New Patients, Summer Interns, and Tours Start Soon!

Greetings! The month of May is quickly coming to a close and I did a quick count of the patients we've admitted so far. I counted just over 70 patients since May 1st and we still have a few days to go! No wonder the clinic has been buzzing with activity. I unfortunately cannot introduce you to all of the 70+ new patients  so I've selected just a few.

Remember the little Sandhill Crane colt from the last blog post? Well today he's nearly 2 feet tall! Young cranes grow so incredibly fast. 

This gorgeous bird is a male Northern Harrier (formerly known as Marsh Hawk). Harriers are one of the few species of raptors in which you can easily tell the sexes apart. Males, like the one above, are a light grey color and have been nicknamed "the grey ghost." Females are a pretty brown color. This hawk was found along a road laying on his back. Of course we don't know for sure because the hawk cannot tell us what happened, but we hypothesize he has been hit by a car. After a whole day of being unable to stand, he delighted us all by getting up on his feet Monday afternoon! 

This lovely bird is a Great Crested Flycatcher. He came in with a broken wing. His wings are taped now and when they heal he will be placed in our passerine flight building to regain his strength. We don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but the prognosis for this little guy looks great.

This stunning male Indigo Bunting came in after colliding with a window. He has been placed in our passerine flight building to recover. He is currently unable to fly, but we will continue to monitor his improvements.  

These three little baby American Crows were blown 80 feet from their nest during the harsh winds last week. It's incredible that they survived such a high fall, but at least one of them is suffering from internal bleeding. Once their health improves they will hopefully be placed back where they came from so their parents can continue to raise them. Baby crows have a big apatite and a big gaping mouth! They also have light blue eyes for the first few months of their lives. 

These teeny baby birds have us a bit stumped. At this age it can be difficult to determine the species of baby birds because so many species can look similar as nestlings. We are thinking they may be Chipping Sparrows, but for now they are lovingly referred to as "LBJs"- little brown jobs.  

These little nestlings are Northern Flickers. They came in as tiny, pink, naked little things and they've grown incredibly fast. They are beginning to grow their feathers which has helped us identify them. Flickers are interesting woodpeckers because you usually find them on the ground instead of high up in trees like other species of woodpeckers. Flickers eat ground-dwelling insects, like ants and beetles, which is why they're frequently found pecking at the ground. 

Last week our interns began their 3-month summer internships with us and we have an additional visitor from Turkey! They are all working very hard this morning, but I managed to snap a few photos of them so I could introduce you to them.

Intern, Sarah (left) and Turkish Veterinary Student, Aysegul (right) are carefully tube feeding the Northern Harrier. Aysegul has come all the way from Turkey for the summer to learn more about avian rehabilitation. We are thrilled to have her joining us! 

Intern, Sarah from the University of Minnesota Twin-Cities is a fisheries and wildlife major with a pre-vet and wildlife emphasis. She is transferring some ducklings to an outside enclosure for the day. 

Intern, Alyssa from UW-Stevens Point is a wildlife management major and a captive wildlife minor. She is walking the older Sandhill Crane colt to make sure he gets enough exercise throughout the day. Young cranes each need to walk at least two miles every day so their leg muscles and tendons develop properly. The interns get to do much of the walking! 

Intern, Molly from UW- Stevens Point is a wildlife ecology and biology major and captive wildlife minor. She is walking the new, younger Sandhill Crane colt. Can you see him? He's tiny now, but will grow just as quickly as the other crane colt we're caring for. He was brought to REGI from Minnesota after his mother had been killed. Because the cranes are different ages it is unsafe to keep them together so each crane gets separate two-mile hikes throughout the day.

Intern, Maddie from Humbolt State University in California is a wildlife management and conservation major. She is transferring the young American Crows in the box she's holding to the clinic for the day. I didn't notice the giant blue dumpster from our recent construction behind her until I had already taken the photo. Hopefully we'll have time to update you on our construction projects soon!

REGI summer tours are beginning again soon! The first tour day is Thursday, June 7th.

Where: Raptor Education Group, Antigo, WI.
When: Tuesdays, Thursdays, and the 2nd Saturday of each month from June through August at 10:00am and 1:00pm. Pre-registration is required. 
Cost: $8/person (children under five are free)

Have you ever looked a bird of prey in the eye? We invite you to join us in discovering the powerful beauty and unique adaptations of raptors at our facility in Antigo, WI. Let the REGI education team guide you as we explore the wonderful world of hawks, eagles, owls, and falcons.
Tours are an entirely outdoors and are subject to the weather, please come prepared. 

