NY Daily News – February 03, 2016
by Lisa L. Colangelo
They are the birdmen of the FDNY.
Capt. Charlie Roberto and Firefighter Bobby Horvath spend countless hours of their off-duty lives educating people about wildlife and saving critters in distress.
Roberto, 59, is a self-taught naturalist who can identify over 500 species of birds on sight and 100 simply by sound.
More than a decade ago, he worked with the Teatown Lake Reservation to start the annual Hudson River Eagle Fest, which takes place Saturday. Thousands of people are expected to flock to Croton Point Park to watch the majestic birds — once a rare sight — soar over the river.
“We are getting disconnected from nature,” said Roberto, who started with the city Fire Department in 1979. “We almost lost the eagles and can make that mistake again if we don’t remember history.”
Horvath, a 20-year department veteran, is known for rescuing scores of injured hawks, baby owls, falcons shot by pellet guns and other birds of prey from precarious predicaments and then nursing them back to health in his Long Island home.
The licensed wildlife rehabilitator has also handled everything from poisonous snakes to bobcats and monkeys.
“Any given day, you can come across any of these animals and when they get in trouble often it’s a human-caused problem,” said the 53-year-old Horvath, who started the nonprofit Wildlife in Need of Rescue and Rehabilitation. “Someone has to right that wrong.”
But sometimes even nature can throw animals for a loop — like the confused brown pelican he rescued from Lido Beach on Long Island. Unusual for the area, it was likely blown off its course by a storm.
Although Roberto is not a licensed rehabilitator, he has stepped in to transport injured birds to safety. He also helped capture a mute swan that stopped traffic on the Bronx River Parkway and guided him back to the water.
Focusing on nature and wildlife is also a healthy distraction from the stresses of the job, Roberto said.
Surprisingly, the two FDNY veterans have never met. Roberto works at Ladder 26/Engine 58 in Manhattan, while Horvath has spent his career at Engine 264/Engine 328/Ladder 134 in Far Rockaway, Queens.
But the two share a philosophy to educate the public and make life better for wildlife.
“The goal is to give animals a second chance,” Horvath said.
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