Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation

You can try calling the number and leaving a message or filling out the contact form on their website but they are too overwhelmed most of the time to get back to you. My advice is to try to contact them both ways and then prepare to care for the animal yourself until you can get it to Barrington location (til 6pm I think) OR northerly island 8:30 — 10:30am only or try willowbrook wildlife center too. They ask you not to feed/​water which makes complete sense except if you have a tiny baby that needs to be fed every couple of hours it may dehydrate/​expire before you can get it in their care. They will ask for a $ 20 donation when you arrive with an animal. I strongly advise that if you cannot get it to willowbrook or barrington or northerly island during their open hours, you google, baby squirrel/​rabit/​bird age chart… identify age first then… google baby «feeding chart… or «rehabilitation…find out about hydrating baby mammals w/​out aspirating them (bubbles in nose from nose, let them lick drop do not force) first before feeding. Keep in warm dry quiet place in a box or small container. While I have experience rehabbing wildlife and strongly agree that someone without experience should not try to feed/​water an animal… when you find an animal near death of dehydration and can’t get any help for 12 or 15 hours or more it’s better than sitting and watching it die so long as you follow directions exactly from a professional website… as a last resort I would suggest the above, getting informed info before you can get it to a facility. You can also search for wildlife rehabbers in your area, call the numbers on this sheet to see if you can contact someone near you

Do NOT expect assistance from Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation! We found an injured baby bunny yesterday afternoon, placed a call, it automatically goes to voicemail, we leave a detailed message and contact information. Nothing. My daughter (she and her friend found the bunny) calls me at work this morning worried, still no call. I email the facility (it warns you to not leave more than one message) and I left additional contact information noting that we are very worried about the bunny.
It’s now 2:00 pm and still nothing; my daughter just called in tears, the poor little thing has died. I’m so upset about this. I should have taken the day off and driven to WillowBrook, I didn’t want my 17 yr old to drive there on a rainy Friday alone — ugh. I didn’t realize these people would be so irresponsible!
I’m so upset that the poor little bunny had to suffer in pain and no food/​water (they admonish you not to feed/​water which makes sense) and now has died, when it most likely could have been saved and successfully rehabbed!
Do NOT donate to Flint Creek! I have donated in the past but never again!

I have a knack for finding injured birds, squirrels and other wildlife. So what do you do when you find one? That question is what prompted me to run across Flint Creek while doing an online search with that question. And the first thing I learned is that I don’t have to try to take care of the injured animal myself, and there are protocols and guides and live people here who will help you decide what to do.
Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation is the largest, privately funded, wildlife rehabilitation center and operates locations in Barrington and downtown Chicago at Northerly Island. The Northerly Island facility is a triage center where many birds and animals are first accepted, stabilized, and some are transferred to Barrington fo longer term care. The Itasca location is no longer in operation. There are downtown rescue teams who save birds who collide with the windows of downtown buildings. In addition to rescue, Flint Creek also provides educational outreach on wildlife, its natural history, environmental impact, and trains the public on how we can help in our own communities.
The bottom line is Flint Creek helps treat about 3400 birds per year, and saves 90% of the migratory birds which are treated at Northerly Island, resulting in their being released back into the wild. That’s a lot of little fast-​beating hearts and flapping wings saved per year.
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW FINDS AN INJURED BIRD:
Place it in a paper bag or box with a folded napkin at the bottom. close the bag or box and place it in a safe, quiet dark location. Phone Flint Creek’s hotline (847−842−8000) or 888-​FLINTCREEK to arrange for Chicago area pickups. Birds may be dropped off too, at the Northerly Island facility, (1400 S. Lynn Drive — the old airport terminal) anytime between the hours of 8:30 — 10:30 a.m.
This is how I got an answer to my question, and now I’m a volunteer as well as a former client. If you are interested in that, you can check out their website.