Another Bald Eagle Patient, Updates, and Klondike Days!

Good Tuesday morning everyone!

It has been a few days since our last update and we have another patient I'd like to introduce you to. Bald Eagle (#019) was brought to us from the Minocqua, WI area unable to fly. We tested his blood for lead and his results came back at a "normal" level, meaning that he is not suffering from lead poisoning. His inability to fly is still currently being determined.

Photo above: Eagle #019. The darker streaking in his beak tells us that he is likely just about 5 years old.

I'd also like to update you on a number of our patients.

The Barred Owl that originally came in after being hit by a vehicle has unfortunately passed away. It is a great loss for his species because he was such a wonderful adult. He will be missed.

The Great-horned Owl found along a road with a broken wing is improving slowly. She still has a swollen wing, but is eating very well. It isn't clear at this point whether she will be able to regain flight.

Eagle #008 is flying in the flight building and looking great. We are so thrilled with his recovery from lead poisoning. He still needs a lot of reconditioning, but the improvements he has shown are fantastic.

Photo above: Eagle #008 just before being moved into the flight building.

Eagle #012 is also beginning to fly back and forth in the flight building. Because of her injured "wrist" joint, we are tentative in our excitement about her short flights.

Eagle #013 has also been moved to the flight building, but is showing no ability of being able to fly. We will likely need to place him as a permanent resident at another facility.

The Snowy Owl has been very active in the clinic so she has been moved to a larger mew to give her more room to move around. She still has chunky lesions in her throat, but has begun to eat solid foods with encouragement from our rehabilitators.

The Rough-legged Hawk is still currently in the clinic and is eating very well.

On a separate note, would any of you like to have some fun this coming weekend?

Director of Education, Molly and I will be at Klondike Days in Eagle River this Saturday and Sunday. We will have a booth set up both days so you can meet our raptors face to face. There are plenty of other things to do and see at Klondike Days like: Native American exhibits; Snow Sculptures; Cut, Stack, & Split contest; Dog Sled weight pulls; Horse pulls; Ice Sculpture; Arts & Crafts; Amish Quilt Show & Sale; and much, much more. It is a great time for the whole family!

Where: Northland Pines High School, Eagle River, WI
When: Saturday and Sunday, March 3rd and 4th, 2012 from 9am to 4pm.

For more information follow this link.

Photo above: Molly and I at Klondike Days in 2011 with a Peregrine Falcon and a Barred Owl. Come and visit us this weekend at Klondike Days in Eagle River and meet some of our resident raptors!

That's all for now :) Have a great week everyone!

Karissa Mohr

Wildlife Educator

Bald Eagle Updates, Sandhill Cranes Admitted, Education Birds



Drawing blood to recheck 007. He is a great patient.

 We did blood work on the Lead Poisoned Bald Eagles Saturday.  #007 is still at critical levels. While we are not surprised given the huge levels he had coming in, it is disappointing. The longer the lead is in the body the greater the chance for organ failure or neurological damage.  He is on round 3 of chelation now. 

On the other hand #008 lead levels have dropped more than we anticipated.  He is still anemic, but less than when he was admitted which indicates his internal bleeding has stopped.  He has a ways to go with the internal organ trauma and wing fracture, but gratefully the lead poisoning is resolving.  He is a spirited eagle and just wants to get home as soon as possible.  That is our plan for him as well, so we are on the same page. :)



#008 is anxious to get home again. His lead level
is coming down well.


Sunday Don and I drove to Plainfield, WI to rescue a Sandhill Crane that was behaving oddly.  It turns out the crane had been kept as a "pet".  He is very tame and either was released or escaped from the people that raised him.  His wings were clipped.  That indicates the humans in his life did not want him to leave the area. 

It is illegal to keep native migratory birds without special state and federal permits, but even more troubling this beautiful male crane is imprinted to humans. That means he does not know he is a crane and will never be able to be free in the wild.  We will look for placement in a zoo or nature park somewhere in the U.S.

