This is Mr. D our newest patient. He is a Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapilla) from Lakewood, WI. His left wing got caught in a mouse trap, but he is recovering and eating well!Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Mr. D
This is Mr. D our newest patient. He is a Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapilla) from Lakewood, WI. His left wing got caught in a mouse trap, but he is recovering and eating well!
New Educator?
This Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is the newest member to our educational team. His name is Paco, which means Golden Eagle in Navajo according to one website.
Don't miss the "Golden" oppurtunity to see him at REGI this summer!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
New Avian Friends
These avian friends came to us from Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary. The larger bird is an American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) and the smaller bird is a Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocax auritus).
Help us name these two new birds, blog us back or email us at raptoreducationgroup@gmail.com and we will blog the winning staff favorite soon!
Our Pelican loves catching his fish at dinner time.
Spaghetti Lunch was a Success!
On February 15, 2009 the Friends of REGI hosted a wonderful spaghetti lunch at the Knights of Columbus in Antigo. It was a wonderful change of pace for the REGI staff that has been working hard all winter long under stressful patient conditions. The Valentine’s Day festive decorations and 150 community supporters filled the hall with encouragement and hope.
The entire REGI team was available to interact with the public, answer questions, share stories, and of course show off our famous feathered friends. The Turkey Vulture, Barn Owl, Peregrine Falcon, Saw-whet owl, Goshawk, and Great Horned Owl where just a few of our feathered educators that were available that day. We had a table full of skulls, feathers, and bones that people were welcome to pick up and explore. We also had the identifier along to play all the birds unique calls. Many of REGI’s wonderful volunteers were on hand to help give out information, sign up new volunteers and clean up the many natural signs (aka scat) our feathered friends left behind. Thank you clean up crew!
One highlight of the event was taking your photo with a raptor. People of all ages were lining up to get their very own snap shot. It was wonderful to see the eyes of a child become wide with excitement and curiosity. A picture really was worth a thousand words that day.
The entire REGI team was available to interact with the public, answer questions, share stories, and of course show off our famous feathered friends. The Turkey Vulture, Barn Owl, Peregrine Falcon, Saw-whet owl, Goshawk, and Great Horned Owl where just a few of our feathered educators that were available that day. We had a table full of skulls, feathers, and bones that people were welcome to pick up and explore. We also had the identifier along to play all the birds unique calls. Many of REGI’s wonderful volunteers were on hand to help give out information, sign up new volunteers and clean up the many natural signs (aka scat) our feathered friends left behind. Thank you clean up crew!
One highlight of the event was taking your photo with a raptor. People of all ages were lining up to get their very own snap shot. It was wonderful to see the eyes of a child become wide with excitement and curiosity. A picture really was worth a thousand words that day.
Special thank you to Kathy Fenno and Kim Woyak for all your hard work that went into this successful day.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Friday the 13th! Great-horned Owl and Bald Eagle Hits a School Bus!
A Great-horned Owl was rescued by the side of the road by a member of the public. The homeowner was very worried when she first found the bird but did an excellent job of not only getting him off the road and into a box but also transported him the two hours to our clinic. REGI's location is great in terms of being close to where many species of birds nest and live, but our location in northern WI means we are pretty remote to large human populations. We recieve birds from a very large area it is often impossible for staff to physically come and rescue a bird. Handling large raptors should never be taken lightly. However, with guidance/suggestion from REGI staff birds that would otherwise die where they are injured are rescued and brought in for treatment. The new patient Great-horned owl (GHO) has a broken left wing. The photo shows Dan and Alberta getting a weight on the male adult owl shortly after admission. People are always surprised that birds with broken wings can recover and live to fly free once more. Great-horned Owls are nesting now even here in frigid WI. Most have eggs at this time. The loss of the male at the nest site will be devastaing for the family. Males do much of the hunting while the female is incubating the eggs and when the owlets are very young. The female in this case many not have any option but to abandon the eggs and wait for the male to come home to start another family.Just as everyone was leaving for the day the Langlade County Sheriff Department called to say a school bus had hit a bald eagle. We jumped in the van and drove @ 35 miles to Post Lake before dark. The eagle was standing about 30 feet into the woods by the road. He gave me a bit of a chase through the deep snow and woods even flying briefly and left both the eagle and myself exhausted. While he did fly he was obviously not feeling terrific. He is a beautiful adult male. It is possible he is the resident male of Post Lake. He has no fractures but does have internal injuries and remains in critical condition. A bus is a serious vehicle to collide with. The eagle was feeding off a carcass on the side of the road. He was apparently was startled by the bus and took to the air. Having filled his crop on meat from the carcass he misjudged his added weight and was not able to gain altitude fast enough to avoid the bus. Fortunately the bus driver and a concerned citizen called in the accident to the Sheriff Department who in turn called us.
The photos show the bird as I approached it and then coming from the woods to the van.
