Benton lets a young scaly naped pigeon which was found in a yard on Ajax Peak perch on her hand before she feeds it, above. The very young mangrove cuckoo, below, is eating a live mealworm fed to it by Benton, the St. John federally permitted migratory wild bird rehabilitator.
For Phyllis Benton, it’s a “labor of love.”
For the injured, abandoned or orphaned migratory wild birds of St. John, it’s a lifesaver.
Benton is the island’s federally permitted migratory wild bird rehabilitator, a position which is non-paying, sometimes 24-hours a day, seven days as week, without an office, with three very part-time volunteer helpers and without a complete funding source.
Benton — who cares for the injured, orphaned or abandoned birds in her home in Upper Carolina — has rehabilitated at some time or other almost all the migratory wild bird species found on St. John, from hummingbirds to pelicans.
Recently Benton had in her care — housed either on her screened in porch and in her bathroom — a hatchling hummingbird that came in weighing 1.8 grams, a young mangrove cuckoo, a young scaly naped pigeon and a baby bananaquit which was found lying on its back on the Reef Bay Trail.
All the birds are fed regularly from dawn to dusk.
The hatchling hummingbird was found on the ground by locals on Harold’s Way. Possibly a casualty of tree trimming in the area, the hatchling needs feeding every 30 minutes from a syringe filled with special protein-added hummingbird formula.
The mangrove cuckoo, which was found by locals in their yard on Ajax Peak, needs feeding every hour or so and eats live mealworms fed by hand from Benton.
The scaly naped pigeon, which was reported to have fallen from mangrove trees into water in Coral Bay and was called to Benton’s attention by several local grade school students, eats three to four times a day and is fed a special mixture along with small pieces of local papaya.
The bananaquit, which was found by vacationers from Florida and taken to the Virgin Islands Environmental Resource Station, where staff member Randy Fish called Benton, is given a special formula with protein supplement from a syringe. The bananaquit has started to drink the formula on its own, and is beginning to eye the fruit flies which are developing from the fruit dish placed in its cage.
“Once the little guy is interested enough and able to catch the fruit flies, he’ll be ready for release,” Benton said. “I want to make sure he’s eating on his own.”
The tiny hummingbird also will soon have a fruit bowl in its cage so that fruit flies will develop, Benton explained.
“Hummingbirds also eat insects,” she said. “They’re not just nectar or sugar water feeders. They’ll get insects from the nectar or you may seem them in the trees pecking at the leaves — they’re eating aphids or other small insects.”
“The bananaquit and the hummingbird have to be able to get the fruit flies before they can go out on their own,” Benton said. “The ultimate goal for all birds I take in is to give them the skills to live on their own in the wild. They need to be able to self-feed, fly, and be of appropriate size to protect themselves.”
Once Benton takes a bird for rehabilitation, she evaluates its situation.
Is it young; is it an older bird; does there appear to be any damage to the wings, legs, eyes, head; how mobile is it; how are its motor functions; is it dehydrated?
She then takes appropriate steps based on her knowledge and experience as well as communication with others who rehabilitate wild birds in the states. The Florida Wildlife Rehabilitation Association, of which Benton is a board member, is one of her “go to” places for helpful advice.
Once a bird is in rehab, she cares for the wounds or other needs, injects fluid subcutaneously if the bird is dehydrated, feeds the bird and then leaves the bird alone so that there is little human imprinting, Benton explained.
The birds are not treated as pets, she added.
If at all possible, young birds should either be returned to the nest or left for a time to see if the parents come to care for it before bringing it in to Benton, the bird rehabilitator explained.
In the case of the recent young mangrove cuckoo, the locals found the bird in their yard and thought it had fallen from a nest on their roof. They called Benton, who came, climbed up on the roof with the property owner and determined there was a nest — but not one the cuckoo would have come from.
Putting it in the wrong nest would have been a death sentence. They placed the bird back in the yard, hoping the parents would come for it. That didn’t happen either, so Benton brought it to her home.
“I had never seen a mangrove cuckoo that young,” Benton said. “I didn’t know what it was. I sent photos to several contacts and then did an Internet search.”
“I had noticed white spots in its mouth, which can sometimes be a sign of disease,” she said. “So I put ‘white spots on roof of mouth’ in the search engine and discovered that was a sure sign of a mangrove cuckoo.”
Benton doesn’t usually have four birds at once in her care. Sometimes there are none. Sometimes there is one. Sometimes more. Not all the birds survive, but most do.
She receives calls about injured or abandoned birds from a variety of sources: lifeguards on the beach; wedding parties on the beach; locals; vacationers; V.I. National Park personnel; shop keepers; townspeople; boaters and more.
Benton is pleased that the St. John migratory wild bird rehabilitation efforts are growing, she explained.
“We now have three other people who are interested in learning how to care for these beautiful creatures,” Benton said. “Kim Nogueira, Judy Buchholz and Mary Magee have all come over for training and have helped care for injured birds when I’m off island. We’re always in touch by email or by telephone to discuss appropriate care.”
“Federal regulations are precise about who can care for migratory wild birds and the training required,” said Benton. “Kim is a sub-permittee and Judy and Mary are working towards that goal.”
Some other birds which have come in for Benton’s care over the years include common moorhen, magnificent frigate bird, brown noddy, laughing gulls, zenaida doves, common ground dove, yellow-billed cuckoo, Antillean-crested hummingbird, green-throated Carib, little blue heron, yellow-crowned night heron, brown booby, brown pelicans, white-cheeked pintail, bridled quail dove, pearly eyed thrasher, black-necked stilt, merlin and great blue heron.
Benton pays for most of the supplies (fish, meal worms, cages, syringes, various medicines, and many other supplies) out of her own pocket, with help from grant money from the V.I. Audubon Society.
“We are so pleased that we are able to help Phyllis — and the birds — in this way,” said Mary Moroney, president of the Virgin Islands Audubon Society. “What Phyllis does is amazing. It’s truly a labor of love for her. She is so compassionate and passionate about what she does.”
Benton would like to add more people to the St. John Rehabilitation Program.
Anyone interested in learning more about helping St. John birds through rehabilitation can contact Benton at (340) 514-8435 or by email at crabbys@earthlink.net.
This is also the contact information to report injured or abandoned migratory wild birds.
The St. John birds say “thank you” to Phyllis Benton and the St. John Rehabilitation Program.
For more formation Judy Buchholz at judybuchholz@me.com.
