‘Mother of the Flock’: How one woman’s mission grew into a lifeline for injured birds across the Coastal Bend

As Wings Rescue celebrates 10 years, founder Kay Adams reflects on how one rescued bird grew into a volunteer-run sanctuary saving nearly 900 birds each year.

ROCKPORT, Texas — What began with one woman rescuing injured birds from the back of her car has grown into one of the Coastal Bend’s most important wildlife rehabilitation centers.

This weekend, Wings Rescue in Rockport is celebrating its 10th anniversary, marking a decade of rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing injured and orphaned birds from across South Texas.

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Founder Kay Adams remembers when the nonprofit had little more than determination.

“Our first year we had nothing,” Adams said. “We rescued 300 out of the back of our cars. We didn’t have carriers. We didn’t have this land. We didn’t have anything.”

Today, Wings Rescue cares for nearly 900 birds each year, serving communities across the Coastal Bend and beyond.

The organization has become so well known that after 3NEWS visited the rescue, volunteers welcomed an injured bird brought all the way from Hidalgo County—a 184-mile journey, making it the furthest rescue Wings Rescue has received to date.

For volunteer Amy Benkowski, the journey to Wings Rescue also started with a single bird.

After moving to the Coastal Bend from Connecticut, she and her husband found an injured pelican with a fishing hook lodged in its throat. A search for help led them to Wings Rescue, where they now live on the property as full-time volunteer caretakers.

“I have many titles here,” Benkowski said. “But the one I’m proudest of is that I’m a raptor handler and rehabber.”

Benkowski credits Adams for building far more than a wildlife rescue.

“Ms. Kay, our founder, started this from the back of her car,” Benkowski said. “She is a mentor to children. She’s a mentor to students.”

Around Wings Rescue, Adams is affectionately known as the “Mother of the Flock.”

She never had children of her own, Benkowski explained, but one Mother’s Day the volunteers realized she had spent years caring for countless birds—and for the people dedicated to saving them.

Every person at Wings Rescue volunteers their time. No one receives a paycheck—not even longtime resident Gerald the goose, whose honks have made him a favorite around the rescue.

“None of us get paid, including me,” Adams said. “We do it because we love the birds, and when we do releases… that’s our payday.”

Adams says watching injured birds recover makes every challenge worthwhile.

“We love these guys, and you get so attached to them when they’re hurt,” she said. “Most of these birds anywhere else would have been euthanized, but they show us they want to live.”

For Adams, Wings Rescue has become much more than a nonprofit.

“I don’t have any kids. I don’t have any family anymore except for here,” she said. “These guys are my family… my whole heart is in this place.”

Keeping that mission alive takes more than volunteers.

Adams says the nonprofit depends entirely on community support, with donors helping provide everything from bird care and medical supplies to building materials and educational resources. Organizations like Friends of Padre have helped purchase cabinets and office supplies for the rescue’s education center, while HEB has also been a longtime supporter through donations and supplies that help Wings Rescue continue its work.

As the organization grows, so does the need for help.

Wings Rescue is especially looking for volunteer transporters in Corpus Christi who can safely bring injured birds to Rockport for treatment. The rescue also continues to rely on financial donations and community partners to care for the hundreds of birds that arrive each year.

For more information about volunteering, donating or requesting help for an injured bird, visit www.wingsrescue.com or the organization’s Facebook page.