Wildlife Rehabilitation in Utah/Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Yep, Fall migration has started here in the mountain west...

Yes, it's that time of year. Fall migration! Chances to see things we normally don't the rest of the year. Take the opportunity to look up and see the splendor. Hummingbirds are already coming through so get your feeders cleaned and full. This is also the time of year that we may see the young and older critters having some difficulty, so be alert and should you find an animal that doesn't appear to be injured but is obviously in trouble, call your local wildlife department right away. Don't try to help it yourself, remember, good intentions often kill! If you know of a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, or where the local wildlife department is, and you can transport the animal yourself immediately without jeopardizing yourself or others, then go ahead. Don't try to feed the animal, just secure it and get it to help and when I say help, I don't mean taking it to 'that lady down the street that takes in all kinds of animals', this is wildlife and there are laws protecting them from that sort of thing. They need a "licensed" wildlife rehabilitator with experience with that particular species.

Well, Jasper, the Harris hawk is now in Phoenix and in this post I have the last picture taken the day Diane came to pick him up on her way back to Phoenix. What a wonderful experience it was to have him with us.

We released our last releasable robin a couple of weeks ago. Again at Connie's house, and this time my grandson was able to do the release. It happened so quickly that the only

picture I got was of him opening the container. Once that happened, the robin took off and that was it! A great release.

We have had several new patients come in. We had 2 nighthawks come in with terrible injuries and the decision was made to euthanize them. It's a difficult thing, but is sometimes necessary for the animals sake. They are not suffering any longer.
We also picked up a crow that had come from Moab. He was found on the ground and pretty near death. We met a volunteer in Green River, Utah who drove from Moab with the bird and picked him up, but he was dead by the time we got back. It's a very strange case. He was extremely thin and dehydrated, but his right foot had several enormous 'balls' of tissue on the foot and toes. They smelled horrible as did the bird itself. There was no pus or anything like that in the growths, just an odd looking tissue. I removed one of them and I'm going to have our vet take a look at it. These obviously played a roll in his death. He couldn't stand or use that foot for anything and I'm sure he was in a great deal of pain.

Good news! The approval came in for the transfer of the two golden eagles and the bald eagle to the Iowa Tribe in Oklahoma! It sounds like the transfer will take place on the 11th of this month. I'm so glad for the eagles as they need to start their lives in the place they will call home for the rest of their natural lives. The transfer involves Shu, Fremont and Zuma.
More good news; Ivy had her final surgery to remove this last set of pins in her wing. Just prior to the surgery, she started getting up on the high perches, so she was READY to get those out of there! Once the 3 eagles are transferred, we will start working with her wing.
We are still waiting on the OK for the robins to be transferred as well.

Keep your eyes to the skies and enjoy; I know I will!
Debbie...........................

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Fly robin, fly.....................

Just a short update before I hit the pillow.
My computer (both the laptop and PC) have been giving me a headache these last few days so I'm sorry for the delay. We released another robin the other day. Connie released him at her house.
That leaves us with two robins.

Saturday, Diane drove to Phoenix with the Harris hawk AND she (Diane) won't be returning. She's moving back to go to school. She's been very helpful to us and will be missed. Hopefully she can find a group there to volunteer with.
So Jasper, the Harris hawk is now at Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center in Phoenix. He'll be hanging out with other Harris hawks and hopefully will "wild up" so he can go live as a hawk should, in the wild.
Tomorrow, I will be meeting up with Best Friends again. This time, I'll be picking up a couple of their robins that need to hang out with other robins for a little while.
Still waiting on the eagle transfer to Oklahoma and Ivy, the juvenile golden eagle with the pins still in her wing, will be going up to my vet's next week to have surgery to remove those pins.
The pictures in this post are of the robin release.
Debbie................

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Goodbye Lionus, robin, Acorn and Berry........

Well what a week it's been!
We released one of our robins at Connie's house. She has lot's of robins that hang out there so that should be a good place for her.
The last two rock squirrels were also released the same day.

We put them in the same area as the others. They were acting so independent prior to the release yet when we let them go, they froze and didn't want to move. We had to coax them and reassure them.

I could have just as easily have picked them back up and brought them

home again, but that would have been selfish

and that is not why we do this. Releases can be very difficult and these little rock squirrel releases definitely were. Goodbye my babies. Remember all that we talked about.

Also, that same day, we released the Peregrine falcon. The trip to the vet's office on Tuesday

showed no broken bones or dislocation.

I've included the picture of the x-ray and us at the vet's office. Connie and Dr. Ipsen are working with the bird just before the x-ray.

We let him go the next day, close to the area where we picked him up. We first had Tony Wright with DWR come and band him for us.
We band all of our raptors prior to release. They are banded with federally issued bands. We are lucky Tony helped us fight that battle to do this. At first, it was only the eagles,

then, they wanted to stop banding entirely, but when it was all over, we were granted banding of ALL our raptors. Yeah!!! So Lionus went back out with some 'bling'.

It was a great release and since I'm NO photographer, I'm lucky I got him in the shot of

the toss. Those falcons are little bullets with feathers! There was a short burst of intense flapping, followed by a long soar with a lot of lift and then he was out of sight.

I'm still working on the paperwork for the two golden eagles to be transferred to the Iowa tribe in Oklahoma. Right now it's just a waiting game on my part.

Jasper, the Harris hawk has been approved to go to Arizona. I spoke with the lady at the center where he will be going and they are thrilled to have him. Should he not 'wild up' like we hope, they are definitely interested in him as an educational bird, so either way, he'll have a wonderful life, something he is definitely deserving of and not been used to. I'll keep you posted as

things progress for him. I've included some new photo's of him on this post.
We're still feeding several orphan passerines of different species and they are progressing nicely.
Connie has been busy cleaning out the living facilities (mews) that

are now empty. It's an ongoing job as soon they'll be housing someone else who needs our help.
Time to go feed the feathered babies again...............

