Wildlife Rehabilitation in Utah/Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation: It's been a busy few weeks..............

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

It's been a busy few weeks..............

Hello everyone.

Although our patient load isn't bad at all, there has been a lot of traveling to our vet's office, which is 75 miles one-way, with those patients. Horizon finally was able to get her pins removed from her right wing. She's now in the large flight cage. Her eye, however, is looking very bad. We take her to Salt Lake tomorrow to the eye specialist. I'm pretty sure she will be eventually, if not now, completely blind in that one eye and may possibly lose the whole eye, either from surgery or due to the injury sustained by the semi.

I'll keep everyone posted as we learn more. I've included new pictures of her today,

both wing and eye. The wing looks rough, but that's because of the large device that had been in her bone, holding it together while it mended.

Once the feathers grow back in, which they are starting to do as visible in the photo, you won't even know that she had once had that device there at all.

We also got in a young pigeon that needed just a little help before he could be sent on his way, back to his flock's area. We hand fed him for a couple of days and he was ready to eat on his own by then. He was found on the ground being attacked by a Raven. Now, I love Ravens, but they are naughty birds! That's part of the reason I love them. The pigeon also had a hole on his side where the skin was ripped open by the Ravens' beak. With that healed and him eating on his own, we let him go, I'm sure a bit more wiser about Ravens.

The new eagle that I mentioned in the last post, turned out to be a female. I've included photo's of her out in the eagle flight and of her release. Her rehabilitation time was minimal since she had no broken bones. We were concerned about her continued droop in one wing and took her back up to the vet's office to have her x-rayed again, just to make sure.

It was determined that there was some soft tissue damage there and that is what caused the wing to droop, but her flight was perfect! So when all tests were completed and antibiotics were as well, we took her to the Dog Valley area near

highway 10 and I-70 here in Utah and released her. She was an adult, so I hope she went immediately and found her mate. The gentleman releasing her is Gary Denhalter. His daughter Tonia keeps us alert to wildlife problems in the area she works driving a semi-tractor trailer. We value her help tremendously.

We're trying to get Ivie, our other golden eagle back up here from Kanab. She's been hanging out in Best Friends eagle flight for observation. Unfortunately, she is not behaving as she should, flight wise. So our last option, is to have a falconer who specializes in eagles to fly her, creance, to be exact. This was we should be able to determine if the slight turn-out on her wing is going to ground her permanatly or not. We obviously hope for the latter. We are just waiting for him to drive down from Idaho to do this. What a nice guy!

And last, we picked up a second year male Sharp-shinned hawk. He came in from Moab, Utah. Officer T.J.Robertson met me in Green River, Utah with him. He has significant trauma to one side of his body. Not sure of the source. Usually these guys get in trouble hitting

windows in houses where birdfeeders are nearby. When the little birds are getting chased, sometimes they head to the windows since it looks like a passage way into the house and they think they can get away through them. Once they realise that they can't, most of them turn, very fast, and with a hawk in pursuit that's keeping their eye on the bird, sometimes they end up hitting the window. This can leave them unconscience and vulnerable to other predators or even dead, breaking their necks or other trauma. He has a dislocation in his right wing at the elbow. Time will tell if he can be returned back into the wild. These guys DO NOT make good educational bird candidates. They are just too high strung.

Well, I think that covers it all for now. It's been beautiful weather here, other than a bit windy. Pollen here is having a hay-day, no pun intended. I think I'll buy some stock in Claritin!

Debbie............

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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.

Wildlife Rehabilitation in Utah/Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

It's been a busy few weeks..............

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