We have had a problem in the Portage and Wood County areas for the past several years.  It seems someone is taking either very young babies or eggs and raising the chicks as pets. The folks involved are likely well meaning, but do not understand that imprinting is a permanent situation with these species.   From what we have been able to put together from past years, the cranes and geese are raised with large dogs as they are playful with dogs often to their demise. They are "released" after they are grown, but because they are human imprints they have no idea what to do.  They are not accepted by the wild cranes. They end up coming up to people and dogs and even coyotes, which never ends well for them. 



This beautiful male Sandhill Crane was raised in captivity and went to people for food.

If anyone reading this blog knows of someone in that area that is raising wild baby birds or waterfowl, please either let me know or urge them to stop.  From what we have put together, the person knows how to rear these species because they are well developed and have great plumage. 

We need good wildlife rehabilitators in the area. I am willing to help these folks seek state and federal permits so they can raise chicks legally and without imprinting them to people.  Please let me know.



We are over-wintering ten Sandhill Cranes at REGI.
The new guy is on the far left. His "brother" in in the foreground center.



Our thanks to Bob Fox and Mick and Dawn Richtmyre for calling when the crane appeared at their home and keeping him safe until we could arrive. 

After getting him back to REGI our new male crane was very friendly with another imprinted crane that came to us from the same area last fall.  They may in fact be brothers or at least were raised together.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out.



Our education red-tailed hawk has West Nile Virus blindness.
She can no longer be in the wild,
but does a great job educating the public.



It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the 30's.  It is unlike weather we are used to in WI in February.  REGI staffer, Brennan Rausch took the opportunity to work with some of our education birds. I took photos so we can look back in normal years and prove that we were able to soak in some "rays" in the REGI yard during the winter of 2011-12.



Juliet is improving.



Many thanks to all of our REGI friends for your kind words on Juliet and her health. She is not completely well yet, but improving. She is still stunning at her age even when she is not feeling well. What a fine lady bird she is.

Have a wonderful day everyone,

Marge Gibson

Electrocuted Bald Eagle, Lead Poisoned Bald Eagle Updates, Great-horned Owl Release, Sandhill Crane and More



The eyes of a Great-horned Owl are huge. While they appear globe-like, they are actually tubular.
Check out more about owl vision on a super resource, the Owl Pages .http://www.owlpages.com/articles.php?section=Owl+Physiology&title=Vision





Avian Rhabilitator, Alberta Halfmann and Tristan Pesavento with the male GHO Tristan rescued. As with all owl releases, this one took place near dark. 

 Releases are always an exciting time. On Wednesday evening REGI staffer Alberta Halfmann did the honors of taking a Great-horned Owl ( GHO) back to his original territory for release. This patient, a male Great-horned Owl, injured his wing after being tangled in a fence near Wausau East High School, Wausau, WI. 

This release was all the sweeter because 14 yr old Tristan Pesavento, the person that actually rescued this GHO, was on hand to give him his freedom once more.  Everyone was delighted with the release but no one was happier than the owl.  He flew out of sight immediately and was last seen making a bee line for his nest tree.  This is breeding season for Great-horned Owls in our area.  It is important to get him "home" as soon as possible.  No doubt he has important work to do. His mate may be on a nest. 
Super job Tristan! While we would not suggest someone Tristans age take on this kind of responsibility, the owl would not have lived long trapped in the fenceline. His quick thinking was important and we are so proud!



Home sweet home for the male GHO.



                                                                             

Owls are released near dark.  As nocturnal predators, they can attract attention of crows, hawks and other birds if released when it is daylight. 



Our patients are conditioned in large flight buildings. The ceiling is 28' high. They are not close to us.  It is vital that all birds when released are 100% when they leave REGI.  Each patient receives an exit physical the day of release.  With the bird "in hand" we can evaluate things that are not readily apparent as they exercise. In this way we are certain the bird is in perfect health and condition and can once again survive in the wild. We did 2 GHO physicals Wednesday, but only one was ready. The other continues to recover from a head injury and was put back in the flights with two other GHO patients.


