Tavernier's Wild Bird Sanctuary Is Getting a New Birdwalk: What Neighbors Should Know Now

At 93600 Overseas Highway in Tavernier, a wooden boardwalk runs past one enclosure after another and ends at the bay. The Florida Keys Wild Bird Center describes that last stretch as "a perfect spot to take in a classic Keys sunset," and the gate is open every day of the year from sunrise to sunset.

Volunteers built that boardwalk in the 1990s. Hurricanes, tropical storms and king tides have worn it down ever since, and in September the center broke ground on a replacement, Keys Weekly reported. To understand what's being rebuilt, start with how the birds at the Laura Quinn Wild Bird Sanctuary got there. Most of them arrived through the same door any of us could walk through tomorrow with a towel-lined box.

Every bird on the boardwalk started as a patient

The center runs two locations. One is the sanctuary in Tavernier. The other is Mission Wild Bird Hospital, down the highway at 92080 Overseas Highway. According to the sanctuary's own page, every bird housed on the property came through the hospital as a patient first. Each one was judged non-releasable by the center's permitted wildlife rehabilitators and its volunteer vet, which means its injuries keep it from behaving the way it would in the wild.

So the sanctuary is the end of a line. A bird gets hurt, someone brings it to the hospital, the staff treat it, and the ones that can't go back out live the rest of their lives in Tavernier. Today that means more than 40 birds from almost 30 species, in enclosures with natural perches, enrichment and a proper diet.

Some of them also work as Educational Ambassadors at school, resort and event programs. The center is firm that these birds are still wild animals. Only trained staff handle them, and visitors never touch them, although the staff will happily answer questions.

Who you'll meet along the path

The center's adoption pages introduce several of the birds by name, so you can pick them out on a walk:

• Teddy, an American white pelican who came to the center in 2025
• Junior, a great horned owl
• Leopold, a barred owl
• Moody and Luna, a pair of eastern screech owls
• Fredericka, a yellow-naped Amazon

The center's homepage also mentions pelican feeding as something visitors can watch. Admission is free. The center asks for a $10 donation per person, and pets aren't allowed, so leave the dog at home.

A volunteer-built path, replaced with visitor dollars

On Sept. 17, local officials, community members and sanctuary staff broke ground on a $600,000 replacement, according to Keys Weekly. The Monroe County Tourist Development Council is paying for all of it, and Island Villa Construction is doing the installation.

That funding source fits the sanctuary's story. A path that volunteers first built for a local rescue operation is being rebuilt with money raised from Keys tourism, after decades in which hundreds of thousands of visitors walked it.

Erin Allison, the center's executive director, has led the organization since 2023. At the groundbreaking she told the crowd she kept returning to the boardwalk when she assessed the center's future. Keys Weekly reported that she expected it to take far longer: "I honestly thought it might take five years before we could make it happen. There were so many other needs and priorities that had to come first." The center's staff page still lists her as executive director.

Dennis Caltagirone, the board president, said the boardwalk had always been the "birdwalk." In the same Keys Weekly account, he explained why:

"You're not walking through the beach. It should be a birdwalk because you're walking among the birds."

Islamorada Mayor Don Horton spoke too. He told staff and board members, "I know Laura is looking down on this place and is just very proud of the work you have done." He meant Laura Quinn, the sanctuary's namesake. She was a statistician and math teacher who became known as the "Bird Lady" for rescuing and rehabilitating wild birds, and the center has been protecting Keys birds since 1988.

Where the timeline stands

The groundbreaking was a ceremony, and construction comes after it. In the same report, Allison said the project still needed a Monroe County permit. She expected work to start within about a month and to take around six months.

As of this week, the center's visitor pages still list daily sunrise-to-sunset hours and still invite people to walk the boardwalk. They don't mention any closure. Once crews arrive, though, that could change quickly. If you're planning a sunset walk or bringing visiting family, call ahead or check keepthemflying.org for current access. If construction starts on the schedule Allison described, these next few weeks may be some of the last chances to walk the original path.

The redesign hasn't been described in detail yet, so we don't know whether the route, the bay overlook or the pelican feeding will change. The center will be the place to hear about that first.

Owl-o-ween is this Friday night

The next big day at the sanctuary is Friday, Oct. 30, from 4 to 8 p.m. The Key Largo Chamber of Commerce listing describes Owl-o-ween as a free Halloween-themed fall festival with games, arts and crafts, a conservation village and "LOTS of candy," aimed at children and families. Visit Florida Keys adds trick-or-treating, snacks and drinks.

The center's own events page still shows older listings, so use the Chamber and Visit Florida Keys pages for this year's details. The Chamber lists Erin Allison as the event contact. With Junior, Leopold, Moody and Luna living on site, it's an owl-themed night at a place that really has owls.

If you find an injured bird

This is the first step in the chain that fills the sanctuary. The hospital's instructions are simple:

1. Put the bird in a breathable container with a lid and a towel inside.
2. Don't give it food or water.
3. Bring it to Mission Wild Bird Hospital at 92080 Overseas Highway.
4. Between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., ring the bell at the Birdgency entrance. If no one answers, call the hotline.
5. After 6 p.m., follow the instructions on the after-hours drop box by the door.

The bird emergency hotline is (305) 852-4486, extension 1. The center lists it as available 24/7, and you can reach hospital staff or leave a message there. After 8 p.m., staff return voicemails by the next morning. The hospital is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Its Mission Wild Bird visitor education center keeps shorter hours, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Program the hotline number into your phone. It's handy to have on a boat, a dock or a morning walk along US 1.

Lending a hand

The center fills a long list of volunteer roles. They include hospital assistance, sanctuary animal care, bird rescue and transport, special events, education and outreach, docent shifts, the gift shop and office work. Applications go through the volunteer page, questions go to [email protected], and group volunteering is arranged case by case. The pages don't carry dates, so ask which shifts are open now, especially with construction coming.

The old boardwalk went up because volunteers showed up, and volunteers still feed, transport and care for every bird that ends up along it.

If you walk the boardwalk before the crews arrive, I'd love to hear which bird you stopped for. I've been watching the Birdwalk project like many of you, and I'm happy to pass along what I hear about the timeline. Let's Connect anytime at kelly randin.