Sertoma donates $6,650 to bird rehab center

WILLOW — In mid-February, more than 100 intrepid Alaskans took the plunge, jumping through a hole in the ice of Wasilla Lake into the frigid water. The annual Mat-Su Plunge, organized by Sertoma, is a community fundraising event. Donations and pledges are distributed to assist Sertoma’s work with the hearing impaired, and each year two additional charities are selected to share the proceeds.

In 2013, one of the grateful recipients was the Alaska WildBird Rehabilitation Center based in Houston. The mission of the center is to care for sick, injured and orphaned wild birds with the goal of returning them to the wild, and to educate the public about these birds and their habitats. Four plungers dressed as birds and a rescuer — Kent Briske, Tyler Strode, Anu Lawes and Tané Vincent — represented the group.

Distribution of the funds to the center was accompanied by at a special event in Willow, April 12 — the release of an adult female bald eagle, recently a patient at the rehabilitation center. The eagle was found on the ground, weak and dehydrated near the borough landfill. She had ingested garbage, which prevented her from swallowing food. Following veterinary care to remove the garbage and about a month at the center to regain strength and weight, she demonstrated her ability to hunt and was ready to release.

Hoping to keep her from returning to the landfill for another easy but unhealthy meal, she was released in Willow.

Members of Sertoma and the Alaska WildBird Rehabilitation Center witnessed her departure and Eddie Ezelle, president of Sertoma, presented a ceremonial check for $6,650 to Jill Parson, AWBRC treasurer and grant writer.