This male GHO has a little longer to wait before he is released.
 Alberta Halfmann and Stacy Wild assit Marge with the exam.



We received a call about an adult Bald Eagle on the ground. She had been electrocuted and died before we arrived. We collected her body for USFWS.  Electrical shock injuries and wire hits are events we are required to report to USFWS as well as our State of WI DNR.  Illegal electrical set ups could be involved, or malfunctioning functioning units on a high tension line.  We see several electrocutions a year, however years ago there were many more. Studies by raptor biologists and Raptor Research Foundation helped tweek the electric pole designs over the past 30 years to prevent deaths of eagles and osprey.  Birds wingspans and perching habits are now taken into consideration before new poles are installed.  We hope they can find and repair this site before any more eagles are killed. The following link will explain the changes and the way birds with large wingspan are affected by pole design.
http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/publications/field_manual/chapter_50.pdf



007 is on a hiatus from his CA EDTA injections.
Blood will be drawn today to check his blood lead levels.



Our Bald Eagle patients of the past week are doing well. The 007 is on a break from his Ca EDTA injections. After a four day break we will do more blood work to determine his current blood lead and a new course in treatment will be started.

#008 is a determined Bald Eagle. He is recovering from internal injuries. His treatment for lead poisoning has begun as well. He too, will have blood drawn today to determine the extent of organ damage due his injury.  He continues to have some bleeding in his respiratory system.  He was markedly anemic when admitted.  When an eagle has internal injuries, the liver or kidneys or both have trauma and therefore complicate the lead poisoning as the liver and kidneys are also affected with the toxin. Wildlife rehabilitation is a complicated

field.

It will be good to get these male eagles home again.  They both have a long way to go, but positive thinking is helpful for all of us.

We have checked out several calls for eagles down but sadly have been unable to locate them. Eagles like all wild animals camouflage well. That brilliant white head and tail disappear easily in a snowy landscape. We have several calls on Sandhill Cranes. Don and I are make an attempt to capture one of most critical ones this afternoon.


I appreciate the many calls I have received concerning my red-tail Juliet. She is still with us. She has periods of better and then worse times.  She is having a hard day today.  I still have great hopes she will pull out of her illness this time. She is a strong and amazing bird...and has been a member of the REGI family for 23 years. We have come to think of her as invincible, I hope she proves us right. Thank you everyone for your thoughts and encouragement.

My computer had a virus. The chaos created has been great. Just about the time we thought it was resolved, it was not. It is still being restored. We forget how much we rely on that little box on our desks until it is not functioning well. Many thanks to Matt Zack of Zacks Computer in Antigo https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zacks-Computers/148916375151505?v=info for helping a frantic me.

Have a great day everyone,

Marge Gibson

Sad News on Bald Eagle #005, Bald Eagle Hit by Car and Lead Poisoning Admitted, Red-tailed Hawk Juliet Ill



R.I.P. Sweet #005

We start with sad news. Our beautiful female Bald Eagle #005 succumbed this morning to multi-organ failure due to toxicity. We will have a necropsy to make certain lead was the only toxin involved in her case.

#005 was an amazing gentle eagle. She had many years under her wings over the farm in Polar, WI.  Her family and those of the landowners grew up knowing each other. She will be missed.

Each time we lose an eagle to lead poisoning I promise we will work harder still to educate the public. I would appreciate if each reader of our blog would do so as well.  We hate to lose them.  We tried our best, but it is always difficult.



An adult male Bald Eagle was admitted from Marathon, WI  
He was likely hit by a car...and suffers from lead poisoning.