Please call (715) 623-2563 to reserve your spot(s) as space is limited.

That's all for today! Have a great week everyone!

Karissa Mohr
Wildlife Educator

An Incredibly Busy Weekend!

Hello everyone. Boy, did we have an absolutely crazy weekend here at REGI. The education team held a special event celebrating migratory birds and the rehabilitators admitted over 14 new patients! I've selected just a hand full of the patients to introduce you to now.

These two Barred Owlets came from the same nest but on two different days. Their condition suggests that they have been affected by rodenticide. It is likely that their parents were hunting and caught a mouse (or a few mice) that had consumed mouse poison. Not knowing that the mice contained poison, they fed the mice to their babies and probably ate some themselves. The parents may have become too weak to hunt or care for their young, leaving them very ill and orphaned. These two have luckily been rescued by caring individuals, but sadly there may have been more in the nest that have not been found. Their condition is poor, but they are growing stronger each day. Soon they will be placed with our adult foster father Barred Owl. Click here to watch a video of these two Barred Owlets gulping down their lunch. 

This adult Barred Owl was hit by a car near Weston, WI. He may have injured his tail which is essential for flight. We will continue to monitor him for improvements. His expression says it all... he doesn't feel well. 

This Sandhill Crane colt (baby) was found orphaned in Minnesota. His rescuers kept an eye on him for over an hour with no sign of the parents. When they were certain that his parents weren't coming back for him, they caught him up and took him to Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota (WRC). Rehabilitation centers frequently work together for the best possible outcome for the patients. REGI is known for successfully raising Sandhill Cranes, so WRC transferred the little tyke here to Wisconsin. He is the first crane colt of the season here at REGI, but will likely not be the last. 

This little guy has had quite a terrifying experience. Someone was mowing their lawn and was unable to stop in time or swerve around this little fledgling. Luckily for this little guy, the mower blades were high enough as to not chop him to bits. He survived with a few abrasions but things could have been much worse. At this young age identifying the species can be tricky. We are tentatively thinking that he is a Song Sparrow, but he just may prove us wrong. 

Another Great Horned Owlet has joined the family. Like the Barred Owlets mentioned earlier, this little owlet is likely a victim of rodent poison. She has been placed with our foster father Great Horned owl whom you can see in the background of this photo. The owlet looks giant in the photo, but that's only because she's much closer to the camera lens. 

This female domestic bronze Turkey has found herself lost. She weighs over 30 pounds and thinks she is a lapdog. This turkey is clearly someone's lost pet and wants to find her way home again. If you know someone who has lost their pet turkey near Antigo, WI, please give us a call. (715) 623-4015.

This past Saturday, May 12th was the 20th anniversary of International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD)! IMBD falls of the second Saturday each May and was created to celebrate birds and motivate the public to become involved in bird conservation. To get the community of Antigo involved in IMBD and excited about birds, we held our second annual "Celebrate Birds" event in Antigo's city park. We kicked off the day with a morning hike along the Springbrook trail boardwalk. Our quaint little group got to see wonderful migratory birds like Soras and Common Yellowthroats. In the afternoon we headed over to the city park for a live bird show and fun activities. I took a few photos of the festivities. Enjoy!

There was a station where children could design bird masks to look like one of their favorite species of birds. Ella is creating a male Indigo Bunting and Manning is creating an Eastern Screech Owl.

Manning's mask looks awesome! He sure looks like an Eastern Screech Owl :)

There was a station to build pine cone bird feeders. The kids didn't mind getting their fingers full of peanut butter one bit!

Ethan looks pretty pleased with his bird feeder!

There was a game designed to challenge kids to think about the function of differently shaped beaks and how each beak is perfectly designed for the food that the bird eats. Ella got every single one right! Great job!

At the end of the event people were able to build their own blue bird houses! The pieces to the houses were sold as kits and were all cut out and prepared by one of our wonderful volunteers, Denny Stenstrom. Thank you, Denny, for cutting the lumber for these wonderful houses. We have plenty of extra blue bird house kits if any one out there is interested. We are selling them here at REGI for only $10. We also have completed blue bird houses on sale for $20. Sorry, we cannot ship the kits or the houses, but you can pick one up if you visit us for a summer tour. Click here for more information about REGI summer tours!

Alex and his father completed their blue bird house perfectly. It looks great! I love that he built the house while wearing his Bald Eagle mask the whole time!

