This morning we brought Nate and Handsome to visit with UNITY, a native American youth group and part of the Lone Feather Council. We discussed what wildlife rehab is and how we can each help, why these animals are beneficial in our State. Robert has an appreciation of raptors and is interested in becoming a volunteer, and that’s GREAT!! An enjoyable visit and Nate was up to his usual antics!
Volunteer and subpermittee Diana Biggs with Handsome.
I know that the folks at Hewlett-Packard Colorado Springs really care about wildlife-in particular, their great horned owls! Each year for the last several years, right about this time, they call when the birds are getting themselves out of the nest, just wanting to make sure everything’s okay. Last year they called when their fledgling GHOs disappeared-turns out they toodled down the hill to the pond and were fine, according to HP security, Matt Steed. The owls typically take up residence in a big old pine tree and use an abandoned corvid nest that fortunately is eye-level with the HP breakroom window, where employees enjoy watching the progress of the birds, from eggs to young adults. Last summer the old pine died due to beetle and had to be removed. So guess what HP did? They brought in and planted a new, mature, big pine tree for the owls to replace the dead one! So several weeks ago they began watching the owls’ progress. A couple of weeks ago one of the chicks ended up out of the nest, a very small baby, and Scott, Cathy, and Ted went out there to help. They placed the chick in a very sturdy and secure replacement nest. Unfortunately, the owl mother was unable or chose not to care for the chick and it died. Maybe the chick was defective. Maybe the simple fact that she can’t keep 2 babies warm if they’re in separate places was the problem, something we learned from Sigrid on Monday. We won’t know for sure. So the other day Scott called to say that the 2nd baby was out of the nest. We called the DOW and asked what they would recommend we do, as moving baby birds of all kinds is VERY serious business, not to mention illegal without proper permits, and they said it would be all right to bring Baby Hewlett to EWRC to be fostered by Hootie, GHO foster mom. Phil and I went out to HP and found the baby looked pretty well-cared for. Both parents were right up above us, clacking and upset, and seeing as Cathy and Ted’s nest seemed so good, we decided to place Baby Hewey back into it. We asked Matt and Aaraon to keep an eye on him and if he ended up on the ground again, to give us a call, as each landing on the ground could result in broken bones and injuries. Yesterday morning Matt called from Hewlett-Packard to inform me the baby was again on the ground and this time, there were no parents to be found. The weather has been cold, rainy, and windy the last few days. We wonder if he’s getting blown out of the nest. Sitting on the ground at night makes him prey to fox and other predators. So DOW volunteer Dave went out to pick up the baby and bring to EWRC, where Baby Hewlett will be fostered by Hootie until time to go back to Hewlett-Packard.
You can help with the feeding and care of Baby Hewlett by sponsoring him-call, e-mail, or write for more information.
Aaron Langevin from Hewlett-Packard shares his photo of Baby Hewie from Monday, after placed back in nest.
Baby Hewie is eating well and looking good, enjoying the company of Hootie.
Today is THE perfect day for a jackrabbit release and so Munchie was released this morning. She was gone so fast and playing around, jumping and bouncing, we didn’t get a good picture of her release, so here she is resting during rehab.
Update-Munchie has been out in the back field and around the facility, running with a big, handsome, dark jackrabbit. Seems she has found a companion!
The other day Cindy called from the vet to inform me a red-tailed hawk needed to be picked up. The bird was restless in her kennel. I picked up the bird, having already left a message for the bird’s finder, Linda, of the US Olympic Center in Colorado Springs. Upon catching up with Linda by phone, she was able to relate the bird’s story to me. Linda and her office mate were working in the USOC the other day when they watched with surprise as a red-tailed hawk flew hard into one of the office’s 3rd-floor windows, then fell down to the ground. They rushed downstairs and outside to find the bird on her back, gasping for air. Linda placed a coat over the bird (good idea-watch out for those sharp talons!) and proceeded setting about finding help, located Belcrest Animal Clinic, and brought the bird over. Linda told me that she had never seen a red-tailed hawk up close before and it was meaninful for her, as her totem is the red-tailed hawk. Linda named her bird “Twin Flame.” Twin Flame is active but as of yet cannot fly. She bounces up the ladder to the platform above to sit up with the Swainson’s hawk she’s temporarily sharing the enclosure with. Let’s wish her speedy healing and release!