That is all for now.
Best to all,
Marge
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Welcome to Raptor Education Group Blog
2-12-09
Hello everyone,
Welcome to the Raptor Education Group (REGI) Blog. The weather has been a balmy thirty degrees F. plus this week. If that doesn’t seem balmy to you, we know you are not a resident of Northern Wisconsin. After Thanksgiving we expected a gentle temperature slide from fall to winter. We were surprised when in early December the thermometer itself was shivering as it dropped to the forty below zero range and was reluctant to move upwards, until this week!
People are always interested in what goes on here at REGI on a day to day basis. A blog is a perfect way in which to share our work and stories of our amazing patients. In this blog you will ride with us through the ups and downs of wildlife rehabilitation. We feel honored to share our life with our wild avian patients and hope you will feel the same through our writings.
In very busy times you may see a newspaper article that in some way will explain our absence from the computer keyboard as we struggle to bring patients back to health from a myriad of problems.
For years we’ve wished our friends and supporters could share our wild world. A blog seems like the best way possible to accomplish that goal. So here we go, welcome to Raptor Education Group Inc and our world.
Marge Gibson
Hello everyone,
Welcome to the Raptor Education Group (REGI) Blog. The weather has been a balmy thirty degrees F. plus this week. If that doesn’t seem balmy to you, we know you are not a resident of Northern Wisconsin. After Thanksgiving we expected a gentle temperature slide from fall to winter. We were surprised when in early December the thermometer itself was shivering as it dropped to the forty below zero range and was reluctant to move upwards, until this week!
People are always interested in what goes on here at REGI on a day to day basis. A blog is a perfect way in which to share our work and stories of our amazing patients. In this blog you will ride with us through the ups and downs of wildlife rehabilitation. We feel honored to share our life with our wild avian patients and hope you will feel the same through our writings.
In very busy times you may see a newspaper article that in some way will explain our absence from the computer keyboard as we struggle to bring patients back to health from a myriad of problems.
For years we’ve wished our friends and supporters could share our wild world. A blog seems like the best way possible to accomplish that goal. So here we go, welcome to Raptor Education Group Inc and our world.
Marge Gibson
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Front page of the Milwaukee Journal. Lead Issues.
Lead used in hunting, fishing raises health concerns
By Lee Bergquist of the Journal Sentinel
By Lee Bergquist of the Journal Sentinel
Lead shot from firearms and lead sinkers have been a mainstay of hunting and fishing for generations, but a growing body of research and anecdotal accounts are raising health questions for humans and wildlife alike.
The most recent situation involves trumpeter swans in northern Wisconsin.
Since October, 10 trumpeter swans have been treated by the Raptor Education Group Inc. in Antigo. In a typical year, the center takes in only about two of the birds.
Three of the trumpeter swans have died and three are in critical condition. X-rays revealed all had metal shot or sinkers in their bodies. Blood tests showed elevated levels of lead.
Also, a report released in November shows lead residue from gunshots has been found in Wisconsin venison, after concerns were raised in other Upper Midwestern states.
In Wisconsin, 15% of 199 samples of commercially processed venison contained lead bullet fragments, according to the report by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Department of Health Services.
In hunter-processed venison, 8% of 98 samples contained lead fragments.
The study used modeling from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and suggests there may be a risk of elevated lead levels in blood among children who consume venison.
One of the worst-case scenarios involves children 7 and younger who eat two meals a month of venison that contains higher amounts of lead. The children may have a 90% chance of lead levels in their blood rising above tolerable limits set by the Food and Drug Administration.
The two state agencies concluded that lead in venison was an "indeterminate public health hazard," as elevated blood-lead levels hadn't been confirmed in consumers of deer meat.
The agencies are recommending that food pantries use meat processors that minimize bullet fragments in venison.
As for what to do about lead shot, the Department of Health Services - but not the DNR - recommends the "eventual transition to non-lead ammunition."
1970s bans faltered
Efforts to phase out lead shot began in the 1970s. It has been banned nationally for waterfowl hunting since 1991 and on federal wetlands and grasslands where waterfowl are raised.
Lead can damage the brain, nervous and reproductive systems. It is no longer used in gasoline, paint, pesticides or as solder in metal cans.
The lead-shot ban has helped reduce poisoning of ducks and geese, but federal authorities still estimate millions of pounds of lead from hunting and fishing are deposited on land and in the water each year.
Starting last fall, the DNR began requiring mourning dove hunters to use non-lead shot because of the birds' proclivity to feed near wetlands where other wildlife could ingest shot.
DNR Secretary Matt Frank pulled together an existing working group on lead contamination in July and asked members to gather the latest data and take a closer look at the issue, spokesman Adam Collins said.
The agency also provides information for deer hunters on reducing exposure to lead in venison and urges anglers to consider switching to nontoxic metals.