About 6:30 p.m. this evening we admitted another adult Bald Eagle, #008, from Marathon, WI.  He was likely hit by a car.  In wild patients, unless someone sees an accident occur, we have to piece the history together from clues. Sometimes we feel like detectives.  #008 was first spotted near a busy country road.  He has internal bleeding, a left wing fracture and ...you guessed it, lead poisoning.  When a bird, or a human for that matter, has lead poisoning, they are disoriented.  Judgment and depth perception is affected.  Because of this, they suffer from accidents at an increased rate, such as being hit by cars. We are grateful his level of lead is high, but not over the limit as our last two eagles were. We will wait at least until he stabilizes before beginning the CaEDTA treatment. Internal bleeding all by itself is a very serious situation. The wing fracture is the radius but the ulna is intact. If he has to have a wing fracture, that is a good one to have. It is the least of his problems.




REGI's Steve Fisher rescued #008 during a harrowing adventure through snow and challenging terrain.

 

Thanks to the landowner that spotted the eagle and called the Marathon County Sheriffs Department who alerted us to the eagle in trouble. Long time volunteer Steve Fisher, took the call to rescue this eagle. Getting to the site before dark and then tracking the eagle through deep snow and challenging terrain was an experience right out of the movies.



Juliet our 23 yr old education Red-tailed Hawk in a photo tonight.

 Our 23 yr old education Red-tailed Hawk Juliet became ill 2 nights ago. Our Juliet is a California girl. She came to us when she was just 18 months old from San Dimas, CA. She has educated hundreds of thousands of people over these many years and is a part of the REGI family in the most real sense. We hope she can continue to do so. It is amazing when children run up to us as events and are eager to tell that their parents saw Julie when they were in school. Please hold her in your thoughts this week.

We have many school education programs this week as well. With the help of some great volunteers from Madison, we are working on a new web site. All of our other patients continue to improve! Yea!

Tomorrow is the 31st! I might not get to a blog, as I have to finish those tedious end of year reports. Color me crabby. In addition, as if it were scripted, my computer crashed on Sunday. I am grateful for all of our terrific friends and supporters that have been so amazing! Thank you all.

Have a wonderful tomorrow everyone,

Marge Gibson

Update on Lead Poisoned Bald Eagles, American Kestrel Admitted



#005 today. Note the green colored mutes on the blanket behind her ( rt)  That green color is a signature color of a lead poisoned bird.



It was a quieter day today. Knowing what you have in the clinic is somehow easier than being surprised by critical cases. It was refreshing to find the Downy Woodpecker doing so well he was able to be in the outside aviary.  The American Goldfinch was singing today even as he recovers from his cat caused injuries.  His happy song put some perspective on the day.

The male #007 is doing better. He is not longer hypersensitive to stimulus, his seizures have stopped. He was given his injections today sub-Q in the chest to try to save the legs for future days. The injections of Ca -EDTA is destructive to body tissue, so we are careful to alternate sites. Both eagles need 2 a day for the first four days and then four days off. The time off is so the blood can circulate through the bones, where lead is stored, to integrate it into the blood again. Lead is chelated from the blood and that is how it works. It is an arduous process at best.
#007 even ate some muskrat today on his own. That was a surprise, but we tube fed him anyhow as he remains dehydrated. His lead level is still sky high so many things can still go wrong within the next few weeks. Lead poisoning can cause multi-organ failure and often does. We have learned to take the good with the bad and are cautiously optimistic for #007 while being vigilant for signs of problems.

The female #005 did not have a good day. She has developed cardiac failure. We worked hard with her today, hoping against hope that we can correct the heart issue. That can and has happened in past cases, but it is discouraging.  With cardiac failure, fluid builds around the heart.  We treat for that problem as if it were a separate illness. We have had excellent results with that process in many cases that were thought to be hopeless. She is such a stunning eagle and a great gentle soul. She needs some positive energy tonight.



#007 with Katie, Albert and Stacy after a blood test.