Update-Twin Flame is now flying and looking good. As soon as the weather settles down and the storms pass, we will release her.
Update 04-03-She will be released this afternoon!
Twin Flame sits on the left. She has some soot-appearing material on her chest, possibly from roosting near a heat source? She has no burns or damage underneath those feathers.
Update-the car-hit hawk picked up by Ivor of Coronado High School is outside in a flight enclosure, not flying yet, but these things take time! Update-03/30-”Coronado” can now fly the length of the 20-foot enclosure. Now he’ll go to the larger enclosure and once he masters it, will be released!
Karen Louise was driving her car in Denver the other day when she saw the car in front of her accidentally hit a cottontail rabbit that was crossing the road. She saw the bunny drop and roll, and pulled over to see if she could help. The bun had obviously been seriously damaged but was still moving. Karen Louise got her husband and together they gathered the rabbit up and took to Dr. Kathy Brown at Brentwood Animal Hospital in Denver. Dr. Brown did a complete exam and found the rabbit has a broken jaw, broken teeth, road rash around his eye and face, head tilt (trauma,) and was degloved down one arm. Dr. Brown provided emergency critical care to the rabbit and left the rabbit overnight. Next day the bunny was still hanging in there, so Dr. Brown called EWRC rehabilitator Kris. The two met, where Kris continued critical care with the bun overnight. Yesterday Kris contacted DOW transport volunteer Diana Biggs, who drove up to Monument to meet Kris, to pick up the rabbit. Diana also continued the care regimen, including eye care, until the bun made it here to EWRC. The bunny doesn’t look too spiffy but is still hanging in there, and with broken jaw, broken teeth, incredible pain, I’m sure, managed to eat a good amount of soft, wet greens last night. Lots of Thank Yous are in order here. Let’s start with Karen Louise and Robert, who took the time out of their busy day to pick up the rabbit and take to the vet; to Dr. Kathy Brown and Brentwood Animal Hospital for the time and care-most vets do not treat wildlife-and to Kris, who hasn’t slept in a week since her baby squirrels came in and need to be fed every few hours all day and overnight, and Diana, who works full-time for D-11, volunteers for several nonprofits, and is very busy herself, for the speedy transports and outstanding care for the bunny. Let’s hope “Quincy” does well and can be released!
Update-Quincy is now sort of standing up for short periods of time, and can feed himself, wash his face, and is actually eating small samplings of solid food in addition to fresh greens. This is progress!
Update-April 11-Quincy still has a long road ahead of him. The degloved arm has healed but is still tender. Quincy is eating pure solid foods now and is very interested in his surroundings.
The other day while outside I noticed a new bunny nest; freshly dug hole/tunnel. Several hours later, it was completely filled in with dirt, and grass and sticks placed on top by the female cottontail; you’d never, ever guess there was a spot for babies there! Then today I noticed my spayed house rabbit, Chica, and Cinnabon, neutered male house rabbit, busily gathering hay, towels, socks, and anything they could find in the house and were furtively stuffing their goodies into the space in the front hall closet; yep, cooperatively building a nest. Usually they each build their own nest, Chica’s in her litter box, Cinnabon under the cupboard in the laundry room. Nobody has yet informed them they are unable to reproduce! In a few weeks they will have moved pass this urge to build nests and I must say, I’m glad they’ve been altered because in another few weeks, my phone will be ringing with people that received rabbits as Easter presents and no longer wish to care for them.
Here’s Chica with a mouth full of bunny hay, off to place it in her nest, along with the fur she’s pulled out of her dewlap.
This is kind of a sad story so far. Amanda called the other day from Colorado Springs because there was a bird sitting in the grass by her driveway. There was another similar bird, dead, close by. Amanda picked the bird up, placed on a towel in a cardboard box, and called EWRC. Not having seen the bird, I wasn’t sure what the bird was or what the problem was. Upon receiving the bird from Amanda, it was readily apparent that this poor critter was a very young dove, still with yellow fuzz among young feathers. We’re not sure if the dead bird was another baby or an adult. So this bird is on syringe-feedings and perhaps another will come in to keep her company. Let’s wish the best for this bird.
