Su DiVittorio opens the kennel door for one of the birds to go…
…and Cyrus takes some quality time to survey his surroundings before taking off!
Last evening we released the 3 saw whet owls that came from Mount St. Francis. What a beautiful place; perfect saw whet owl territory, with plenty of scrub oak, mature trees with cavities, and abundant food! I was informed that Mount St. Francis is also home to a pair of barn owls as well. Volunteer Su DiVittorio and husband and the girls were there for the release, having had such a big part in this process. And several folks from Mount St. Francis attended the release as well. Upon release the birds went up into trees, with one reluctant owl, Cyrus, taking some time to peruse his options before flying into the thick cover of the vines growing up the building. Naturally the robins got all excited and it was pretty noisy for a while!
Mature female prairie falcon from Kat and Louis in Parker.
Immature golden eagle from Lincoln County.
Friday was a busy day. In addition to working and caring for the critters, more arrived via DOW transport volunteers. A female prairie falcon arrived from Parker via Kris, Tammy, and Su. Her wing is broken and time will tell. This bird was found by Kat, who loves animals and noticed right away the bird had a wing injury. She and her dad made several phone calls to various agencies and were told to leave the bird and observe. Well, it was 90+ degrees outside so they offered a dish of water and did as they were told-wait and see. By the end of day 2 they couldn’t stand it anymore, as the bird hadn’t moved and they knew she was becoming dehydrated, and eventually connected with EWRC to send the bird here. We’ll keep our fingers crossed! And an immature golden eagle arrived yesterday evening from Lincoln County via DOW officer Warren and Cheryl and Phil Cable. The eagle had hit a moving vehicle windshield, not looking so good. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. Cheryl Cable took her down to Diana at Pueblo Raptor Center today, as Diana has lots of room and lots of eagle experience! Thanks again to Diana for her help and to Cheryl for the long haul again today, and volunteers driving all over the State to help these animals!
The birds tend to pile up on top of each other, difficult to get them all in the picture!
Colorado Springs resident Gail enjoys watching the busy bird nest boxes in her yard and noting the variety that use them. One day last week Gail was working in her yard and heard a commotion coming from one of the boxes where she’d noticed a very harried-looking female mountain chickadee going back and forth from the suet feeder to the nest box, feeding her ravenous chicks. Gail used her car as a blind and watched for 2 complete hours, and became concerned when the mother bird didn’t come back to the nest box. Meanwhile the noisy chicks were drawing the attention of a neighborhood cat, some magpies, and even a coyote. It was getting darker, later, colder, and rainier and Gail just wasn’t sure quite what to do. She knows better than to “kidnap” babies that are being cared for by the mother but hadn’t seen the mother all day. Finally she peeked in the nest box and noticed one of the babies was dead. So she brought them inside and warmed the babies up, fed them properly (Gail is a former licensed wildlife rehabilitator herself), and went to bed. In the morning she fed the babies again, proper baby chickadee food, and called to see if they could come here. The babies are teeny and tiny, very noisy, looking like miniature mature chickadees, pouty beaks and all, and will return to Gail’s yard when fledged and catching their own food.
Late Tuesday evening Keith of Pine Creek community La Bellezza went to the mail kiosk and found a large cardboard box sitting there in the cold and pouring rain. Keith peeked inside and found birds in the box, then proceeded to call for help. He eventually connected with DOW Wildlife Officer Sabrina who in turn contacted us here at Ellicott Wildlife Rehab. Center to see if we could take and care for them. Of course, the answer was yes. DOW Transport Volunteer Ray Schuler drove out in the pouring rain to pick the birds up to bring to us. They showed up about 11 p.m. and upon arrival and opening the cardboard box we were quite surprised to see not one, not two, but THREE very young red-tailed hawks! Interestingly, they had full crops, an indication they’d been fed recently. The birds are doing fine but we need your help to find out where the birds came from and how. They are not residents of La Bellezza, as there are no mature trees or places to nest, and Royce informs me he hasn’t noticed any red-tailed hawks in that area.
