Mother Weaves Nests for CROW In Memory of Her Daughter

provided to The Santiva Chronicle

Editor’s Note: The Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife has reached capacity and is no longer accepting handmade nests in 2026. 

Outside Sara Hayden’s home, robins and finches were busy building nests of their own. Inside, Hayden sat with a crochet hook and leftover yarn from winter scarves and hats, creating four soft springtime nests for orphaned or abandoned baby birds and mammals.

Sara’s mother — Julie Hayden of Port Saint Lucie — had shared an article with her about the need for handmade nests to support the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW). CROW is the nonprofit where her daughter, Kyla Love Hayden, had volunteered for a short time on Sanibel Island in 2023.

Kyla would have turned 24 on June 10, 2026. The Florida Gulf Coast University senior studying political science unexpectedly died in 2024.

So when Sara read about the handcrafted baby nests at her home in Maryland, she paused. She had just taken up a hobby this year to help her heal and relax. She took up crocheting.

This nest project seemed meant for her. CROW uses handmade nests daily to support baby birds and small mammals during feeding, recovery, and growth.

“Doing things with meaning is what brings me peace and healing out of her loss,” she says. “It is nice to have a nest for CROW’s baby animals, and it helps me, too.”

At CROW, Kyla was training to be a first responder. She was learning to answer phone calls from community members seeking advice or help after finding an animal in need of assistance. First responders educate, arrange volunteers for rescues, and ensure each animal is entered into CROW’s database.

“She would have loved taking those calls,” says Sara. “Kyla loved what CROW does and loved working there.”

Wildlife First Responder Tamara Wentworth was her trainer.

“I enjoyed training Kyla and was continually impressed by her compassion for wildlife,” says Wentworth. “She made a meaningful impact during her short time as a CROW volunteer, and we’re grateful to have worked alongside her doing something she loved.”

CROW has seen more than 2,540 patients so far in 2026. Of those patients, 1649 have been babies or juveniles.

The wildlife nonprofit put out a call for handmade crocheted and knitted nests in mid-May. Care packages soon arrived from places like Florida, Vermont, Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan, Maryland, New York, Ohio and even across the pond in England. Some crafters made the trip out to CROW to drop off nests and take a campus tour. By the end of May, they were at capacity for the handmade creations.

This year on her birthday, Sara will grab Kyla’s favorite meal — some chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-A — and head down to Oxford Beach in Maryland for a picnic. She’ll also go to a local florist for some roses to give away in her daughter’s memory.

When the CROW wildlife team or volunteers grab a handmade nest to feed a baby woodpecker, comfort an owl, or cradle an opossum, they’ll see the label “In Memory of Kyla Love.” They’ll also see a mauve crocheted rose in the middle of the nests that may bring a smile.

Perhaps it will be a reminder that orphaned wildlife babies just need a small act of kindness to be comforted. And some mothers need the same.

Volunteers assist with a wide range of tasks at CROW, such as transporting injured animals, answering phones as a first responder, doing laundry, and working in the gift shop, to name a few. To learn more about volunteering at CROW, please visit https://crowclinic.org/get-involved/volunteer. The next volunteer orientation is set for 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 8, 2026, at CROW, 3883 Sanibel Captiva Rd. on Sanibel Island.