We had a wonderful time at our "Celebrate Birds" event! We would like to thank our volunteers for helping us prepare and run the event and everyone who came out to celebrate International Migratory Bird Day with us. We look forward to next year!


That's all I can fit in for today! Molly and I are just about to head out for an evening program at Maine Elementary near Wausau, WI. It should be a fun night!
Thanks everyone!

Karissa Mohr
Wildlife Educator

Owl Releases, Ducklings, Pine Siskins, Barn Swallow, and a Woodcock

Good afternoon everyone. It seems like every moment it gets busier here at REGI. The education department is doing programs just about every day and the rehabilitation team is seeing many new patients brought through the doors. Definitely no dull moments around here! We have a few new patients we'd like to introduce you to.

This baby American Woodcock was transported from another facility in Wisconsin to REGI for care. He was found sitting still alone on a path. The people who found him did not realize that woodcocks hold still to camouflage themselves when they sense danger. It is likely that his mother was just a few feet away, also holding still as to not be detected. Upon examination, this youngster has proved to be perfectly fine. Unfortunately, he was unintentionally kidnapped because the well-meaning people who found him didn't understand the natural behaviors of woodcocks. If you find a bird that you think may need help, please call REGI before catching the bird and we can help you determine the best way to help it. 

These Mallard ducklings are orphans from three separate families. They have come from various locations, each with a different tale to tell. One was found completely alone in the Wisconsin River. A very caring individual put on big waders and splashed into the river to rescue the little duckling. The three of them have become a very tight little family even though none of them are related.

This Barn Swallow is suffering from starvation. These amazing little birds spend summers here in North America and winters in South America. It is likely that he returned to Wisconsin after his long migration when we were seeing unseasonably warm days. These beautiful and graceful birds eat only insects and they do so while in flight. When you see swallows zooming through the air it is likely that they are catching little insects you may not even see. When our weather turned from warm to cool in April the numbers of insects declined. He was unable to find enough food for himself and he began to starve. Because these birds swallow food in flight, they are notoriously difficult to feed in captivity. This little man has us all very excited because he is responding very well and is eating with some encouragement. We aren't out of the woods yet, but we are pleased with his improvements!

We don't have photographs for these next patients, but they have important stories nonetheless. We admitted three Pine Siskins each with injuries from being bitten by cats. Sadly, these three birds have passed away from their severe bite wounds. We are constantly telling people how dangerous it is to let their pets run loose, yet we continue to see so many victims from cat and dog bites here at REGI. Dogs and cats are extremely dangerous for not only birds, but for many other wild animals. Please, keep your pets in the house or on a leash to spare the lives of birds as well as for the safety of your pets. 

REGI recently did a program for the First Universalist Unitarian Church in Wausau and they collected donations for us! When Samantha presented Marge with the check, Julie, the Western Red-tailed Hawk was so excited with the donations that she tried to take the check for herself! We explained to Julie that she would be paid in mice instead and she thought that was a fair trade. Thank you First Universalist Unitarian Church!

We also celebrated the release of a few of our owl patients! Three Great Horned Owls and a Barred Owl have recovered completely and are now back in the wild where they belong. Owls are nocturnal creatures so we release them at night. This makes getting decent photographs of owl releases a bit of a challenge. We managed to get a few photos for you to enjoy.

This lovely little female Barred Owl just passed her final examination and is about to spend the rest of her days back in the wild! (Photo by Don Gibson)

Marge gives the Barred Owl a few moments to gather her thoughts. It is at this point when the owl realizes she will soon be back home. (Photo by Don Gibson)

The dark spot in the middle of the photograph is one of the three Great Horned Owls that were released.  We wish them good luck in their "second" lives and we hope they never have to come back to REGI again! (Photo by Alberta Halfmann)

That's all for today. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Karissa Mohr
Wildlife Educator

First Babies of 2012

We admitted our first baby birds of the 2012 season in the form of two little Great Horned Owlets. These two came from separate nests and are of different ages. Great Horned Owls are very early nesters (they begin nesting in January here in Wisconsin), and they are usually among the first babies to arrive at our clinic each year.

This Great Horned Owlet was found in Marathon Park in Wausau on the ground. Her parents were nowhere to be found so a trusted volunteer caught her up and brought her to REGI. She is approximately 6 weeks old. She is fairly thin and it is likely that her parents abandoned her.

