Mother's Day
May 9, 2010
It’s Mother’s Day, 2010. A day to honor the matriarch. She is selfless, nurturing, devoted, and fiercely protective.
Four days ago I received a call from a property manager in Chula Vista, near San Diego, California. One of the homes he oversees had a problem. An awful stench was coming from the attic above a child’s room. The smell of rot and decay filled the swank Mediterranean-style home set in the rolling hills below San Miguel Mountain. Hills that were not long ago part of the wild, brushy scrub lands of the Otay Valley.A pest control company had been called to remove what they thought might be a dead animal. I can imagine the scene as a worker sawed through the ceiling above the bed, and started pulling away the drywall. Scat and desiccated pellets of fur and bone rained down landing on a protective sheet of plastic. Shrill hissing emanated from the darkness. Using a mirror and flashlight to peer up and into the cavernous space, the worker was surprised to see not an opossum but the heart-shaped faces of four baby barn owls staring back at him, shifting from side to side as they do.
Our Humane Wildlife Management service was called to handle the matter. I quickly put together an acceptable plan. The owlets would have a new home - a specially made owl box set on a tall pole just outside where the parents would continue to care for them, and the human occupants would have their living space back, and would not have to relocate.
Calling upon licensed raptor rehabilitators in the San Diego region I found one willing to help rejoin the owl family and monitor the success of the reunion. All I was missing was approval from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the federal agency that oversees migratory birds. It is unlawful to tamper, destroy, or move an active bird nest without a permit from their department. The local agent has an incredible reputation; known for going to great lengths to do what is right by the wildlife she oversees. She is an admirable woman. She answered my call directly.
Reuniting healthy wild birds with their parents is a concept that is solidly accepted by knowledgeable and professional wildlife rehabilitators, yet there are still some rehabilitators who feel that young animals fare best under their care, noting high release rates. But, do they know how the animals do once they are released? No. Very few rehabilitators band their birds.
Raising young birds of prey is fairly simple. They eat like little monsters. When they are ready for flight, they are turned out into large aviaries to strengthen their muscles. Some are offered live food to practice their hunting skills before being released. They may be perfectly fit and fearful of humans when they are set free, but did they not miss something?
Like most birds, after taking their first flight, barn owls continue to be cared for by their parents. Night after night, for many weeks, the young owls return to the nest site to be fed. It is during this period of time and through these experiences the owlets learn what no human can teach them. Things that are absolutely crucial to their survival as adults.
It is during this period that the young owls will become familiar with their surroundings, learning where they can roost during the day undisturbed. At night, they will take short flights with their parents, learning the layout of the land - the fields and valleys, parks, and golf courses, backyards and parking lots where they too may hunt one day. They will watch as one parent swoops in silence, clasping its sharp black talons around an unsuspecting vole, gopher, rat or mouse. The young owls will learn what to be cautious of, screeching at skulking cats or a band of marauding raccoons. Not even the greatest wildlife rehabilitator in the world can teach these things.
As wildlife rehabilitators we have taken an oath to provide best achievable care to our wild patients. If we can agree that being raised by wild parents is far superior to what we can offer them, then it is our duty, it is our obligation to see that healthy babies are raised wild.
Unfortunately, for this particular owl family, the Fish & Wildlife agent was convinced otherwise by the opinions of uninformed wildlife 'experts', obviously lacking reuniting training and experience. It must be that they are not aware of the numerous success stories of raptors being reunited, even many days after separation. They must not be familiar with the work of Anne Miller, or the Alabama Wildlife Center’s juvenile raptor project. They must not understand the process - that there would have been limited risk to the owlets, if any. They would have been monitored, even fed, until the parents reclaimed them in their new home, or pulled, days later, and raised by a rehabilitator.
This Mother’s Day, a female barn owl sleeps somewhere in the Rolling Hills Ranch development. As she sleeps, does she relive the night she found the entrance to her nest closed off? Does she still experience the absence of her chicks? Does she dream of their soft clattering ? Will she hunt for them tonight, and tomorrow night?
In the end, this case just makes it so very clear, the need for more networking, more sharing of success stories, more training and dialoguing so that the policy to reunite healthy wild babies with their parents is the norm, not the exception.
Duane - In Deepwater
April 2010
Friday April 30th, Duane Titus of WildRescue arrived in New Orleans, accompanied by three others from International Bird Rescue. They joined additional oiled wildlife responders from around the country to help rescue and treat wildlife impacted by the disastrous oil spill off the coast of Louisiana. After helping set up two additional triage and care centers, Duane was placed in charge of search and collection under Jay Holcomb, running teams of rescuers on airboats out in the Gulf of Mexico to look for and recover oiled birds.
Track Duane's efforts on Duane's Facebook Page or our Blog.
Defending Their Young - Hawks vs Humans
April 2010
A pair of Copper's Hawks was just doing what protective parents do - defending their brood from danger. So was the fellow who called us for help. He and his family felt 'under attack' every time they stepped out their front door. Expecting an infant of their own in a few days, the family was even more nervous... but, once we explained why they were being pecked on, they seemed to be more understanding.
We arrived to find a big leafy nest high in a lovely magnolia tree, one of many trees in the quiet San Jose neighborhood known as Willow Glen. We took some time speaking with the neighbors and the resident who called us and gave them some helpful hints on how to live harmoniously - our goal was to give them something real they could do to feel safe while looking out for the welfare of the feathered family as well.
Announcing our Wildlife Ambulance
April 2010
Thanks to some extraordinarily generous donations received during a recent fundraising drive we were able to purchase a used human ambulance. After a few modifications the rig is now ready to provide care and transport to wild patients. As far as we can tell this marks the first wildlife ambulance for the United States
We specialize in response to emergencies involving wildlife - much the same way paramedics respond to human accident victims. This rig carries everything we need and more. Just the other day it carried a 20' piece of lumber we needed to put up an owl box for some orphaned owlets.
As for the gas mileage - it's not great... by far... but not that bad when you consider we'd need something to tow an inflatable boat - a Zodiac tops our Wish List!
(hint, hint)