Update-April 11-”Brownie” is looking like a big bird now, totally self-feeding and fully feathered, flying well.
The other day Elaine called. She asked me to get a downed great horned owl adult that sounded injured, from a concrete manufacturing company in Colorado Springs. I was working and asked DOW transport volunteer Tom to pick up the injured bird to bring here for rehab, if she needed it. I was also informed by Elaine that there were eggs close by that likely belonged to this owl. This is a real dilemma, as ALL birds, nests, and eggs are state and federally protected, and touching them is very illegal. While Tom was on his way to help the owl, I called the DOW and asked what we should do about the eggs. I was informed that the eggs were definitely NOT to be touched. Well, Tom arrived on the scene and the owl had flown away, just fine, it seemed. The workers were on top of a 50-foot silo, which is where the owl had decided was a good spot for her eggs. Without approaching the “nest” or disturbing the eggs, Tom observed from a safe distance that the eggs were in a pile of rubble, coated in concrete dust. Tom informed the workers not to go near the eggs and if they could, maybe watch to see if the female returned to her eggs. Well, it seems she didn’t and we’re wondering if this was a young, inexperienced bird that had chosen a not-so-great place for her eggs or if the activity at the concrete site disrupted her egg-sitting, so now the DOW is going to monitor the situation to see what happens next. Please note, remember that in the state of Colorado it is AGAINST THE LAW for ANYONE to possess, harass, or interfere with migratory birds. For help if you’re in a similar situation as this, call us or call the Division of Wildlife or US Fish and Wildlife Service for help!
The eggs are in a semi-secure situation, sadly covered in dust.
Today Scott called and shared a story with me about his adventure. Apparently the folks at Hewlett Packard in Colorado Springs have a window overlooking a tree, where they’ve been watching with great interest the works of a female Great Horned Owl. They’ve enjoyed watching as she sat on her eggs, and got a real excitement as one by one, the eggs began hatching! Today there was an accident. One of the babies apparently fell from the nest. So HP called Elaine, Elaine called Scott, and Scott went out there, like he does when people call him, to see what he could do to help. It seems the owls’ nest is a little beat up, so the plan was to do a quick repair and place the baby, if uninjured, back in the nest. When Scott arrived at the scene, Ted and Cathy were there as well. Ted shimmied up the tree as high as he could but couldn’t reach the original nest, so they built a replacement nest, put it up in the tree, and placed the uninjured baby back inside. Now the folks at Hewlett -Packard are going to keep an eye out from inside the building, so as not to disturb the owl family, and see what happens…. We’d like to thank Scott Coddington for sharing his pix and allowing us to post here to share with you! Coddington’s Critter Control-Humane Solutions to Wildlife Problems 719-331-7380
Look closely-Mother Owl watches the goings-on with her baby.
The chick is placed in a replacement nest and put back in the tree-good job!!
Update 4-15-Look how they’ve grown! One is climbing down the box. Both are now spending quality time outdoors to prepare for release, and coming back inside at nighttime.
Update 6-21-The squirrels successfully completed rehab and were soft-released at Kris’ yard. She sees them in the trees, acting like squirrels and doing what they’re supposed to do!
Yesterday was a very busy day for EWRC rehabilitator Kris. First she had an intake of a male house finch with lesions on his face and eyes, unable to see. Kris began STAT antibiotic and critical care, now we have to wait and see. Then last evening George called from Parker. He noticed 2 tiny squirrels lying very still under a tree and watched them all day, waiting for a mother to come and care for the babies. But no mother ever came so he called Kris, and brought the babies to her. Interesting situation, though. There is a big difference in size of the babies, so Kris is wondering if the babies are from 2 different litters? Maybe somebody dumped some nests and placed the babies under the tree? Maybe there was a squirrel conflict that resulted in this situation? There were 2 dead babies in the vicinity; again with a considerable difference in size. The babies arrived dehydrated and cold, and the smaller of the babies is in pretty bad shape, having suffered a broken nose and lacerations on the belly and flanks. Kris is now on the “squirrel schedule,” which means having to feed these babies every 3 hours, 24 hours a day, including overnight. So let’s hope for the best. Thank you to George and Debbie for sending a donation to help cover cost of feeding these babies, as we’re looking at 10 weeks’ worth of rehab at an average cost of $2-$3 per day.
