Screech Release; Whip-poor-will, Tundra Swan, and Osprey Admitted; Barred Owl Update, Science Night at Lincoln High; and Why is a Harris's Hawk Black?

Hello everyone,
We are still busy here, as always, and we have some exciting news! The Eastern Screech Owl that found herself inside an Antigo woman's home after tumbling down her chimney has been released! [You can see her whole story in the Feb. 11th blog.] The little owl mistook the fire place chimney for a tree cavity, a natural living site for screech owls, and wound up inside a living room. Eastern Screech Owls generally have a range that is south of Wausau, WI, how she made it to Antigo is a mystery. Because she came in during the winter, we wanted to give her the best possible chance at survival and waited until spring to release her. We also wanted to make sure that there wasn't any underlying issues that caused this owl to become trapped inside such an unlikely abode. After monitoring and examining her, we determined she was ready to go back into the wild.

Photo above: Our Education Coordinator, Molly McKay, had the honor of releasing the little darling. Here she is preparing to open the box and welcome the owl back to the world of freedom! May she never be inside a house again!

Photo above: As soon as she was released, she went right back to being a normal owl, she straightened out her body, stuck up her feather tufts, and squinted her eyes. Many owls use this pose as a way to blend into their surroundings, and if we were just walking through the forest, we may not have noticed her clinging to that tree.


We also admitted a new patient from Wausau, WI, a Whip-poor-will who flew inside the 3M plant and couldn't find her way out. She is hungry, confused, and dusty, but has no visible injuries. Our largest concern for her is that she smells of chemicals, a very plausible scenario after being trapped inside a manufacturing facility. We are giving her frequent baths with Dawn dish soap to wash away the chemicals.
These birds are fantastically interesting and are easily confused for Nighthawks, but are smaller and lacking the white wing patches of the Nighthawk. Feeding these birds [Nighthawks, Whip-poor-wills, Nightjars, Poorwills, and even Swifts] in captivity is very difficult because they have a specialized way of hunting. It looks as if she has a tiny beak, but in reality they have a huge cavernous mouth as wide as the distance between their eyes. They open this huge net of a mouth as they are flying in the dark to capture flying insects. The force of the insect flying into their mouth pushes it down their throat meaning that they don't need or have a swallowing reflex. Trying to feed a non-flying Whip-poor-will takes a lot of patience and dedication from our wonderful rehabilitation staff, Katie Farvour and Alberta Halfmann. They do excellent work!

Photo above: This Whip-poor-will was trapped inside a local factory and is being bathed frequently to clean her feathers of the harmful chemicals she is covered in. This Whip-poor-will is a female because she is lacking the white throat patch and tail spots of a male.


Yesterday was a busy day for the rehabilitation team with many new patients admitted. They received a call about a Tundra Swan who was left alone in a pond after the other swans she was migrating with continued on their way north. She has an injured wing so she couldn't fly away, but the problem was that she was in a pond and it required a couple boats and a few fast-running feet to catch her. More about this story in an upcoming blog, but what I'll say for now is that they were able to successfully capture her and bring her to safety.

Photo above: Steve Fisher, Marge Gibson, Alberta Halfmann, and Katie Farvour are relieved after successfully capturing the injured Tundra Swan.

Photo above: Back at the REGI facility, the injured Tundra Swan was very relieved to be with swans again after her family was forced to migrate without her. You can see her left wing is injured and hanging.

An Osprey was also admitted with a broken leg. It appears that he may have been caught in some sort of jaw trap meant for mammals. His prognosis is not great as the bone is broken very near a joint, typically resulting in a calcification of the joint and a lack of mobility.

Photo above: This Osprey was admitted with a broken left leg. You can see there are abrasions to both legs, likely from a jaw trap.

Photo above: The Osprey admitted last evening was found standing this morning. A good sign, but still not a recovery.


Several blog posts ago, we wrote about a couple of Barred Owls that were admitted suffering from starvation due to unfortunate weather conditions. I am pleased to announce that these owls are now eating completely solid foods and have been moved to an outside flight enclosure. While starving, their bodies began to absorb their muscles to make up for the lack of food. Now they must exercise their muscles and rebuild them in preparation of being released. That is good news for these beautiful owls!


Photo above: These two Barred Owls have been moved to an outside flight enclosure to rebuild the muscles lost during starvation.



