Avian rehab center helps birds thrive

By GRETA SHUSTER Beacon Media Staff Writer

This story was originally published in the Warwick Beacon, a publication partner of Ocean State Stories.

Read this story in its original form and all other Beacon stories by clicking here.

GLOCESTER — A few miles down a winding road on the outskirts of Chepachet, perched on a hill up a long dirt driveway, is a wildlife rehabilitation center that works to treat more than a thousand birds per year. 

Nestled on 45 acres of woodland, Congress of the Birds is an avian rehabilitation nonprofit led by founder and Executive Director Sheida Soleimani, an Iranian-American artist, educator, activist and federally and state-licensed migratory bird rehabilitator. 

Soleimani, with the help of five staff, many volunteers, three licensed veterinarians and a 12-member board, has grown Congress of the Birds from a small operation in the basement of her Providence home to the large property in Chepachet. 

Through generous donations, Congress of the Birds acquired the land and the abutting property with a house on it in early 2024 and 2025, respectively. Soleimani’s home in Providence still serves as a 24-hour triage facility. 

“You do what you can in a basement,” she said. “I never thought that this would ever happen or that people would donate this, and it’s changed things drastically.” 

As the only bird-specific wildlife rehabilitation center in the state, Soleimani and her team treat, rehabilitate and eventually release all species of birds. At the Chepachet facility, birds are able to live with similar species in specific rooms and custom enclosures to give them the best chance of survival. 

“About 60% of the patients arrive in such critical condition that they don’t make it,” said Soleimani. “The releases we do see–we’re able to release hundreds of patients back into the wild each year–that’s what makes the difference for us.” 

Activism through art 

In addition to her work with Congress of the Birds, Soleimani is also an artist and an assistant professor of fine arts at Brandeis University. Her art combines sculpture, collage and photography to highlight her own perspective on both historical and current socio-political issues in Iran. She is passionate about the intersection between wildlife rehabilitation, art and public outreach and education. 

“We don’t believe in using AI,” said Soleimani. “We really believe in hiring real artists to make artwork and that’s a huge part of our mission.” 

Jules Z, the inaugural artist-in-residence, designs educational posters for Congress of the Birds, informing the public on how they can do their part in protecting bird species in the state. The posters cover topics such as what do if you find a window-strike bird, threats to waterfowl and how to help a baby bird without its parents. 

Congress of the Birds’ namesake is twofold. It is inspired by a Persian epic, “The Conference of the Birds” by Farid ud-Din Attar, that tells the story of a group of birds searching for a leader, only to realize that what they’re looking for exists within the collective itself. At the same time, Soleimani lives on Congress Avenue, a place where birds come together both in crisis and recovery. 

Passion for animal care

Soleimani’s interest in animal care started in her Ohio childhood home, inspired by her parents, political refugees from Iran who left their home country in the early 1980s.  

Her mother, a nurse by training, was unable to continue her practice when she fled to the United States due to the language barrier. 

“She couldn’t continue practicing nursing, which for her was the true joy of her life, caring for people and providing,” said Soleimani. 

However, her mother quickly turned to animals. Alongside Soleimani’s father, a doctor, her mother would find animals injured by the side of the road and bring them home to help in whatever way possible. Eventually, other people started bringing in hurt animals too. 

“Our kitchen island just kind of became this makeshift wild animal hospital,” she said. “So, I just grew up with it.” 

When Soleimani was a teenager, her family realized other families were doing the same thing and joined a group of home rehabilitators in Ohio called Second Chance Wildlife. 

After volunteering with wildlife rehabilitation organizations throughout college and graduate school, Soleimani quickly realized that this was something she wanted to do on her own. Since obtaining the required permitting and state and federal licensing, she has been working in wildlife rehabilitation in Rhode Island for more than a decade. 

Soleimani has a tattoo of her favorite bird species, a chimney swift, on her arm. It marks the first bird she rehabilitated on her own in her college apartment in Cincinnati. 

“People in college would call me the bird girl,” she said. “Someone had brought me these chimney swifts that had fallen down into their fireplace…now I am the specialist in New England [for the species].”