We admitted an American Kestrel with starvation today. The weather can be an issue for birds that have remained in the northwoods during the winter season. This winter has been a gentle one at least for us in WI. Several species have remained further north than normal. Cold snaps catch then unaware and causes nasty surprises. I think our new patient will be fine with a little food and a warm place to finish out the winter.

We had lots of calls today most with questions about wildlife in their woods. A sweet elderly lady found a Chukar by her bird feeder. We don't have Chukar here in WI except those that have escaped from game farms.  We sent a volunteer to see if he could give her a hand catching up the little guy. 

No news on any of the eagles reported in past days with trouble. We have a fresh snow today and wind so maybe tomorrow will be a better day to find them. Lets keep our hopes up they are found in time.

I continue with the end of year reports.  They are due on January 31st.  After that I will be able to hold a normal conversation.  Paperwork is my least favorite part of this work and yet there is lots of it. :(

Have a wonderful tomorrow everyone.

Marge Gibson











Two Newly Admitted Adult Bald Eagles With Lead Poisoning



                                                                                       

      Katie holds the female #005 before afternoon treatments 1-27

It has been a long few days and nights here at Raptor Education Group, Inc (REGI).  Two adult Bald Eagles BOTH with lead poisoning were admitted.  Sadly BOTH eagles have blood lead levels of lead read out on the analyzer as" too high to calibrate".   These days we at REGI are not detered by that finding. There is no question it will be a fight for their lives, time consuming and expensive, but we hope to be able to recover the eagles or at least give them the best possible chance we can. 

The female eagle has a beautiful story as many of our patients do.  She was captured on a beaver dam after dark by two caring gentlemen.  The men ended up in the water in the recover process in below zero temperatures.  We don't suggest that kind of heroism, but when it occurs and everyone is OK, we are grateful.

It turns out the female eagle is one of the local eagles that has lived on the family farm for many years.  One of the men involved has since moved to another city for a career, but was home visting when they spotted the eagle not flying and acting oddly on the beaver dam.  As I worked on the eagle in the clinic, he recounted beautiful stories of the times he watched this same eagle with this grandfather through the years. Now to have her in his arms was a sad turn.  We hope we can get her back home again to breed once again on her territory and the land her rescuer grew up on. 





I draw blood on the female #005 when she is admitted while Don holds her.



Neither of the eagles just admitted will have an easy recovery. While found in different areas of the state, their cases are so oddly identical from a clinically perspective, I can talk about them almost as one.

Both eagles have neurologic symptoms. That means they still have siezures and other difficult symptoms.  When that happens I stay with them often holding them during siezures so they don't injure themselves. Sedating birds is not a good option as they have small but efficent lungs. When sedated, their breathing is shallow and the chance for pneumonia is great.  Since that is NOT what we want, we pull out all the stops to make sure they are safe even when it means I am up all night with them.  That is not unusal as a matter of fact and will be the norm for the next few days at least.



The female shows neurological symptoms and is disoriented. 



People often ask how we can do this work as it is gut wrenching watching these magnificent eagles endure the wrath of lead poisoning.  I am not ever sure how to answer because there is no good option. Lead poisoning is human caused.  I firmly feel it is a human responsibilty to help them in everyway we can.  

Our great joy comes the day they leave our arms as they are released to the wild.   There will be many long days and nights and months of rehabilaition including reconditioning on the other side of this critical care time, but it is the reality of what lead poisoning is. Until we do something about it... the birds suffer and we help them recover if possible.






Don holds the male Bald Eagle #007 after admission



The male Bald Eagle came from Park Falls, WI. The sad thing about his case is he was one of three eagles eating from the same carcass when they were found.  He was the only eagle that was able to be captured. That means two more are out there from the same feeding area that are likely dying as I write this blog.  Wisconsin has many remote areas in our northland.  This eagle is from one of those places where few people will come across eagles in trouble. 

