Keith Wilkins and Melissa Dollard—the Director of Operations and Avian Hospital Director, of the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary rescue, rehabilitate and release resident sick, injured and orphaned wild birds in Indian Shores, FL. The Sanctuary provides a home to over 100 non-releasable birds in a safe and healthy environment. The Sanctuary is committed to the continuing education of the general public, students and professionals alike, providing free international internship programs and free lectures to any group of ten or more such as schools, universities, civic and professional organizations. The Sanctuary is open to the general public seven days a week and admission is always free.

Today we will discuss how Florida’s red tide has impacted the seabirds and how the sanctuary treats them. We will also talk about how the public can ensure the safety of native birds that are found sick or injured.

The Sanctuary is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization the relies solely on donations from the public and does not receive any financial assistance from the government.

BIO:

Keith Wilkins has been with the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary since the organization was founded in September of 2016. Originally the Hospital Manager in the Sanctuary’s Dr. Marie L. Farr Avian Hospital, Keith took over as the Director of Operations for the Sanctuary one year later in September of 2017.

Prior to Seaside, Keith had been working in the field of wildlife rehabilitation since 2010, volunteering for various organizations including Elmira’s Wildlife Sanctuary, Friends of Strays, and the SPCA. In January 2015, Keith started volunteering for the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, and eventually became their Hospital Supervisor later that same year. When Suncoast moved out of their facility, and Seaside moved in, Keith was hired on by Seaside to run their hospital.

Melissa Dollard, Avian Hospital Director, joined the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary family in October of 2017. Prior to arriving at Seaside, she was an intern at the Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, where she worked intensively with raptors & other avian species. Melissa also trained with the center’s Avian Ambassadors, speaking at public events & schools to educate the community & to raise funds. After having the honor of successfully hand-raising a Belted Kingfisher nestling to release, she knew that wildlife rehabilitation was her passion.

After returning to Florida she mentored under Kris Porter who is a highly regarded retired zoologist from Busch Gardens, and licensed rehabilitator in the Tampa Bay area. Melissa was one of Porter’s first volunteers, and helped to create Owl’s Nest Sanctuary for Wildlife, all the while she continued to rescue and triage patients while finishing her Integrative Animal Biology degree.

After graduating from the University of South Florida with her B.S. in Integrative Animal Biology, she returned to Vancouver Island for a second internship at the beginning of 2016, and then was accepted for a six-month fellowship at the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) on Sanibel Island. During her fellowship, Melissa worked intensively under CROW’s veterinarians & acquired advanced veterinary technician skills while working with a variety of wildlife species including birds, mammals, & sea turtles.