Lakeside Nature Center — Attraction in Kansas City

There was a pair of Eastern Phoebes who made a home in my courtyard. They have nested there for the past three springs and summers.

Oddly, this summer (2023), the parents pushed their babies out of the nest before they were able to fly. They still had their eyes closed.

Out of the six babies, only one survived. My husband wanted to put the baby back in the next nightand I said NO. If Mama and Daddy had already pushed babies out (in batches, btw), they have a high likelihood of doing the same.

Their nest was about 10"-12" high, and our courtyard has wood planks, so it wasn't a soft landing. The baby that made it had more feathers and was holding on for dear life.

I had an appointment that morning in OP, but it was a quick one, and I brought baby Phoebe inside with me where medical staff put her box under a lamp and put a blanket over it.

Once I left there, I went into Lakeside, and they immediately rushed the baby bird to the back for medical treatment.

The woman I spoke with at the front was AMAZING. She was very knowledgeable about birds and was able to narrow down some hypotheses of why Mama and Daddy pushed their babies out of their nest.

This was not my first or even second visit to Missouri wildlife rescue. I brought a baby bird for my elderly neighbor, a starling fledgling, another bird an evil child stepped on at Menard's, ON PURPOSE, and other birds that have flown into windows. I've taken two Canada Geese as well.

A woman who was there one time I was had found an opossum hit in the road. She got out to inspect her pouch (opossum are marsupials, like kangaroos and koalas) and found a litter of babies. Lakeside took them, too.

Besides their Wildlife Rescue, they have a nature center that is free. My kids have done many educational programs there. There are animals that live there who were rehabbed but too injured to be re-released into the wild. There are hiking trails as well. More "off the beaten path" but I've hiked there with small children and it wasn't that bad. You just have to watch them closely on the cliffs.

All-around great educational experience, native gardens that feed wild bees (the true pollinators), and wildlife rescue. We are fortunate to have them. They are a nonprofit organization and are always in need of donations. This is an org that does so much for the community. I...

I feed a lot of feral/stray cats which attracted a rather large & growing population of Possums to my yard. I read that possums frequently move around, however, the ones I feed tend to stick around because kibble and water is plentiful and they get grapes & bananas ☺️ On one of the last coldest nights of winter, we watched one of the possums walk into the street, fall over, and become completely immobilized. He appeared to be having a hard time holding his head up and walking straight. We carried him back to the yard and cared for him over the next few days - On the 4th morning, I went out to fill up his water and kibble under the porch and I noticed he wasn’t tucked away sleeping so I walked around the side of the house and found him fallen over and stuck to the ice. Food, water, and love didn’t seem to be enough and all hope for the little guy turned to desperation in finding the help he needed. I did a little googling and found the Lakeside Nature Center - called them immediately and was greeted by the sweetest gal who was eager to help us! They help some of our neighborhood wildlife and our Possum was on the list. We packed up our little friend and brought him to these kind people - They took him in without hesitation and rushed him to the back where they immediately got started on his care. They did not ask for a fee of any kind, but in its place was a donation jar. We were more than happy to pitch in to support this incredible place and all that they do for our community critters. After handing over our little guy, we walked around the grounds and to our surprise, discovered some really nice trails and a beautiful facility. The perfect place for a day out with the family!!

Our friend: A couple of days later, I called to check in on “Possy” and was given the unfortunate news - Due to broken/rotten/missing teeth, he had been suffering from a severe infection that spread through his entire body over time. He was beyond saving when we found him in that state. The caretakers at this facility did all they could to help the little guy. Knowing they care for all life is reassurance enough that this place is highly recommended for an educational day with the kids, a leisure meander through the trees, or a place to bring a suffering critter for help.

Thank you for...

Please, do NOT take any poor animal to this place. All the five star reviews you see are about the trails surrounding the facility, not the facility itself.

If you want to go to a run down, moldy, cramped concrete bunker, littered with trash and weeds in the middle of the worst part of Kansas City, this is the place for you.

If you want to be warmly greeted at the (locked) entrance by a "What do you want?" from a tired, old, angry woman, go here.

If you want whatever animal you're bringing in to be picked up, tossed around, and man-handled by an incompetent receptionist, be sure to visit here.

From the moment you walk in the door to the moment you leave, the employees make sure to make you feel as if you should feel bad for interrupting them, they seem surprised and inconvenienced that anyone would bring an animal to them.

After about 10 minutes of an obviously very important discussion of whether we lived in Missouri or Kansas (And should therefore be thrown out if we lived in the wrong state), we were turned away anyway, because in their words "They only take baby birds that need help." Which was an obvious attempt for them to get out of doing any work.

Of course we argued: "The birds nest is destroyed, we cant put it back", "We can't leave it on the ground, it was being stalked by cats when we found it", "It was all alone", "It can't even walk yet, let alone fly. It's just a helpless baby" But it all fell on deaf ears. We were shown the door and left with nowhere to go.

That baby dove died, scared and alone, the next day.

If you want whatever animal you have to be rescued and taken care for by compassionate animal lovers, this is NOT the...