This little Great Horned Owlet was found on the ground in the northwoods. He had fallen approximately 50 feet from his nest onto the ground. The kind people that found him noticed his sibling had been killed by some crows. To save him from the same fate he was brought to REGI. This owlet is younger than the first at only about 10 days old. His egg tooth can still be seen at the tip of his curved bill. This little white bump on his beak helped him to break out of his egg just a few days ago. It will soon fall off and he will be left with a perfectly normal-looking beak. (To see a video of this little owlet eating his supper visit our YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/raptoreducationgroup)

Aside from the babies we also admitted a few adult birds. One of those birds was this Mourning Dove with a broken wing. Mourning Doves are very common and frequently overlooked, but they are really lovely birds. The beautiful blue around the eye and their black spots make them quite stunning. Their mournful cooing call gives these birds their name, and they may coo back to you if you mimic them. The loud whistling sound they create when they fly is produced by the feathers of their wings and not the voice of the bird. These doves tend to hold tight and take off at the last moment which makes them fairly vulnerable to being hit by fast-moving vehicles.

This adult Mourning Dove came in with a broken right wing. The wings have been taped together to allow the bones to heal in the proper position. 

On Friday we were visited by Dr. Shelli Dubay's Techniques of Captive Wildlife Management class from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Dr. Dubay's students make a yearly trip up to REGI to learn more about avian rehabilitation and education. They get a rare look into the lives of avian rehabilitators and get to learn a little more about why we do what we do. They also get to meet a few of our education birds and learn what makes a raptor. We look forward to seeing them and Dr. Dubay each year! This year the class got an extra treat in the form of a mid-April snowstorm. After having 80 degree weeks in March we were greeted Friday morning with three inches of beautiful snow. It's hard to get bored with the weather in Wisconsin! It's always changing!

The captive wildlife management class from UWSP are photographed in the aftermath of Thursday's mid April snowstorm. 

In the spring some of our education birds begin to lay eggs. To prevent breeding we typically don't house males and females together, therefore the eggs aren't fertilized. Like chickens, a natural process in a wild bird's life is to lay eggs whether they're fertilized or not. One of our education Eastern Screech Owls surprised us the other day with two beautiful eggs. After she realized that they weren't going to hatch she easily gave them up.

These two perfect eggs were laid by one of our little Eastern Screech Owls. The size of these eggs is quite surprising since the little owl that laid them is hardly taller than 6 inches. 

This is the pretty little red-phased Eastern Screech Owl that is the "mother" of the unfertilized eggs in the photo above. Pretty shocking that this little lady laid eggs with a larger diameter than a quarter!

That's all for today. Thanks everyone!

Karissa Mohr
Wildlife Educator

We Say Goodbye to One of REGI's Best

Tomorrow we say farewell to one of our licensed rehabilitators, Katie Farvour. As sad as it is for us to lose her, we know she is going to do great things at her new job. She accepted a position at the Riverside Discovery Center in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. There she will be helping them create a raptor education program!

Katie graduated from the University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point where she majored in Biology. She went on to work for the World Bird Sanctuary and the Milwaukee County Zoo doing live bird programs. Since August of 2008, Katie has been a full-time avian rehabilitator here at REGI. She has touched countless lives during her time here, both avian and human.

An older photo of Katie with one of her favorite resident birds, a Pelican nicknamed Peli. Although admitted as a wild adult, this American White Pelican took a liking to Katie. He would build her nests and spare her from the usual "goosing" he would do with his giant beak to most employees as they walked past. Their relationship was something special.

Katie releases one of the seven Bald Eagles she helped to rescue and rehabilitate after they were found close to death from being poisoned. Watching these seven birds regain flight after such a horrific ordeal was an unforgettable moment for all who were there. To read our blog from this release on June 2, 2011 click here.

Katie transferring a Trumpeter Swan from one enclosure to another. Her gentle demeanor helped her gain the trust of so many patients. 

Thanks for all the memories, Katie.
From all of us here at REGI, good luck! We will miss you!

Great Horned Owl, Poisoned Nuthatch, Patient Updates, and Volunteers

I have to begin this blog post with some very sad news. The Snowy Owl, whom we've all been rooting for, has suddenly passed away. She was showing wonderful improvements and we were expecting a better outcome for her. The loss of any patient here at REGI is fraught with sadness, and the death of this Snowy Owl is no exception. May she rest in peace.