The education team was invited to "Science Night" at Lincoln High School in Wisconsin Rapids and Steve Fisher and I were delighted to speak with the students and their families. It is so great that schools in the area include presentations like ours into their science activities, and it is an honor to be able to teach people about our magnificent raptors.

Photo above: Education Director, Steve Fisher, and Eastern Screech Owl, Wookie, teach the attendees of "Science Night" about the strong raptor in a tiny package.

We brought our Harris's Hawk to the program to teach people about a new species. Harris's hawks are desert dwellers and have many adaptations that allow them to live in such harsh climates. After the program, one bright young woman asked me, "If Harris's Hawks live in the desert where it is so hot, why are they black instead of a lighter color?" Wow, I never really thought about it. It would make sense for a desert species to be a lighter color so they could stay cooler in the searing midday sun. I didn't have a good answer for her so I went home and did a whole bunch of research. What I found was quite surprising, so I hope this blog post finds its way to her.

Photo above: Gypsy, our educational Harris's Hawk shows off her beautiful dark plumage.

I found a journal article that covered the topic very well. Here is the citation if you want to look it up yourself. [Ward J.M., J.D. Blount, G.D. Ruxton & D.C. Houston 2002. The adaptive
significance of dark plumage for birds in desert environments. Ardea 90(2):311-323.] They found that many avian desert species have dark colored feathers and there are a number of reasons why biologists think this has developed. First of all, the pigment in dark feathers is melanin, the same pigment that determines the color of human skin. Melanin is a strong pigment and that makes the keratin the feathers are made of stronger as a result. It is likely that these stronger feathers stand up to the inhospitableness of the desert; thorny cactuses and blowing sand. Another possible function is resistance to damage from UV-rays. Similarly seen in our species early in human evolution, people living closest to the equator developed darker skin with more melanin which helped to protect them from damaging UV-rays. After thinking about it that way, it makes a lot of sense for desert dwelling birds to have darker plumage richer in melanin. A final "simpler" explanation is visibility. The coloration in the desert is usually pretty light; tan sand, green cactuses, etc. If a bird has dark colors, like the Harris's Hawk does, it is easier for other members of the species to spot them on the landscape. Harris's Hawks are social birds and live in family groups where communication is important. These explanations all make a lot of sense to me and I am grateful for that young woman who challenged me to think about these magnificent birds in another way.

Thanks everyone!

Karissa Mohr
Wildlife Educator

Barred Owl, Canada Goose, Trumpeter Swan, Bald Eagle, Great Horned Owl, and Eastern Screech Owl... Oh My!

It has been a busy few days here around REGI! We have admitted quite a few new patients, six of which I'd like to share with you now.

Photo above: This Barred owl was admitted after being hit by a car near the Langlade, WI area. His first few days here were a little rough; he had blood in his nares (nostrils) which is indicative of internal damage. Internal bleeding is very common in birds that have been hit by cars and can be fatal; luckily for this gorgeous owl, his injuries are healing. We are very pleased to say that he is recovering very well and will soon be ready for release!

If you look closely at the feathers between his eyes you can see what looks like snow stuck to them. That is actually frozen water vapor that has collected from each breath he releases. That proves how perfectly suited these owls are for winter weather. They are so well insulated that their body heat is trapped below their feathers and snow doesn't even melt on them. Amazing!

Photo above: This Canada Goose was admitted this morning from the Stratford, WI area, suffering from an old gunshot injury. Being that Canada Goose hunting season ended in mid December and assuming her injury came from an attempted legal harvest, she has been braving this northern winter for a couple months, unable to fly. In areas of the Midwest that retain open water during all seasons, some Canada geese might attempt to stay the winter, but most geese have long flown South.

Her injury resulted in the loss of part of her wing which means that she will not be able to return to the wild; however, all hope is not lost. She has a big job in her future; every spring, it is inevitable that we will need to raise Canada Goose goslings. Assuming that she is able to regain her strength and a healthy weight, she will make a wonderful foster mom for many orphaned goslings.

Canada Geese are a harvestable species meaning that it is legal to shoot them during designated seasons. Injuries like the ones sustained by this Canada Goose really come down to hunter responsibility. If a poor shot is taken, it is up to the hunter to do everything they can to find the injured bird and prevent suffering. We are very thankful for the person who found this goose and brought her to safety; the world needs more people like that.