Update-April 4, 2007-the babies are doing well, eyes opened, active! Scroll down to see.
When these birds first starting arriving several weeks ago it was looking pretty grim (for more info, search Internet.) Hundreds of these birds were turning up along the Front Range in terrible shape, if not dead then dying. After weeks of intense testing through various labs within and out of State, a lot of things were ruled out as the cause of their condition. This morning I was informed that the theory to date is simply that water sources along the birds’ migration route have been frozen leaving only water treatment facilities available as open water for the birds, and these facilities don’t provide adequate food sources. So when the birds came to EWRC several weeks ago, they were cold and starving. We lost 2 within a couple of hours of intake, with another couple of birds showing up dead. These Northern Shovelers were picked up by Metro Wastewater workers and transported via several volunteers including Peggy and Mac of Littleton, Tom O’Toole, and Louise Conner here to EWRC for care. I really didn’t expect any of the birds to survive, as they were in such bad shape. Well, the original few are still hanging in there, putting on weight and becoming more active. Nice days are spent outdoors in a very large enclosure so they can preen in the sun. At night they’re brought back inside. They’re eating well; lots of food from various sources including the aquarium store. They’re finally preening and trying to bathe inside their food and water dishes. They are not waterproof at this point but I’m hoping that with time and preening their condition will improve, hopefully in time for breeding season in May. I would like to send out some really big THANK YOUS to everyone involved in helping so many of these birds and helping us to help them. I’d like to thank Metro Wastewater Reclamation District for doing every possible thing they possibly can to help these birds. This has been a HUGE effort on the part of Metro, including financial assistance to help feed these birds, the many hours spent picking up birds and transporting to care facilities throughout the state, and also for all the help and cooperation with state and federal agencies to help try to determine the source of the birds’ problems; to Peggy Wrabetz for her help and time; to Mac, DOW transport volunteer of Littleton; Annette Archambeau at Archway Wildlife for all of her time and valuable assistance in caring for these birds; to Tom and Sharon O’Toole for driving all the way to Littleton and back to Ellicott with the first batch of birds; to Louise Conner, again for the long transport to Denver and out to Ellicott with the second batch of birds as well as picking up food for the birds; to Doug and Ray and Whole Foods Market for their donation of excellent-quality greens for the birds, and to Phil and Cheryl Cable for picking up the donation and delivering to EWRC; and to Sage and Seascape Aquatics in Colorado Springs for the donation of food for the shovelers. Another big Thank You to Gail and the Wild Bird Center for their generous donation of high-quality food for these birds.
Donations are still greatly needed and gratefully accepted to feed these birds! Please call 719-683-8152
Female Northern Shoveler on Day 1.
Although not fully waterproof, they do enjoy a warm bath, with thorough drying off and then time to preen.
Some seem more water-resistant than others. This is a hen.
This is a drake.
Jimmy the red-tailed hawk went home to Peyton today for release, back to Jim and Jeanine, who found him on a snow bank after a blizzard. It seemed Jimmy had hit the back of their SUV hard, then ran over snow drifts. Jim followed him, not sure what to do, over acres and across barbed wire fences, then took off his jacket and covered the bird to take back home. I think this bird surely would have perished if not for Jim’s actions, as we were between blizzards, the bird had head trauma and couldn’t fly, and food sources were buried deep in the snow. So today was a good day for everyone, and Jimmy took off like a shot, and flew and soared until he was out of sight.
Today the sun is shining and it’s above 30 degrees-finally! The forecast shows we might make it to 60s this week before another storm on the weekend-again! The bluebirds have been all over the yard all week and the robins are back. The pigeons are collecting sticks and busily arranging them in their chosen nest spots. The great-horned owls are quite active and noisy, and out during daytime hours. The tulips and daffodils are peeking up and there is the feeling of energy in the air, and I think it’s safe to say, spring might just be springing after the long, hard winter! Right now baby squirrels are happening with baby cottontails soon to follow, and before we know it, baby birds! Now is the time to prepare for and potentially forestall some of the problems critters run into before they happen. Please visit our TIPS section at www.ellicottwildlife.com to see how you can help wildlife. Happy Spring!