But the DNR has pushed for no other restrictions. Lead is still heavily used for hunting upland birds such as pheasant and grouse, and it is the dominant choice of ammunition in deer hunting.
This troubles bird advocates such as Marge Gibson, executive director of the Raptor Education Group.
In one case, a pair of trumpeter swans were so weak they had to be pulled from the ice last month near Laona in Forest County. The birds died from lead poisoning.
In another case, 69 lead pellets were found in an adult male swan from Solon Springs in Douglas County, Gibson said. It, too, died.
"This is very frustrating," she said. "If people spent one day with us and watched these birds fight and struggle for their lives, things might change."
Many favor restrictions
Many sports enthusiasts have pushed for lead-shot restrictions. In 2007, members of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress voted against an advisory question requiring nontoxic shot for all game birds except turkeys, but there was significant support for the measure. Members voted 1,506 in favor and 1,850 against.
The congress advises the DNR on hunting and fishing issues. On this issue, Kurt Thiede, DNR liaison with the group, said the congress has favored education over regulation.
There is no question lead kills wildlife, said congress member Todd Kapp of Trevor in Kenosha County. But he is not sure whether scientists have proven conclusively that lead in the environment is killing wildlife.
"Was it wadded up fishing gear or lead?" he said. "I just don't want to see a knee-jerk reaction to this."
Cost and performance are other factors for sports enthusiasts. Nontoxic shot costs more. Kapp is also convinced that lead shot has more killing power.
"When lead hits something, it flattens out and transfers into it," he said. Steel is harder, he said, "more bouncy, and the patterns are a little different."
Tom Hauge, director of the DNR's Bureau of Wildlife Management, expressed concern about moving too quickly and antagonizing hunters.
But, he said, "I think the lead bullets in venison reopened the door again. I do believe that over the past couple of years that a lot of things have changed."
"There is much more widespread and compelling bodies of research out there - even in Wisconsin."
In a study presented in May, researchers, led by toxicologist Sean Strom of the DNR, found that lead poisoning was the cause of death in the following cases:
• 16% of 583 Wisconsin bald eagles that died between 2000 and 2007.
• 25% of 143 trumpeter swans between 1991 and 2007.
• 29% of 26 loons beginning in 2006.
The DNR study also found lead fishing tackle in all loons that died of lead poisoning.
It also found the number of lead-related deaths in eagles spiked during the hunting season - especially in November, December and January - when the raptors fed on deer remnants.
"It is unlikely that the prevalence of lead poisoning cases will decrease until the amount of lead discharged into the Wisconsin environment is reduced," Strom and his fellow authors concluded.
Swans foraging more
The most recent troubles with trumpeter swans could be tied to drought conditions in northwest Wisconsin, where many birds spend summers, said Patricia Manthey, DNR avian ecologist. With low water levels, the long-necked birds feed in previously unreachable sediments.
Also, Minnesota officials reported an increase in lead poisoning this winter after Wisconsin and Minnesota officials jointly asked landowners not to feed the birds.
The states feared the feeding was keeping the birds from migrating. By congregating in open water on the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers, they could be exposed to disease and lead contamination.
The plan backfired, said Dennis Simon, chief of wildlife management for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Some of the swans that foraged on their own picked up lead, he said.
Since October, half of the 32 trumpeter swans brought to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota in suburban St. Paul were treated for lead toxicity, according to Philip M. Jenni, executive director.
Despite the concerns about lead, eagle and trumpeter swan populations are growing. Eagles were removed from protection under the federal Endangered Species Act in 2007. The Natural Resources Board voted last month to remove the trumpeter swan from the state's endangered and threatened species list.
Posted: Feb. 10, 2009
The most recent situation involves trumpeter swans in northern Wisconsin.
Since October, 10 trumpeter swans have been treated by the Raptor Education Group Inc. in Antigo. In a typical year, the center takes in only about two of the birds.
Three of the trumpeter swans have died and three are in critical condition. X-rays revealed all had metal shot or sinkers in their bodies. Blood tests showed elevated levels of lead.
Also, a report released in November shows lead residue from gunshots has been found in Wisconsin venison, after concerns were raised in other Upper Midwestern states.
In Wisconsin, 15% of 199 samples of commercially processed venison contained lead bullet fragments, according to the report by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Department of Health Services.
In hunter-processed venison, 8% of 98 samples contained lead fragments.
The study used modeling from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and suggests there may be a risk of elevated lead levels in blood among children who consume venison.
One of the worst-case scenarios involves children 7 and younger who eat two meals a month of venison that contains higher amounts of lead. The children may have a 90% chance of lead levels in their blood rising above tolerable limits set by the Food and Drug Administration.
The two state agencies concluded that lead in venison was an "indeterminate public health hazard," as elevated blood-lead levels hadn't been confirmed in consumers of deer meat.
