Red-shouldered Hawk, Being Spoiled on Monday and Thursday

(Photo: This Red-shouldered Hawk fledgling has the all business no grins, personality that Red-shouldered hawks are known for.)

A young Red-shouldered Hawk was admitted from the Crandon area. Red- shoulders are a threatened species. In the east they are shy and retiring raptors that tend to be very high strung in captivity. They have no sense of humor. :) This little one was came in suffering several problems including having one very small ear opening that is more the size of a large pin than an ear. He eyes are also unequally placed and one is larger than the other. He does not fit the classification of micro-opthalmia but could have been rejected by his parents because he was not perfect. We are working on developing a more clear history for him. He was very thin and had many insect bites all over his body.


























( Photo: Mary and Sally serve the REGI crew today. No feeling sorry for us on Mondays!)

Mondays are happy days for REGI staff and interns. It is the day when Mary Draeger and Sally Jansen bring lunch for the entire crew. This isn't just boring "lunch", but we are treated to some spectacular food. Lets just say that recipes are collected weekly from the dynamic duo as we savor their creations. Mary insists on desserts that are so decadent they should be banned. I hate to make our reads drool, but the cakes and brownies are still warm when they get here.



( Photo: Linda and Megan Hendrickson bring lunch on Thursday. Did we mention they both took cooking classes in Tuscany? )

For years now the crew including myself lose weight in the summer. We put in long hours, the work isn't easy and often we just don't eat or, eat the wrong things just because it is fast. That is how Linda Hendrickson started bringing us lunch one day a week several years ago. All of our interns during the past several years know Linda and get a glazed look in their eyes as they go the their food oriented "happy place" when her name is mentioned.:) On her designated lunch day interns would begin to circle the picnic tables awaiting her arrival. One memorable intern was a football player and wrestler in college. He could sense Linda's car coming down the block. We looked forward to that one day a week when we knew we would sit down and enjoy some nutritious home cooked food.

This year Mary called and asked if we could use lunch on another day. She didn't have to ask twice. People avoid taking days off on our "special" days. Lance had to take a Monday off about a month ago and declared it would be the last Monday he took off until the end of his internship.



(Photo: Linda Hendrickson and her granddaughter carry lunch to the great old willow tree tables.)

Thank you to Linda, Mary and Sally for making our days at REGI even more special than they already are. While working with the birds is terrific one of the highlights of REGI internships for some is the food!

OK, so we are no longer suffering waifs. We still work long and hard but we are no longer starving at least two days a week you can find us gathered under the old willow with smiles on our faces.



( Photo: Scrubbing and cleaning the Bald Eagle Display cage...BEFORE lunch today. Alberta is on the power-washer with Aprill, Natasha and Lance busy pulling weeds and carrying rock.)

I feel like I need to remind everyone that we do work here. The photo above was taken this morning.



( Photo: Aprill imitates the Cedar Waxwing chick.)

I have had more people write asking me about when I was going to write about the "Bad" part of the work at REGI. I am working up to it. I will soon I promise. It is not something that comes easy for me.

Until next time.

Marge Gibson 2009