Bobby smiles with a red-tailed hawk The Garden City Bird Sanctuary is pleased to announce its 2009 Environmental Stewardship Award winner is Bobby Horvath, founder of Wildlife in Need of Rescue and Rehabilitation (WINORR). Bobby will be on hand at the May 16th Twilight Cocktail Party scheduled from 5-8pm at the Tanners Pond Road 9-acre sanctuary. Horvath grew up on Long Island wanting to be a veterinarian, but life took him down a different path and he became a New York City fireman instead. He never forgot his passion for animals though, and founded WINORR. WINORR is a nonprofit organization that provides professional care for sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife in the Nassau and western Suffolk County area. Trained volunteers rescue, rehabilitate, and release these animals back into the wild. Wildlife that is unable to be released is given sanctuary and become the stars of his educational program. Bobby and his volunteers are state and federally licensed wildlife rehabilitators.

Growing up in North Bellmore, Horvath was always bringing home animals he found and rescued. Bobby got his rehabilitator license in the early 1990s and handles everything from coyotes and bobcats to monkeys and raccoons. He specializes in birds of prey, including hawks and falcons. He regularly helps New York City Animal Care and Control handle wildlife or exotic animals that are hurt, seized or abandoned. WINORR fixes 'em up and finds them new homes. He has rescued eagles, bobcats, cayotes, and was even involved with helping the fledglings of NYC's famous red-tailed hawk, "Pale Male".

Bobby shows off one of his rescued animal patients He also volunteers his time for educational programs with his rescued animals at Adelphi University, Huntington Township Audubon Society, and was a special guest at the 2007 Garden City Bird Sanctuary Spring Festival where a pair of rescued and rehabilitated kestrels was released. WINORR was also the facility where GCBS founder Rob Alvey brought a small saw-whet owl he had rescued in Garden City last year to be checked, fed, given a clean bill off health and eventually released. Previous recipients of the Garden City Bird Sanctuary's Environmental Stewardship Award have included NYS Senator Kemp Hannon, Friends of the Hempstead Plains president Betsy Gulotta, Floral Park Bird Sanctuary and Centennial Gardens founder Steve Corbett, and Garden City's own Drew Hult.

Bobby will be on hand at the May 16th Twilight Cocktail Party scheduled from 5-8pm. Accompanying him will be one of his former "patients'. Tickets for the event are on sale now for $25 ($20 for GCBS members). Call 326-1720 to purchase your ticket, and enjoy food, wine, beer, tours of the award-winning community bird sanctuary, music provided by Tom Wagner and his band, and help celebrate the official groundbreaking ceremony with Nassau County Legislator Vincent Muscarella as the new wetlands meadow begins to be installed through a $50,000 grant provided by the 2006 Nassau County Environmental Bond.