Photo above: This Trumpeter Swan cygnet (youngster) was found in the Gilman area which is in North Western Wisconsin. The area in which he was found has no open water and the reasons why he was there are unclear. He is suffering from vision problems from an unspecified injury, and also as a chip in his beak which may indicate head trauma. It is not certain that his vision will ever improve, but we will continue to monitor him. Blood tests showed no lead poisoning which is good news; one less thing he has to overcome.

Photo Above: An upsetting story... This Bald Eagle was found in the Wittenberg, WI area suffering from gunshot wounds. Some very good people found him and brought him to safety, but unfortunately, the damage from the shot was so severe it resulted in the loss of part of the wing. It is likely that he has an occupation as an education bird in his future.

Judging by the coloration on the eagle's head, he is likely around 3 or 4 years old. Bald Eagles don't get their signature "bald" head until they are about 5 years old and this fellow is still showing dark streaks.

Like we have mentioned before, harming ANY raptor is illegal! I plan to do this work for the rest of my life, and I don't think I will ever understand why someone would want to murder our National bird. We are very grateful for the kind people who rescued him.

Photo above: This Great Horned Owl from Arpin, WI was found tangled in a barbed wire fence. He has some damage to his right wing, but it looks like he will be releasable! He looks quite upset in the photo, and that is good! It means he is feeling well enough to be defensive. Great Horned Owls always have a very strong personality so that is another good sign for this guy.

Barbed wire is an especially dangerous obstacle for animals, including birds. The barbs are very effective at hooking into tissue and once an animal is caught, it often needs help from a human to get free. This owl was extremely lucky in that his injuries were minor and someone found in in a short period of time. Unfortunately, most animals found tangled in barbed wire have already died.

Barbed wire can be made "safer" by keeping the wire taut and by tying strips of light colored cloth at multiple points between each fence post. The tautness helps keep animals from twisting in between two wires and the cloth strips make the wire more visible and avoidable for low-flying birds. The same is true for other types of wire fences. They're an unexpected danger that we can and should help to reduce; after all, we are the ones putting them up.

Photo above: This Eastern Screech Owl was found in Antigo, WI, with a very interesting story. A lovely woman walked into her living room to find this adorable little Screech Owl perched atop one of her vases! Imagine her surprise! Being that the owl was covered in soot and had some roughed-up feathers, we deduced that she must have "broken in" through the fireplace chimney. This odd situation isn't as rare as you might think.

Many species of owls, including Eastern Screech Owls, are cavity-nesters, meaning that they nest in holes in trees. As luck would have it, chimneys resemble these tree cavities closely enough for owls to be confused. Raccoons have also found themselves inside people's homes after making the same mistake. If you would like to avoid having owls or raccoons ambling down your chimney, a simple chimney cap should usually do the trick.

Another odd thing about the screech-owl-in-living-room situation is that Eastern Screech Owls are generally found South of Wausau, WI; Antigo, WI is an hour, by car, north of there. Why she was this far North is a mystery.

She is being observed for several days to make sure that there isn't an underlying problem, but she is in good weight and should be released quite soon!

On top of all the patients, we were lucky enough to be visited by a few students today from the University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point. Two of them are here from Japan for a short time doing a training program through the University. We had a great time showing them around and they taught us about the raptors native to Japan; it was a real treat! Katie Rymer, an intern from this past summer, drove them all up to Antigo and it was great to have her "home" at REGI again!

Photo above: The students learned to handle birds during their time with us. We hope they enjoyed their time at REGI as much as we enjoyed having them! (Photo Credit: Molly McKay)

As always, thank you all for your donations and support!

We couldn't do this without you!

Have a great weekend!

Karissa Mohr

REGI Wildlife Educator

Snow Bunting Released, Northern Cardinal Better, Barred Owl with Fractured Mandible, Volunteers

( Photo: Snow Bunting admitted in early January with a wing fracture was released today.)

It was a busy Saturday, but a beautiful day here in Northern Wisconsin.

We released our beautiful Snow Bunting that came in with a wing fracture in early January. The beautiful visitor from the north, healed well. He was flying so well in fact that he gave Lance and Abby a work out when they tried to catch him up from the flight aviary for his release. I said he was released but that is not quite accurate. While we were taking photos of him just before the release, he grew impatient and decided to exit from my hand before we were ready with the camera. Oh well, the important thing is he is a free bird tonight and will be making the trek back north soon for breeding.