I have calls out to volunteers in that area. With a new snow fall tonight it is possible they will be able to use snowmobiles to do a better search of the area and hopefully find them soon. 
We also have a report of an eagle down near Medford, WI. The DNR was unable to locate it tonight before dark. If anyone that is reading this blog knows of its location pleaes give us a call.

Don't worry I am not choking him :)) #007 is given a tube feeding of liquid food as his digestive system as well as other organs are failing.. 

The male eagle #007 weighs a little over 6 lbs.  He should weigh 9-10 lbs.  Lead poisoned bird are usually present with starvation as their digestive system shuts down due to the lead toxicity.

It is 3:15 in the morning and I have one more check of the eagles before I sleep.  Please keep our eagles in your thoughts as they struggle with this horror that is lead poisoning.

Until later,

Marge







Snowy Owls and Lead Poisoned Bald Eagles

As the seasons shift from fall to winter, our clinic is still as busy as ever. Winter is usually a Wisconsin rehabber's "slow season," but there is truly nothing slow about the season we are experiencing here this year. Our clinic is still full, and more patients are coming through the door. While the babies of summer are gone, we are seeing cases of starvation and lead poisoning instead.

Photo above: Aurora, our Educational Snowy Owl, looking as beautiful as ever in fresh snow.

If you are a follower of happenings in the world of bird news, then you're probably aware of this year's irruption of Snowy Owls. If you haven't heard about it yet, I'll get you in the loop! Already this year, hundreds of Snowy Owls have been spotted throughout Wisconsin and other parts of the US. When these "irruptions" or "invasions" occur it is usually because of a dip in the lemming populations in the far north. Lemmings are small rodents that make up a large part of Snowy Owl's diets. Lemmings go through cycles of high and low populations which influence the owls. In times of low populations, the owls are forced south in search of food. The last time an irruption such as this occurred was in 2006.

This year, the owls are moving south, but it is likely because the lemming populations over the summer were high allowing the owls to have a very successful breeding season. Now that all of those baby Snowies have grown up, they are becoming territorial and the young owls are forced to find territory elsewhere.

The Duluth News Tribune put out a little article about the latest Snowy Owl irruption and you can click this link to check it out.

I prefer to refer to this movement of birds as an irruption because I think that "invasion" makes the birds sound frightening. They are nothing of the sort. They are simply gorgeous birds looking for new places to survive. This is somewhat good news for birders who may get a glimpse of these amazing birds which are rarely seen in Wisconsin. It also means that because they've flown all the way from the arctic in search of food, many may be starving or exhausted. Please keep an eye out for these magnificent birds. If you see a Snowy owl (or any bird) that is in need of assistance, please call our rehabilitation clinic at (715) 623-4015. We will be able to help you make the best decisions to help the bird.

A Snowy Owl has found her way to our clinic after what appears to be a horrible ordeal. Some very kind and thoughtful folks went out of their way to get her the help she needs. Kay Hawksford from Drummond, WI found the Snowy Owl along Highway 63. She scooped it up and brought it to safety. Luckily her husband, John, is a pilot so they were able to transport it to Antigo very quickly.

Photos above: Kay and John Hawksford and their daughter flew the injured owl to the Antigo airport where it was then transferred by van to REGI. (Photos by: Alberta Halfmann)

Photo above: When the Snowy Owl arrived, the rehabilitators examined her and learned that she is very thin, has a broken leg, and has bruising on her breast. She also smelled of skunk. We have to put the story together like pieces of a puzzle because the animals we help cannot tell us what happened. It is likely that she was forced out of the arctic and flew to Wisconsin in search of food and a place to live. Out of desperation and hunger, she went after a skunk, a fairly common occurrence with Great-horned Owls, but very strange for Snowies. Possibly hurt by the skunk and still weak from starvation, she was unable to fly very well and wound up being struck by a vehicle, leaving her with a broken leg. It is easy to see by her expression that she has been through a lot. Her size indicates she is female, and she is a young owl judging by the amount of dark speckling on her feathers. Adults have less to no dark speckling on their bodies.

