There’s a good chance, if you live on St. Croix that you’ve heard of Toni Lance, St. Croix’s “Bird Lady,” as she has been dubbed. A lifelong bird and animal lover, Toni has turned her passion for these animals into her life’s work– reflected in her renowned artwork and in her dedication to the non-profit organization at her home. the St. Croix Avian Sanctuary. Toni is a licensed Bird Rehabilitator by the Department of Fish & Wildlife, and is both skilled at caring for these animals, and emotionally connected to them. The GoTo Team was recently able to take a tour of her property and experience these magnificent birds up close and personal.
Toni sometimes welcomes visitors to her property for a tour, though she doesn’t have a regular schedule just yet. During our Saturday morning visit, Toni took us around her gorgeous and historic property on St. Croix’s South Shore, overlooking the turquoise Caribbean Sea, the green lawn dotted with various large cages where she keeps her injured birds of prey and other birds in recovery. It’s the perfect spot for this non-profit bird sanctuary, with sea breezes and tropical trees. Toni has everything from cattle egrets to great egrets, peacocks, to chickens, a friendly (and hungry!) pelican, and most spectacularly, several red-tailed hawks, a Peregrine falcon, a kestrel and a merlin. She showed us a baby cattle egret who squawked for food and perched atop her head, and a large white crane who is fully rehabilitated but still hangs around the property for feedings. Of course, as soon as the food came out, the pelican came up, bobbing his head and flapping his wings, going crazy for the little fish she was tossing out for snacks.
Toni then showed us her amazing birds of prey. It’s not often you can get to see, and even touch, these predators up close. These birds are with her for the long haul, as they have injuries that will never allow them to fly in the same way again, due to broken wings, lost wings, etc. Many of these birds have been shot with guns or completely lost half of wing, which renders them unable to fly, hunt or feed themselves. Toni has taken these magnificent creatures in and provides them with food, shelter and companionship. Two red-tailed hawks live in the same cage, a male and a female and have partnered and started mating. They have laid two eggs, but unfortunately, they have not resulted in a baby chick as of yet. Toni will still keep trying to get them strong and healthy enough to nurse an egg full term and maybe there will be a new red-tail on the horizon!
The birds of prey are tame enough to be petted and used for demonstrations in schools and for environmental groups that arrange tours with Toni. She also brings her blind blue pigeon Miracle to visit the kids. It’s really important to her to teach them about the proper treatment of animals– not just our pets (although that is important too), but the animals that we interact with in our natural environment of St. Croix.
Finally, Toni invited us inside to show us some of her paintings. Toni might be even more well known for her detailed and expressive watercolor and oil paintings of birds and wildlife. You can even see some of her work on the current issue of St. Croix This Week! With a background in science and training in medical illustration, Toni brings a lifelike detail to her colorful portraits, and because she is so emotionally connected to these animals, perfectly captures their essence and spirit. She usually has an annual art show at Walsh Metal Works gallery in February, so keep an eye on our calendar for her next event! It’s a rare opportunity to experience her newest work.
It was a rare and inspiring opportunity for us to get to experience the work that she dedicates herself to every day. She is able to do this work through private donations and a supportive community, and the birds of St. Croix are lucky to have someone as skilled and caring as Toni looking after them.
And, while we were finishing up our tour, someone stopped by Toni’s house with a baby pearly-eyed thrasher they had picked up on the road. Toni accepted the little baby bird and we helped feed it in her living room… a bird lady’s work is never done.
You can make donations to the St. Croix Avian Sanctuary by calling (340) 773-1839.
We have also created a video of our visit to the St. Croix Avian Sanctuary, please watch it and share with your friends! It is linked right here: Toni Lance and the St. Croix Bird Sanctuary
I’m loving this, live on the Island for 40th year n never knew about this place