( Photo: Northern Cardinal admitted on Jan 31st was well enough to go into a indoor aviary and out of intensive care.)

The Northern Cardinal in the photo above has done so well. He came in with a dog bite. He has a few serious days in intensive care but turned the corner yesterday and today was so active we tried him in the aviary. He is a little underweight so will remain in an indoor aviary until he gets his weight back to normal range and then will be released. Yea!!

We had some great help when volunteers Joe Krumrie and Abby Ruppert both students from UWSP came up for the day. Both are experienced with raptors and helped do some handling and made some jesses for the education birds. Thanks to both Joe and Abby for their time today. We got a lot of work done and it is always fun to talk to students that are interested in birds.


( Photo: Joe Krumrie works with our Gyrfalcon/Prairie Falcon while Abby Ruppert holds Aries our Broad winged Hawk.)



( Photo: Joe and Abby made jesses for our Screech Owl. Joe puts them on the little guy while Lance holds him.)


( Photo: The handsome Screech Owl has his first lesson in being glove trained.)

This is the same Screech Owl that was shot a few weeks ago. His wing injury was so severe that he will not be able to fly again. He continues to have vision problems. Since he will not be able to be wild again, his next option is be spend his life as an education bird. To find out if he agrees with that opportunity and doesn't mind captivity he has to do through a training phase first.
Not all birds are comfortable enough for captive placement, but he did real well today.


( Photo: This Barred Owl has a split lower mandible. )

We admitted an adult Barred Owl. This is an interesting case and one are working to repair. The owls lower mandible is split in two parts. As you an imagine she is unable to eat well on her own and has to be tube fed or fed small strips of meat. We will be trying a new technique to repair the beak tomorrow morning. I will let you know how it goes.


( Photo: Bald Eagle with Lead Poisoning is still fighting for her life. The green droppings are one of the indications of lead poisoning and is a sign of liver failure. )

The Bald Eagle with lead poisoning is continue to fight for her life and we are not going to give up on her as long as she is willing to keep trying. She is very sick, but such a beautiful and strong female eagle I remain hopeful until she is no longer.

Have a good tomorrow everyone.

Marge Gibson © 2010

Timing is Everything

Timing is everything for a successful release. For this Eastern Screech Owl his release was a long time coming! He came into REGI in June of 2008 still covered in some juvenile gray fuzz. When he first arrived he captured every summer intern’s heart with is small size and awkward appearance. He came to us with an injured wing, perhaps resulting from a first flight gone wrong. We carefully set his wing and kept a close eye on him. It didn’t take us long to see this bird had a strong personality and he didn’t want anyone to forget that he was NOT happy about his current situation and would like to leave us as soon as possible. The annoyed look on his face only became fiercer if we made any comments on his “cute” appearance. Don’t let his small size fool you: this screech owl was one tough raptor!

All summer we nursed him back to health. He just needed time to heal his wing and grow up a little. When September came he was zipping around the flight cage and was at a good weight. We started to talk about when and where he should be released. Screech owls migrate slightly south during the Wisconsin winters and we knew he needed to be on his way soon. We decided that he would be released in early October near Milwaukee. The week before his set release date we started to notice some scraggly feather. A few days later he had decided to go into a full molt! When we release a bird they need to be in perfect condition and he had feathers sticking out every which way. Sigh. This was not his time.

Even though he was finished molting near the end of November we had to over winter him at REGI. Winter takes forever in my mind. I can’t image what a long winter it was for this spirited screech owl. Finally, in March spring started to arrive in Wisconsin. Once again we started to talk about when and where to release our feisty little screech owl. The weather was becoming better but this little screech had never hunted on his own. We were concerned with no other food alternatives beside small rodents this early in the season of his success rate. We wanted to make sure his transition back to the wild would go smoothly. A little more time was needed for the insects to return, which is another food source for screech owls.

“Happy May Day!” I told the little screech owl as he bit the towel I was picking him up with “Your time has finally come.” I drove him down to Stevens Point and under the safety of the night Jean Rice and I watched him fly away from her back deck into the nearby oaks. The REGI staff had done all we could. It was time for him to take that attitude and put it to some good use for hunting or finding a mate.

Nicole Swanson