Gun deer hunting season is now over and that means we will be treating many Bald Eagles suffering from lead poisoning. Several patients in our clinic at the moment are Bald Eagles with lead poisoning, and I'll introduce a couple to you now.

Photo above: This gorgeous Bald Eagle was found in the Merrill, WI area. She is shown here with Executive Director, Marge Gibson, right before her examination. The eagle was being watched by some concerned citizens who knew they needed to do something. They watched her and made sure they knew where she was until Marge could get there to rescue her. Without their help, she would have ended up like so many other birds that need help, but are lost forever.

Photo above: Once back at the REGI clinic, her blood was tested for lead and she was diagnosed with lead poisoning. That makes her the 7th Bald Eagle admitted into the REGI clinic with lead poisoning since this fall. She is shown here in the arms of Don Gibson after he drew her blood for testing.

The next patient I'll introduce you to has an encouraging story.

Photo above: This Bald Eagle was admitted a few weeks ago with blood lead levels so high that our lead analyzing machine couldn't read it. Lead levels that high are a death sentence without treatment. The rehabilitators immediately began chelation treatments to remove the lead from her blood, but for three weeks her blood lead levels were still too high to be read by the analyzer. Marge tried a technique that has never been done before with birds, and it seems to have worked! This may be a breakthrough, but more research needs to be done. Her lead levels have dropped dramatically, and excited "high-fives" were passed among the staff here when we learned the good news. We are not out of the woods yet, but we may have found a key to treating these extremely ill birds. We continue to look forward to her complete recovery, and we could not be happier with her improvements.

It is estimated that for every one Bald Eagle suffering from lead poisoning that is found and brought to a rehabilitation center for help, there are 9 others that are never found that suffer and die needlessly in the wilderness. For the 7 lead poisoned eagles that were brought to us for help so far this fall, there were likely 63 others who were not as lucky and were never found. We work so hard through the year to get the word out about lead-free options in hunting ammunition and fishing tackle, and yet every year we treat many birds suffering from the effects of ingesting lead. It is such a senseless loss of life and I will never understand why people would knowingly let that happen.

I grew up with a strong tradition of hunting and fishing in my family, and I am a hunter and a fisher myself. When I learned about the horrible things that lead does to wildlife and saw for myself a gorgeous Bald Eagle suffering from lead poisoning, I made the decision to change my ways. I now hunt with lead-free copper bullets and fish with bismuth-tin alloy tackle. It has been one of the easiest changes I've made, and I encourage everyone out there to do the same. If you love the outdoors, the small extra cost for safe ammo and tackle will be worth it. Maybe one day in the future, you'll look up and see a Bald Eagle flying gracefully in the sky-- a Bald Eagle that would have been killed after ingesting a piece of your lead had you not made the switch.

We will never stop educating people and encouraging them to switch to safe alternatives and we hope for a year where we won't see a single bird suffer due to the carelessness of humans. It is a dream of ours, and you can help make that happen.

On top of all of the busyness in our clinic, the education department just finished the Fall 2011 Newsletters so you should be expecting those in your mail box or email inbox very soon. We ship out over 1800 paper newsletters each mailing and that's the reason we haven't been able to offer you many updates recently. It is quite an undertaking, but we enjoy it, and we hope you enjoy reading it as well! If you aren't on the newsletter mailing list yet, we'd be happy to add you! You can sign up for the paper version by sending me your address at Karissa.REGI@gmail.com (or Molly at MollyM.REGI@gmail.com) or you can go GREEN and sign up for the paperless email version by clicking on this link. You can find past and current newsletters on our website and by following this link.

Please keep us in mind with your end of year donations. This year has been a record breaker in terms of patient numbers, and we need your help now more than ever.

Thanks everyone!

Karissa Mohr

Wildlife Educator