Fuzzy Merlins, A "Goalie" Great-Horned Owl, Virginia Rail & Patient Updates

 

These merlin falcons are actually from two different nests, but they are getting along just fine in the clinic

The workload summertime is still in high gear as we soar on to patient 300 of the year! Above is just a few of last week's patients. It seemed to be the "Week of the Merlin" as we had 4 merlins enter the clinic. Three of which are pictured above, and the other is currently flying around her very own enclosure. The left and right birds pictured above were from the same nest, and the little guy in the middle was from a different nest. Even though there was a few day difference in hatching days... they are getting along great in the clinic! The little one is a PIG!

 

 After being tangled in a soccer net, this young great-horned owl was just in need of some rest! 
Assistant avian rehabilitator Katie Rymer moving the great-horned owl to an outdoor enclosure for rest and exercise.

Some wonderful folks in Merrill, WI made a daring rescue as they cut this young great-horned owl free from a soccer net. A group of kids watched the rescue ensue as adults pried the raptor from the nets on one of the warmest days of the year! She came in dehydrated and a little banged up, but we are happy to say that she's doing well, and hopefully will be back flying around the Merrill area this week!

 This Virginia Rail chick is gaining popularity of REGI's Facebook! He'd love some online donations so he can continue to enjoy his favorite treat... bloodworms!

This small Virginia Rail is a popular guy among our staff. He spends his days running around his enclosure, eating countless bloodworms, soaking up rays under his heat lamp, and jumping around in his water dish. When he came in he was about the size of a cotton ball, and he's growing like a little weed! We have high hopes for this REGI first! 

THINK HE'S AS CUTE AS WE DO?

** If you'd like to donate to our Virginia Rail's bloodworm addiction, you can donate online here, or visit REGI's webpage at www.raptoreducationgroup.org. He's already thanking you in peeping noises and unbelievably tall jumps for a guy his size! **

 Barn swallow fledglings catching some rays on one of their first days outside in the outside aviary

These little ones came in as featherless, large-mouthed, hungry kiddos. They've come a long way since their incubator days just a few weeks back. They are now spending their days outside in the aviary.

 This Blue Jay is one of the fastest growing babies of the season, and is doing quite well

This wide-mouthed baby has been eating on his own for a while now. Hard to believe that after feeding them every 20 minutes from sun-up to sun-down they are all grown up and ready to leave the nest. This blue jay is spending it's days and nights outside in hopes of an upcoming successful release!

 This American Robin is spending his days outside soaking up the rays

REGI has seen it's fair share of American robins this year! We are well over 20 robin babies, and hopefully we will be able to celebrate with a huge robin release. Several of these robins will be ready to go soon! Several of these smaller songbirds end up staying on REGI grounds even after release. We fill our feeders daily, and have several bird baths for them to enjoy on our warm summer days!

Interns Alyssa and Kerry learning how to bathe a sticky saw-whet owl

This owl had a run-in with some sticky fly tape, and is getting a bath in Dawn dish soap. Dawn soaps are used on animals during oil spill clean up, and do a great job! It only took a few baths and this little saw-whet was in his own enclosure getting ready for release!

Volunteer Mike & education peregrine falcon showing off our new peregrine falcon education station

This weekend was a warm one, but that didn't stop our volunteer from moving heavy rocks! After several hours and tricky engineering, we'd like to introduce you to our new peregrine falcon education station. For those of you attending upcoming tours, we're proud to say you'll be able to enjoy our adult education peregrine falcon in a more natural environment!


I hope everyone was able to get out and enjoy there weekend! Here in Antigo, WI we were still in smoldering hot temperatures. We are all looking forward to an upcoming week of 70's & 80's!

Enjoy your week, and stay tuned to our Facebook for updates!
- Katie Rymer, Assistant Avian Rehabilitator

Conversations with a Cunning Corvid

I feel very honored to be able to work so closely with wild animals and get to know the personalities of every species and each bird as an individual. I love every species of birds there are; from the large carrion-eating Turkey Vulture to the tiny nectar-drinking Ruby-throated Hummingbird. They are all spectacular.