We recently admitted a Great Horned Owl into the clinic which seems to have had a tussle with a skunk. She has some minor abrasions to her keel and a tear in her patagium (the membrane of skin along the leading edge of the wing which aids in flying). She also has a horrific odor of skunk. She has been in the clinic for only a few days, but already the entire room smells like you wouldn't believe. If you're wondering what a Great Horned Owl was doing with a skunk, you're probably not alone. As odd as it may sound to us, Great Horned Owls regularly hunt for skunks. The odor, which makes us head for the hills, does not bother the owls one bit because, as like many other birds, they don't have a very good sense of smell. Occasionally a Great Horned Owl goes after a particularly feisty skunk and winds up with some injuries. 

This Great Horned Owl was admitted with some minor abrasions and smelling of skunk. It is likely she was injured while hunting for a skunk as a meal. 

Monday we admitted a little nuthatch that was found by two young boys on a playground here in Antigo, WI. One of the boys, Douglas, is the son of our director of education, Molly. The nuthatch was in good weight and showed no signs of external injuries; however, it was unable to fly and was having convulsions (a clinical sign of organophosphate poisoining). We weren't able to get a photo of the bird because shortly after arriving, the bird passed away. 

Organophosphates are insecticides which disrupt the insect's nervous system therefore killing it- they have the same effect on birds. They are used in agriculture and on lawns to control insects. Most people are not aware of how devastating these chemicals are on other creatures. The US Fish & Wildlife Service estimates that 67 million birds die annually after coming in contact with pesticides. These man-made chemicals are dangerous for birds as well as people. Just because they are sold in stores doesn't mean they're safe.

If you have a pest problem in your yard, you can usually find a natural remedy to try. You can read an interesting document by the US Fish & Wildlife Service pertaining to pesticides, birds, and natural remedies by following this link. Using pesticides can kill most of the creatures in your yard including beneficial insects like pollinators. A few bugs won't hurt you, but pesticides might.

This past weekend we had more help from some UW-Stevens Point students. We had two students from the UW-SP Pre-Vet Club volunteer on Sunday. Baby season is just around the corner and we needed some help preparing the baby songbird room of our "passerine building". This room will soon be filled with tiny, helpless baby songbirds who have become injured or have lost their parents. Thanks for your help ladies! We and the little birdies appreciate it!

Cassidy Kohlhagen (left) and Kayla Willis (right), from the UW-SP Pre-Vet Club volunteered by cleaning out the baby songbird room of our "passerine building". Thank you! 

That's all for today! Thanks everyone!

Karissa Mohr
Wildlife Educator

"Housekeeping" at REGI

The Raptor Education Group, Inc. (REGI) is best known for our avian rehabilitation and education, but there is a lot of additional work that goes on here just to keep REGI in once piece. Having recently celebrated our 20th anniversary, some of our oldest buildings are showing severe ware and tear. When we aren't caring for our hundreds of bird patients or speaking to the public about the wonderful world of raptors, we are running around trying to fix up and maintain the REGI property.
 
Today we were lucky to have help from the University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point Professional Development in Environmental Education and Interpretation practicum class lead by Dr. Brenda Lackey. She brought her students up to REGI for a few hours to see how we do our public tours and to help us complete one of our big "housekeeping" projects.

Our Sandhill Crane enclosures are covered in privacy mesh which helps the cranes feel more comfortable, but years of wind, rain, and ice have done their damage. Hanging on by threads in some areas, the mesh was no longer acceptable. The students helped us with the big task of replacing the mesh.

The huge roll of mesh was rolled out and measurements were taken. 

The careful job of pulling the mesh over to the enclosure begins. At this point, the job seems like a big challenge, but many helpful hands help us to succeed.  

Licensed rehabilitator, Alberta Halfmann, perches atop the crane enclosure along with one of the student volunteers. Carefully securing the mesh while keeping the sides taut is tricky, but they're doing well! 

A view from inside the crane enclosure- rehabilitation assistant, Brennan Rausch waits to help secure the mesh from the inside. 

Nearly finished, some of the student volunteers and Alberta apply the finishing touches to secure the mesh on the top of the enclosure. 

Dr. Brenda Lackey (far left); the student volunteers; Director of Education, Molly McKay; licensed rehabilitator, Alberta Halfmann; and (peeking out from inside the mesh) rehabilitation assistant, Brennan Rausch, stand in front of the finished enclosure. It looks so much better! 

Thank you UW-SP students! We are so thankful for your help with this project. Having so many helpful hands made this project go quickly and smoothly. With our small staff, projects like this are hard to complete on our own (especially when our clinic is full of patients), but volunteer groups save the day.

If you would like to volunteer your time by helping us here at REGI, please call our education office at (715) 623-2563. We would love your help!

That's all for today. Have a great weekend!

Karissa Mohr

Wildlife Educator