Monday, August 3, 2009

Moving right along.................

Well the transfer of the Prairie falcon to Best Friends went as planned. I drove to Richfield, Utah and met Erin, one of their WildFriends employees'. She will be there until her new feathers come in and then be released down there, somewhere in southern Utah. I'm happy for her that she'll be able to finally be a free falcon and be exactly what she is meant to be and won't be hanging out with people for their own 'selfish' reasons. I'm not a fan of falconry and make no apologies for it!

I also made contact with Arizona Game and Fish regarding the transfer of the other bird involved in the seizure by our state wildlife officials. That bird, a Harris hawk, will hopefully be going to Phoenix at a facility there where it can hang out with other Harris hawks temporarily. We're working on the paperwork end of that, but hopefully we can get this transfer done in a couple of weeks. Then he'll be closer to the life he deserves as well.

We will be releasing the last 2 squirrels this week. I'll be sure to take lots of photo's and the Peregrine will be going into the vet's tomorrow for his x-rays. Hopefully they will show nothing is broken, just swelling and bruising.
That's all for now.
Debbie.............

Feathered brothers and sisters, you came to us broken and as you bled…….we saw you desperate, dehydrated, desiccated, diseased, distressed, emaciated, famished, frayed, frightened, helpless, hungry, ragged, ravenous, shaken, shocked, shot, sickly, stressed, stunned, tattered, thirsty, traumatized, torn, weary and wounded. Defiantly, you stood us off with your last breath as we tried to tend to you. We saw you come in as cute, naked, fuzzy, cuddly youth, as mischievous, defiant adolescents, as fierce, regal rulers of the sky and as cunning, maimed elders whose time on earth was almost done. You endeared yourselves to us, bit us, charmed us, footed us, delighted us, hissed at us, talked to us, mantled at us, and graced us with your presence.

Some of you mended and were able to go on your way, never looking back. Some of you were injured in ways that prevented you from going, so you stayed with us to teach us…….And we came to love you. Others were too far gone, and you went home - where you fly free from pain with the Great One. All of you have touched us, and we are changed because of you.

used with permission by Arlene Powers

ATTENTION

Spring is a very active wonderful time for all animals. Babies are born and learning what it takes to be wild from their parents. Unfortunately, many may end up in trouble and often times humans may try to intervene, whether or not it is necessary. The inexperienced human finding a baby bird, for instance, more than likely cannot tell if the bird is truely in need of help, or is learning to fly, something that can take a few days to master. Leaving the baby to learn what it needs is something an experienced birder can spot, but taking that baby home, thinking you're helping, when in fact, it is the worst thing possible for that baby, has now changed it's life forever.
Call a rehabilitator for answers. Yes, we want that baby to be safe from predators, but give that baby a chance. The worst thing that happens in these situations is an improper diet being fed by the 'rescuer'. This will result in death, if not right away, then in time, due to improper development. Different birds require different diets and different amounts of food at different times. Here is where a wildlife rehabilitators knowledge and experience makes all the difference. Don't try to do this yourself, only to attempt to find a rehabilitator as the baby is dying due to your 'efforts'. When they are at this stage, there is very little that can be done AND it is also illegal to attempt raising wildlife. Only a permitted wildlife rehabilitator can do this legally, for we know how to keep them wild and ready for release as well. Making them pets, besides being illegal is very selfish and is not what's best for the wildlife. They need to be free and have learned how to find the food they will need to survive in the wild and know what to avoid and learn the language of their species. There is a lot that goes into a successful rehabilitation and the orphans out there deserve the best chance possible. Don't you agree?

DID YOU KNOW...........

Wildlife rehabilitation is a profession borne of a love and concern for wild things everywhere. We wildlife rehabilitators have taken this many steps forward, increasing our knowledge, skills and techniques into a career that most people do not know exists. Most people assume that the work that a wildlife rehabilitator does is something all state wildlife agencies perform as state employees. This could not be further from the truth.
The reality is, all wildlife rehabilitation is done, in all 50 states, by us, wildlife rehabilitators. State and federal officials MAY occasionally pick up the patients that come to us, but they bring them to us at our homes and facilities, not their state or federal offices or vets offices.
Ours is a specialized field that primarily involves vet/medical expertise. No, we are not veterinarians, but many of us have extensive backgrounds in medicine (people and animals).
We also have vast backgrounds in the natural history of the patients we care for. Our work involves many fields. State and federal wildlife folks just don't have that training or background.
The other aspect of our work that is not known, is that we are not paid by anyone. Our patients don't 'belong' to anyone. They are wild beings. So when they have medical needs, there is no one to step up to this challenge except wildlife rehabilitators. Most of us work basically 24/7. Holidays are no exception. When an animal is hurt, it needs help now!
To top it all off, whatever expenses these patient incure, the bills are paid by us, for vet care, surgeries, medications, all of it. We build their homes and repair them as needed. All of our patients need something. They are not here to visit, they are in trouble. So imagine if you will......going to work everyday, driving your own vehicle to do that work and never getting a paycheck. OK, so maybe you can do that.....now imaging having a source of income from somewhere, now, this is where things get really different. When you get that money, you just turn it over to other people to pay for what your patients need, regardless of your financial needs!
This is wildlife rehabilitation.
We also are constantly pursuing continuous education of the latest finds in our field. We strive to be the best we can for those entrusted to us.
So please, support your wildlife rehabilitator in your area. They need it and believe me, it is very much appreciated.