Suncoast Bird Rescue Coming to Largo Park

The details still have to be worked out, but it looks likely that the Suncoast Bird Rescue is coming to space at McGough Nature Preserve.

After asking questions regarding smell, parking and bird safety, city leaders gave their approval Tuesday for the bird rescue group to develop the rehabilitation facility at McGough Nature Preserve.

There would be no cost to the city. Staff is proposing a $1-a-year lease on the property, with construction starting once the rescue group secures funding for the project and commissioners sign off on the final design.

“We think it’s an opportunity,” said Joan Byrne, parks director, admitting there still are “lots of details yet to work out.”

The center would be planned for the southeast corner of the park near the Walsingham Road entrance. The facility would have of a main, climate­-controlled hospital, as well as an open-air, outdoor one.

There would also be several screened recovery and rehabilitation flight cages for different types of birds. It also would feature a gift shop, bait hut and display cages.

Commissioners asked about potential problems from neighbors from the smell that many birds could create, alluding to issues between condominium neighbors and the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary at Indian Shores.

“I love the project,” said Curtis Holmes, a former Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary volunteer who said he tried to estimate the distance from the proposed facility to the closest neighbors. 

Residences are not as close to this facility as they were at the beach, said Greg Brown, parks superintendent. There also was a lot of bird feeding there that would not happen at the McGough Nature Preserve location, he said.

The group also plans to rehabilitate and release the birds, not keep them. The rescue group also expects to treat 5,000 birds a year.

“If you are doing the maintenance and cleaning, that is going to mitigate the smell as well,” said Robin Vegara, director of Suncoast Bird Rescue.

Vice Mayor Woody Brown, who worked as a biologist at the beach facility in the 1990s, said he spent a lot of time cleaning a cage there.

“I think this will be more accessible and more popular than the sanctuary for many reasons,” he said.

It also could significantly increase the number of new visitors to the park because of its visibility and accessibility. Several thousand visitors would come monthly to the Indian Shores facility, according to officials. 

Parking is a concern, but one that will be worked out during the agreement process, Brown said.

Mayor Pat Gerard was concerned about security for the birds at the facility.

“We had an issue with one of our own birds and it was heartbreaking,” she said. “How do we keep them safe?”

Brown said a surveillance system would monitor the area.

After commissioners shared their thoughts on the project there was just one more question from Holmes: “The turtles didn’t object?”

Which Brown replied: “Didn’t hear a word from them.”

Related coverage:

• Suncoast Bird Sanctuary Could Come to Largo Park

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