Grown Ups, Patient Updates, & Interns

Hey everyone, were still swamped in baby season here at REGI.

Here's a picture-filled blog full of updates!

_____ All Grown Up _____

These merlins made their debut on our last blog (above), look how grown up they look now (below)

Hard to imagine that just several weeks ago these striking falcons were just white puff balls with large eyes, sharp beaks, and quick feet. Merlins go from hatching to flight in only one month, and we can attest to that here at REGI. This has been the summer of the merlins. We've seen seven fluffy babies come through our clinic doors. All of which are currently flight training in an outside enclosure!

The Virginia Rail is doing great, and enjoys fresh duckweed and insects daily

Look at who else is growing up! REGI's Virginia Rail is no longer cotton ball size! He stirred up quite an array of followers on our Facebook, and would like to thank everyone for their monetary donations to support his bloodworm addictions! He still has expensive tastes, and has moved up to waxworms & small minnows.

This baby turkey vulture had a high-speed migration in a car from the University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota contacted us this past week with an interesting request. They had acquired a turkey vulture chick that had fallen from its nest into a large body of water, and he needed a foster parent. Kayakers found the little one flapping around in the water and were able to pull him up into the kayak and get him to the University of Minnesota. Here at REGI, we have several successful turkey vulture foster parents, some of which who have fostered Minnesota vultures in the past. It appears that these two are over the whole Packer/Viking feud, and are getting along great!

_____ Patient Updates _____

This young broad-winged hawk came into the clinic just yesterday. His parents may have kicked him out of the nest because he appears to be fully blind in his left eye.

This red-tailed hawk came into the clinic starving and has an injury to a leg. Cases like this lead us to believe he she had some sort of collision with a car which left her unable to hunt.

This great-horned owl came into the clinic very thin. A male great-horned owl weighs over 2 lbs, and a female can be over 4 lbs. This one came into the clinic weighing just over 1 lb. Release is a long way in the future for this owl... but we are crossing our fingers/toes for success

_____ Summer Interns _____

 Licensed rehabilitator Alberta & intern Alyssa tubing one of several fledgling eagles in the clinic

The interns this summer are doing a fantastic job! They truly get the whole rehabilitation experience here at REGI. Although they work long hours (as all of our former interns will remember), their spirits stay strong. The following are all photos of the interns learning experiences to date. They have seen a vast array of different species come through the clinic doors, and never know which one could be next!

Licensed rehabilitator Alberta & intern Maddie tubing another fledgling eagle

Intern Kerry holding a belted kingfisher while he anxiously awaits a larger box in the clinic

Interns Maddie and Sarah tubing the 1 lb great-horned owl

Intern Molly enjoying some alone time with our education peregrine falcon

_____ Summer Tours _____

 Molly, our education director, leading a tour past our crows & raven

Our education peregrine falcon poses for the tour group. Come meet our peregrine up close on one of our on-site tours

Summer tours are still soaring strong. Tours run Tuesdays, Thursdays, and the second Saturday of every month. Most tours still have spaces for both the 10AM & 1PM time slots. Call the education office at REGI to reserve your spots ahead of time (715) 623-2563.

Enjoy your week, it sounds like we finally have some rain in the forecast!

- Katie Rymer, Assistant Avian Rehabilitator

Busy Labor Day Weekend, Bald Eagle Ensnared Near Hayward, Hummingbirds, Nighthawk and Many More

Don and Marge Gibson examine the young bald eagle when she was admitted on Sunday.

This beautiful young Bald Eagle would have died this weekend, if it were not for a family of everyday heros from Iowa that stepped up to the plate to rescue and help transport her to REGI.   Our hats off to the Bill Obenauf family for their tenacity to get her help. It turns out, Bill is a well known radio personality on 97X in the Quad cities.  He gives a terrific description of the rescue and how they came to find the bird in the link provided.  http://www.2dorks.com/Eagle.html   I urge you to read  it as it is well done and has many photos of the rescue. Their response is testimony to what kindness and generosity can accomplish.  In the remote areas of our state we are blessed with plentiful and a huge diversity of wildlife and  few people.  That situation becomes challenging when wildlife becomes injured and needs help.  REGI is located over 3 hours from the site where this youngster was found on an ATV traill.  The snare, which had been there for weeks, had embedded into the eagles leg.  With her leg immobilized, the eagle was not able to capture fish or eat and therefore was slowly starving.

Weighing in at 4 lbs this young Bald Eagle was near death when she arrived at the REGI facility.  She should have weighed about 10 lbs.

Embedded into the leg of a young Bald Eagle, the string was beginning to cut off circulation to the eagles foot.

The snare was a homemade version made from string and a stick. We are not sure what the target was for this snare, but we are pretty sure it was not a Bald Eagle.  Sadly, this type of thing happens far to often. We urge folks to realize that wildlife may accidentally encounter such things and die when they are unable to extricate themselves.  In the great northwoods of WI, that animal may well be an threatened or endangered species.

Tired but warm, alive and happy to have food in her crop, this young eagle now has a future.

The good news is, while she is still in critical condition, the brave young eagle is doing well. She is still on heat and being tube fed liquid food several times a day.  Due to the level of starvation she suffered, she is unable to digest the fish/meat that would be her natural diet.  She has a long road to recovery ahead of her but we are cautiously optimistic for her future. 

Check for updates often as she progresses and regains her health.

The weekend was crazy busy with many new patients being admitted.  Holidays are always busy as that is when families are together and outdoors and encounter wildlife with injures just as the Obenauf family did.

Several Red-tailed hawks, like the one Marge is holding above and Broad-winged hawks were admitted over the weekend.  Broad-winged hawks are beginning their southward bound migration and we can expect many more to come in the next several weeks.  Broad-winged hawks fly all the was through Mexico, Central America, and can go as far as Argentina before they rest for the remainder of the winter. In spring they will head up north again to breed and raise their youngsters.

This beautiful female Nighthawk made contact with a car and broke her wing as she was swooping through the night air hunting insects. Nighthawks eat only insects and are hugely beneficial to humans.

We hope for a full recovery for the nighthawk, but she will miss migration. She will either stay with us for the winter or be transported to the far south to catch up with others of her species. Central America or the Caribbean will be her final destination for the winter.

This Belted Kingfisher is a handsome and spirited bird.  She broke her wing but is rapidly improving.

We raised 7 young Kingfishers this year at REGI. They were released  2 weeks ago. We are told they are happily fishing and squabbling with each other, as siblings of all species seem to do, near their private land release site.

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are delicate in stature but strong in character. These two were admitted with wing fractures and are doing well.

We love sharing our patients and their stories with you. We have lots more to tell you including several popular patients that have recently been released to the wild. 

As for now, our patients need attention so that will have to wait for another day.  Thank you everyone for caring about wildlife and supporting our efforts with native wildlife.   REGI receives no state or federal funds even though all of our patients are state and Federally protected species.  It is only through your help that non-profits such as Raptor Education Group, Inc  (REGI) can continue our important work.

Have a great evening,

Marge Gibson