One group that I've been particularly impressed with and surprised by is the family Corvidae. This family consist of mainly Crows, Ravens, and Jays, and they are extremely intelligent birds. I have gotten to know the resident American Crows very well and am constantly blown away by everything they are capable of.

Spending so much time with these animals allows us an opportunity to witness some of their behaviors that we may not normally be able to see. One of the first things I noticed about corvids is that they are experts at mimicry. There are many many bird sounds at REGI all the time, and the resident crows have learned to mimic most of them; the clucking of the chickens, the trumpeting of Sandhill Cranes, the hoots of various owls, the cooing of doves, and I'm sure there are more that I'm forgetting.

We are lucky to share our lives with a completely wild adult female Blue Jay that lives and nests on the REGI property. Although 100% wild, she has learned to mimic the sound of our ringing phone which she hears through open windows!

Photo above: A young Blue Jay recuperating from a broken wing at REGI. He's warming up to show off his amazing mimicry skills.

Currently, we have a couple of young Blue Jays with us recuperating from broken wings; during their stay they have been showing off their mimicry skills. This morning I was able to catch some of their skills in action. One of the Blue Jays went through three different vocalizations in less than 5 minutes, and he was so convincing that if I hadn't been standing there watching his beak move, I would have a hard time believing that all those sounds came out of him!


In this video, the Blue Jay is mimicking the screeching call of a red-tailed hawk.


In this video, the Blue Jay is mimicking the calls of American Crows. It looks like he's not saying anything and it is such a convincing crow call, but watch his beak closely. He is actually making the crow sound that you hear!


In this video, the Blue Jay is performing the classic Blue Jay "wheedle wheedle" call.


Photo above: A young Blue Jay recuperating from a broken wing at REGI.

Mimicry might seem like a silly skill to have, but it can serve a valuable purpose. A Blue Jay can mimic the sound of a Red-tailed Hawk to scare other birds away from a feeder, allowing them first pick at the best food. They can also use the mimicked call to alert other Blue Jays that an actual hawk may be near. However, the reasons why they mimic American Crows are unclear. Although from the same family, Blue Jays and Crows are enemies, so perhaps mimicking them can alert others that crows are in the area, similarly to mimicking hawks.

Other birds, such as the Northern Mocking Bird of North America and the Superb Lyrebird of New South Wales and Victoria, Australia, use their mimicry skills to impress females. The theory is, the male that can mimic the most sounds is the most exciting and industrious mate and therefore attracts more females to pass on his genes. The Superb Lyrebird is so adept at picking up and mimicking sounds, they have been recorded sounding like many other birds plus car alarms, chainsaws, dogs barking, camera shutter sounds, and basically anything else they hear. The Northern Mockingbird mimics many other birds, but has been known to mimic "unnatural" sounds as well.

Whether Blue Jays mimic sounds to attract mates is unclear, but I'd like to think they do it just to have fun...

Photo above: A young Blue Jay recuperating from a broken wing at REGI shows off his brilliant blue feathers.

I know that this is off the topic of mimicry, but it is a fun fact about Blue Jays that I've always loved, so here goes. Blue Jay feathers have NO blue pigment in them. The brilliant blue color we see is a product of the refraction of light, not pigment. If you were to take one of their feathers and grind it up, the resultant powder would be gray. The feathers have special prismatic cells on them that refract light so our eyes perceive them as blue. If you ever find a Blue Jay feather, look at it under the light, it will appear blue. However, if you hold it up to the light, the light passing through it will make it look gray because the refraction is lost. So interesting! Make sure not to keep the feather though, as it is illegal to possess any part of a bird protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. :)

Take some time to watch your neighborhood birds, and keep an ear out for bird songs, you never know what you might hear!

Karissa Mohr
REGI Wildlife Educator