Meet the People
Avian Haven has some wonderful summer volunteers who assist on site during the long, busy days of "baby season." They typically include Amy Campbell, Kelani Cundy, Amy Dillon, Abby Everleth, Linda Harrell, Kathy Kandziolka, Laura Lecker, Connie Moore, Lydia Rocheleau, Nancy Tindall, and Janet Wiseley. We also are blessed with a large group of volunteer transporters who help get birds to us when people finding them are unwilling or unable to drive here.
The core staff that is here year-round includes the following folks:
Marc Payne has been a wildlife rehabilitator for 30 years. Before coming to Maine, he spent 12 years at The Raptor Trust (Millington, NJ), a practice with an annual case load of several thousand songbirds and several hundred raptors annually. During his years at The Raptor Trust, Marc also helped to design and build or re-build most of the seventy-five cages there at that time. Marc has given numerous workshops and conference presentations, most recently on avian caging and Bald Eagle rehabilitation.
Diane Winn has been an avian rehabilitator since 1997. She has given numerous conference presentations and published several articles on various aspects of rehabilitation, including euthanasia and protocols for emaciation. The nestling songbird formula she developed ("FoNS") has been published in Journal of Wildlife Rehabilitation and Wildlife Rehabilitation Bulletin. Earlier in her career, Diane was a Professor of Psychology at Colby College (she retired in 2007).
Terry Heitz is a carpenter and cabinet maker by trade. He has also designed and built houses, as well as the cages for the facility at Avian Haven since before Avian Haven incorporated. His innovative designs (see the Dedicated Facilities section) combine beauty and practicality. Terry is also an experienced raptor handler and an expert photographer.
Shelley Spanswick is a 2002 graduate of Unity College; while she was a student there, she was a summer intern at Avian Haven. After graduation, she spent five years at The Raptor Trust; then returned to Maine and Avian Haven in 2009. She is now our infirmary manager, with special skills in eye injuries and wound management.
Glori Berry is a former elementary school teacher whose current plans include an ornithology book geared for children. Her current research project at Avian Haven uses age-related plumage changes in Barred Owls to correlate age with admission circumstances. Glori is an exceptionally skilled photographer whose work is featured in our slide shows and annual reports.
Jerry Stefansky is a neighbor who made our acquaintance when he brought us an injured bird in 2008. Since that time, he has become the regular caretaker of the habitats for larger birds: raptors including Bald Eagles; plus Common Ravens and American Crows. Jerry is an awesome cook; along with his wife Dee Dee, he makes sure others on the staff get enough to eat.
Selkie O'Mira joined our seasonal staff in the spring of 2011; at the end of the summer, she volunteered to stay on through the winter months, and we were delighted to agree. A woman of many talents, perhaps foremost among them writing, she helps Avian Haven with bird rescue and transportation, onsite with feeding and husbandry (declaring cage-cleaning more fun than housework), and also with fund-raising.
Dr. Judith Herman is our consulting veterinarian. Her practice is the Animal Wellness Center, located in Augusta. Although Dr. Herman does not see companion birds in her practice, in her work with Avian Haven she has been an expert homeopathic consultant and skillful surgeon where procedures such as pinning fractures are required.