If you have any information or would like to help by “adopting” one or all of these birds to support their care in rehab, please contact us at:
www.ellicottwildlife.com
or
PO Box 75069
Colorado Springs, CO. 80970
719-683-8152
So you found a bird or mammal and have decided you want to keep it. First of all, in Colorado it is illegal to keep any and all wildlife without State and federal permits. If you call us looking for advice on how to care for an animal that you want to keep, we won’t be able to help you because we would risk losing our hard-earned permits. By keeping a wild animal and refusing to turn it over to a licensed person you assume full responsibility not only for its well-being but any liability involved as well. People that find wildlife are very excited about it and typically show the animal to friends and family, and also share pictures of the animal as well. Sooner or later one of those people (or a neighbor) squeals and that animal will likely be confiscated and put down immediately because maybe the animal is tame and/or has a problem that deems it nonreleaseable. There is plenty of animal care information on the Internet. Some of it is good, some not so good. Improper diet will manifest itself later in life in the form of bone, feather, fur, and/or metabolic problems. Oftentimes what we get is someone found the animal and had it for a while, tried caring for it, failed and the animal is on the decline, then they look to us for help at which time almost always it is too late. Are you sure you want to keep that animal in your house? Some birds and mammals carry parasites; fleas, ticks, and mammals carry worms that can be spread to you, your dogs and your cats, and in the case of raccoons, a roundworm that can cause serious and permanent damage to YOU. When that animal grows it may start chewing on and destroying your furniture. What if that animal needs medical care? Most veterinarians are aware of the laws pertaining to wildlife and either can’t or won’t treat wildlife, and especially won’t treat wildlife that belongs to someone without a permit. What if you want to go on vacation? Who will look after your “pet?” It is very cruel to raise wildlife from baby and then boot it out the door when it’s a problem for you or no longer convenient for you. Your animal may have absolutely no survival skills and may not know how to find food or recognize a predator. It might be tame or imprinted, thus deeming it defective in the eyes of its own kind, who may kill it or chase it away. What if your tame animal goes to people for food or comfort? Scares that person who may injure or kill it? What if your animal bites or scratches someone? Who do you suppose is legally liable for damages? That would be you. Deciding to keep a pet is responsibility enough, even when done legally. When deciding to keep wildlife illegally you increase problems for yourself and that animal. Please do the right thing when finding wildlife by turning it over to licensed people that can help it. FYI, in Colorado you ARE allowed to keep pigeons, starlings, and sparrows for pets.
Kathy of Hanover and her husband couldn’t believe their eyes when they looked out their window several days ago and saw what appeared to be a large beaver strolling through their back yard! They thought perhaps it was a badger or a porcupine, as those critters aren’t unusual in Hanover. You see, Hanover is desert-like without ponds or streams. Well, when they saw the large paddle of a tail they knew for sure the critter cruising their property was a beaver! The next day they were surprised to find the beaver inside their barn, in the shade near the hay. They called the DOW for help and volunteer Mike went to pick up the beav and bring to EWRC. We wonder why this beaver was in Hanover? Did he mistakenly hitch a ride there from someplace else? Was he trapped and relocated? One thing is sure-he never would have made it in Hanover! The beaver was a large, healthy animal that didn’t need to be in rehab other than for assessment and rehydration, so after this was accomplished it was with relief we received permission from the property owner to release the beaver on his property, and we couldn’t have asked for a better site! The property is marshy with creeks and a pond, and beavers nearby but not too close. The beaver slid into the water near the small water fall, and within seconds had swam away.
Update June 4, 2007. Jet (on the right) is sprouting robin feathers and has a new robin buddy.
Jet has had a rough time for a little bird! Several days ago his nest was either blown or knocked out of the safety of the gutter where it was built, and Jet and his siblings were found on the ground in the smashed remains of their mud and grass nest. Jet’s siblings didn’t survive. Pink and bare with eyes closed, Jet was picked up and gently cared for by the people that found him until they could find help. So far Jet is hanging in there and now has a buddy, a baby robin just a bit larger than he is but a nest mate to grow up with.