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Raccoons In The Attic
May 2009
WildRescue offers
humane solutions to human conflicts with wildlife. After installing a
one-way door on a residence in Santa Cruz, Duane enters the attic to chase
out the mother raccoon and retrieve her babies. They were then placed
on a warm pack and left under a tree for her to retrieve.
Fledgling Crow
May 2009
On May 9th,
we received a call about a crow that couldn't fly. When we were told it
had blue-gray eyes, we knew it was a baby. We arrived to find a healthy
young fledgling crow - a baby that is old enough to be out of the nest
and practicing flight. As with most songbirds, the baby crow will be grounded
for a number of days during which the extended family will watch over
and feed it. This young crow is even luckier. He found his way into a
residential complex in Aptos where the people are very concerned for his
welfare, willing to keep their cats indoors for the time being, and watch
out for his safety. Thank you! Caw!
Barn Owl Babies
May 2009
(updated 5/5/09)
A large metal sign at a shop in Santa Cruz was dismantled, revealing an intact barn owl nest. The caring shop owners called for help. In the rain, a team from WildRescue quickly constructed an owl box in place of the sign. The babies were held overnight by local wildlife rehabilitators. The decision was made to return the babies plus an additional orphan from the Bay Area so that it too could be raised by wild parents. Thanks to the concerted effort by Peninsula Humane Society, Native Animal Rescue, and our WildRescue volunteers, and guidance from Alabama Wildlife Center, these babies have a chance to grow up wild and free. WildRescue will be monitoring the owls to see if the parents continue to return.
UPDATE: The babies were renested Sunday night. Both parents were spotted, one dropped food into the nest box. WildRescue volunteers went back Monday night and watched the nest from far off. No parents were seen going into the nest during those hours. Cloud cover and drizzle may have made hunting rodents more difficult for the parents.
Tuesday morning, volunteers checked on the babies and fed them in the nest box. Under advice from owl renesting experts, the larger (and cranky) foster baby was placed into care with Native Animal Rescue.
The nest will be under surveillance through the coming weeks to see if the parents are caring for their young.
Check back to see new video.
More
on barn owls:
Barn owls are common in urban settings. They are cavity dwellers, nesting
in hollows of trees, in caves, barns, or even signs. The barn owl is becoming
increasingly popular for rodent control as they are known to consume twice
as much weight in prey than other owls. For instance, a maturing barn
owl baby may consume the equivalent of a dozen mice in one night.
Unfortunately, one danger to owls and other predators is the use of pesticides.
People who put out poisoned bait, rodenticide, to control rats and mice
are essentially exposing local wildlife, as well as dogs and cats, to
secondary poisoning. It has been proven that animals that consume dead
or dying rodents that have eaten poisoned bait can suffer irreversible
damage to their organs and can die. There is no safe rodenticide in the
US. Barn owls though, are gaining recognition worldwide for controlling
rodents better than poison.
Would you like to have a barn owl box on your property? Give us a call.
For more of rodenticide and its threat to wildlife:
http://www.hungryowl.org/rodenticide.html
Cooper's Hawk
April 2009
A Cooper's Hawk was helped out of the North Berkeley Bart station by the heroic efforts of a newly recruited team of rescuers in the San Francisco Bay area. The bird had flown in the afternoon before, likely in pursuit of a small bird. Once inside, with the many windows, it could not figure its way out. The confused and frightened hawk repeatedly hit against the glass windows as it tried to escape. Despite its predicament however, the hawk made a meal of a sparrow before help arrived. Once on scene, the team worked together in coming up with a plan that would work. A ladder was used to close in on the hawk in one of the alcoves. A bed sheet was used to block its escape. Rescuers then netted the terrified animal. Moments later the bird was free at last. Thanks to all - Chris, Lisa, Nancy, Harv, Corinne and the folks at the North Berkeley Bart station!!! Bravo, bravo.
Band-tailed Pigeon
March 2009
Photo courtesy of Wildlife
Center Silicon Valley
This handsome band-tailed pigeon was captured early March. He was suffering from a severe case of Trichomoniasis. Thanks to the expert care by wildlife rehabilitators at Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley, it survived the extensive treatment and was released to its home flock on Saturday, April 18th. Watch the video of it being returned home. You can see a dove eyeing his cage suspiciously.
6 Gray Fox Kits
This
gray fox kit, along with five siblings, was rescued March 25th, 2009 near
Pajaro. We received a call in the evening from a concerned resident -
the young foxes had been found in their yard, scattered about, having
strayed from their den - a sign that something may have happened to the
mother.
Our rescue team collected the lot of them, gave them fluid and food and
kept them warm overnight, hoping the mother would be seen in the area
the next morning when they could attempt to reunite the family.
Unfortunately, there was no sign of her. The kits, alert and active, were transported by WildRescue volunteer, Patricia, to the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley near San Jose, where they will undergo rehabilitation for their subsequent return to the wild. Thank you one and all for helping these youngsters!
More to come!
Pinky
November 2008
It
was December, 2008 when WildRescue received word about a turkey that was
wandering around Castro Valley with an arrow through its body. One concerned
family who were fond of the wild turkey's that frequented their neighborhood,
and who named this one Pinky, had called many places seeking help. They
had been told told that if it could fly, it could not be caught.
Once notified of the dilemma, WildRescue's capture team set out to beat
they odds, and they did. So did Pinky!
After a couple of attempts, Pinky was captured and transferred to International Bird Rescue Research Center for surgery. It was touch and go for three days. The arrow had broken a bone in the heavy bird's leg. Fortunately for Pinky however, he hadn't been captured early on as the arrow had actually acted as a splint allowing his leg bone to fuse back together.
On
December 22nd, Pinky was returned to his range in Castro Valley and set
free. He has been seen often since.
See more on Pinky at the following links:
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