you understand the amount of responsibility it requires”. Hogrefe mentioned a few examples of hazards that many potential bird adopters are unaware of, such as having lit candles, using the range on an oven, and turning on a ceiling fan while the bird is out of its cage.
Another factor Hogrefe considers when rehoming a bird is how the bird reacts to the potential adopter. She added that she prioritizes taking measures to ensure that the bird and the person seeking to adopt it are a good fit. “Birds are not domesticated and tame; they’re temperamental, emotional, they’re highly intelligent, and they can even exhibit suicidal behaviors, so I want to make sure that the bird picks their human,” she said. Birds are extremely wary of a person’s appearance, according to Hogrefe, and even minor things like having a beard or wearing glasses can impact how they respond. She said that when a bird is exceptionally uncomfortable, it will act out or even self-mutilate in some cases.
Hogrefe also takes the age of the candidate wanting to adopt a bird into account, especially in cases where an elderly person wants to adopt. “If the candidate is trying to adopt a breed like a cockatoo, for example, that can live for seven years, I want to know the candidate’s age because I want to know whether they have a plan in place for the bird if it outlives them,” she said.
As a recently registered nonprofit organization, Soaring Spirits Sanctuary relies on the generosity of folks who are willing and able to make donations for its continued operation. Hogrefe highlighted the constant need to replenish fruits and vegetables for the birds, as they tend to go through them quickly. Other items needed for the rescue include cleaning supplies and small dog kennels, which she uses to transport rescued birds. “I’m always in need of disinfectant supplies, especially for birds that come in with illnesses or injuries,” she added. Now that Soaring Spirits Sanctuary is equipped to welcome larger bird breeds because of the generously donated bird cages from T&D’s Cats of the World, supplies for those breeds are also needed. “When it comes to donations, I’m so grateful to anyone who is willing to help in any way, so I am more than happy to come to them to pick up any donations,” she emphasized.
Hogrefe created an Amazon wishlist for the birds that includes specific items they always need on hand at the rescue. The link to the wishlist can be found on the Soaring Spirits Sanctuary Facebook page.
When asked if there’s anything Hogrefe would like the community to know about the organization she’s founded, she emphasized that regardless of the reason for surrendering a bird to her, she’s happy to take it in at her rescue. “I have an open door policy when it comes to surrenders. Let’s say someone gets in over their head and they’ve got this bird that they can’t take care of… I don’t judge the owners. My job is to be here for the birds, so if they have a severe neglect case and they’re embarrassed about it and don’t want to have to take it anywhere because of that, I will take the bird regardless, no questions asked”.
If you or someone you know needs to surrender a bird, reach out to Soaring Spirits Sanctuary and Jenna will be happy to help.
To learn more about Soaring Spirits Sanctuary, ask questions, or donate items for the birds at the rescue, contact Jenna Hogrefe via phone call or text at 331-701-9559.
Jenna can also be reached via email at soaringspiritsanctuary@gmail.com, or by sending her a message through the organization’s Facebook page: “Soaring Spirits Sanctuary”.