The agencies are recommending that food pantries use meat processors that minimize bullet fragments in venison.
As for what to do about lead shot, the Department of Health Services - but not the DNR - recommends the "eventual transition to non-lead ammunition."
1970s bans faltered
Efforts to phase out lead shot began in the 1970s. It has been banned nationally for waterfowl hunting since 1991 and on federal wetlands and grasslands where waterfowl are raised.
Lead can damage the brain, nervous and reproductive systems. It is no longer used in gasoline, paint, pesticides or as solder in metal cans.
The lead-shot ban has helped reduce poisoning of ducks and geese, but federal authorities still estimate millions of pounds of lead from hunting and fishing are deposited on land and in the water each year.
Starting last fall, the DNR began requiring mourning dove hunters to use non-lead shot because of the birds' proclivity to feed near wetlands where other wildlife could ingest shot.
DNR Secretary Matt Frank pulled together an existing working group on lead contamination in July and asked members to gather the latest data and take a closer look at the issue, spokesman Adam Collins said.
The agency also provides information for deer hunters on reducing exposure to lead in venison and urges anglers to consider switching to nontoxic metals.
But the DNR has pushed for no other restrictions. Lead is still heavily used for hunting upland birds such as pheasant and grouse, and it is the dominant choice of ammunition in deer hunting.
This troubles bird advocates such as Marge Gibson, executive director of the Raptor Education Group.
In one case, a pair of trumpeter swans were so weak they had to be pulled from the ice last month near Laona in Forest County. The birds died from lead poisoning.
In another case, 69 lead pellets were found in an adult male swan from Solon Springs in Douglas County, Gibson said. It, too, died.
"This is very frustrating," she said. "If people spent one day with us and watched these birds fight and struggle for their lives, things might change."
Many favor restrictions
Many sports enthusiasts have pushed for lead-shot restrictions. In 2007, members of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress voted against an advisory question requiring nontoxic shot for all game birds except turkeys, but there was significant support for the measure. Members voted 1,506 in favor and 1,850 against.
The congress advises the DNR on hunting and fishing issues. On this issue, Kurt Thiede, DNR liaison with the group, said the congress has favored education over regulation.
There is no question lead kills wildlife, said congress member Todd Kapp of Trevor in Kenosha County. But he is not sure whether scientists have proven conclusively that lead in the environment is killing wildlife.
"Was it wadded up fishing gear or lead?" he said. "I just don't want to see a knee-jerk reaction to this."
Cost and performance are other factors for sports enthusiasts. Nontoxic shot costs more. Kapp is also convinced that lead shot has more killing power.
"When lead hits something, it flattens out and transfers into it," he said. Steel is harder, he said, "more bouncy, and the patterns are a little different."
Tom Hauge, director of the DNR's Bureau of Wildlife Management, expressed concern about moving too quickly and antagonizing hunters.
But, he said, "I think the lead bullets in venison reopened the door again. I do believe that over the past couple of years that a lot of things have changed."
"There is much more widespread and compelling bodies of research out there - even in Wisconsin."
In a study presented in May, researchers, led by toxicologist Sean Strom of the DNR, found that lead poisoning was the cause of death in the following cases:
• 16% of 583 Wisconsin bald eagles that died between 2000 and 2007.
• 25% of 143 trumpeter swans between 1991 and 2007.
• 29% of 26 loons beginning in 2006.
The DNR study also found lead fishing tackle in all loons that died of lead poisoning.
It also found the number of lead-related deaths in eagles spiked during the hunting season - especially in November, December and January - when the raptors fed on deer remnants.
"It is unlikely that the prevalence of lead poisoning cases will decrease until the amount of lead discharged into the Wisconsin environment is reduced," Strom and his fellow authors concluded.
Swans foraging more
The most recent troubles with trumpeter swans could be tied to drought conditions in northwest Wisconsin, where many birds spend summers, said Patricia Manthey, DNR avian ecologist. With low water levels, the long-necked birds feed in previously unreachable sediments.
Also, Minnesota officials reported an increase in lead poisoning this winter after Wisconsin and Minnesota officials jointly asked landowners not to feed the birds.
The states feared the feeding was keeping the birds from migrating. By congregating in open water on the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers, they could be exposed to disease and lead contamination.
The plan backfired, said Dennis Simon, chief of wildlife management for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Some of the swans that foraged on their own picked up lead, he said.
Since October, half of the 32 trumpeter swans brought to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota in suburban St. Paul were treated for lead toxicity, according to Philip M. Jenni, executive director.
Despite the concerns about lead, eagle and trumpeter swan populations are growing. Eagles were removed from protection under the federal Endangered Species Act in 2007. The Natural Resources Board voted last month to remove the trumpeter swan from the state's endangered and threatened species list.
Posted: Feb. 10, 2009
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