Burned Osprey, Poisoned Great Horned Owl, Pine Siskin, and a Saw-whet Owl Release

We have had a busy weekend here at REGI. People are becoming more active outside as spring warms up and that leads to more birds being found in need of help. If you find a wild bird in need of help, please don't hesitate to call. (715) 623-4015.

Monday we admitted an adult Osprey suffering from burns. His primary flight feathers, tail feathers, and many of his body feathers have been badly scorched leaving only the stiff feather shafts. He has some flesh burns on his left wing, but overall does not have other burns to his skin.

The pointed shafts are all that remain after his feathers were scorched.

The cause of these burns are from an open methane flare used to burn off methane build-up at a landfill in Wausau, WI. The Holtz-Krause landfill was capped and the "active gas extraction system" (including the methane flare) was constructed in the early 1990s. These open flares are used across the country to control the gasses released by landfill waste. While this is the first case of this nature that REGI has seen, this is an issue that many other rehabilitators across the country deal with quite frequently. The problem with these methane flares or methane burners is that methane produces a clear flame- raptors don't see it. Capped landfills provide prime habitat for rodents; a staple in the diet of many raptors. Ospreys eat almost exclusively fish, but they have been known to feed on small mammals. The flames coming from the burners may be constant or intermittent and raptors, such as this unknowing Osprey, use the burner as a perch while resting or waiting for food to come by. Without warning, the methane ignites and instantly incinerates the raptor perching above.

It's not only raptors that are injured or killed by open methane burners, songbirds can also be killed by flying through the flame or perching on the burner. It isn't known if other birds have been killed or injured at this site, but this is the first REGI has seen.

Ospreys winter in South America, and this male just returned to Wisconsin with his life-long mate. It doesn't seem fair that after all of his hard work during migration, this is how he ends up. This Osprey was relatively lucky in that he did not burn to death or even have more severe burns on his body. He will miss out on breeding season this year and his mate may be forced to find another. He will receive supportive care at REGI until he molts and grows new feathers, which may take many months.

If you would like to help this Osprey, we would be very grateful for donations of panfish or monetary support.

Burns on his skin can be seen along the Osprey's left wing.

His wing, tail, and body feathers have been so severely burned that only the shafts remain. The white fuzzy feathers, which can be seen along his left wing in the photo above, are downy insulation feathers, now visible because the outer feathers have been burned off. 

This Great Horned Owl  was found in someone's backyard in Wausau, WI, unable to fly. He is very thin and low in weight. His feathers are in poor condition and he has at least two kinds of external parasites; hippoboscid flies and feather lice. It is likely that he is also suffering from secondary poisoning from rodenticide. A rodent ingested mouse poison and was then preyed upon by this owl. Consequentially, the poison passed from the mouse to the owl. Sadly, cases like this are common. They are also 100% preventable. Don't trust companies that claim their poison is "safe". Rodenticide (rodent poison) is extremely dangerous for wild and domestic creatures and should never ever be used. If you or someone you know still uses rodent poison, please encourage them to stop.

This male Great Horned Owl was admitted in low weight with poor feathers, external parasites, and likely rodenticide poisoning. 

This little Pine Siskin was found near Hatley, WI with a broken left wing. Pine Siskins are currently on their migration back to Canada for the summer, but this little one will have to wait for his wing to heal. 

This Pine Siskin was admitted with a broken wing. His wings are taped in the proper position to allow the bone to heal correctly. If you look closely you may see a splash of yellow on his tail. The streaks of yellow on the tail and wings of Pine Siskins and their heavily streaked breast and back are identifying characteristics which may help you pick them out of a mixed-species flock.

We do have some good news to tell you about. A little Northern Saw-whet Owl who came to us in late winter after being poisoned has been released! This poor little male was found, puffed up, and unresponsive. He was suffering from internal bleeding that comes along with rodenticide poisoning.

The little male Northern Saw-whet Owl, looking much healthier and alert than when he was admitted, is just moments from release. 

Executive Director of REGI, Marge Gibson gently passes the little Saw-whet to the woman who found him. Without her help and watchful eyes this little male would have died from rodenticide poisoning. Now healed, she sent him back to the wild where he belongs.

I was able to take a small video for you of our Snowy Owl patient eating her lunch. This video may bother some viewers so watch with caution. All of our raptor patients are fed dead animals. In this video the Snowy Owl impressively gulps down her lunch. Find more of our videos at our YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/raptoreducationgroup!

Video above: This Snowy Owl was admitted to Raptor Education Group, Inc. (REGI) in February 2012 suffering from starvation and Trichomonas gallinae. She is now strong enough to digest solid food and is shown here eating a dead mouse. She had already gulped down two others by the time I could get my camera ready.

That's all for today! Thanks everyone!

Karissa Mohr
Wildlife Educator

A Big, Huge, Giant Update

We have had SO much going on around here and I need to try to fit it all into one gigantic blog update... Here goes!

The education team has been very busy with lots of programs. It's a good-busy though, we are not complaining! :D On Wednesday, Education Coordinator, Molly McKay and I did a program for the Tri-County Area School District after-school program in Plainfield, WI. On Thursday, Molly did a program for the Popplewood 4H club in Ringle, WI. We had a wonderful time at both of these programs! We never get tired of doing programs at new locations... or familiar locations for that matter! We are often invited back, and we love it! Everywhere we go, we meet so many great people interested in the beautiful raptors we work with. Rightfully so, the raptors will take your breath away! If you are among the lucky that have met some of our raptors, you know this is true. If you haven't met them yet, you really should!

On Friday, Molly and I did three programs for Edgar Elementary School. This was a very exciting trip for me because I grew up in Marathon City, only a few minutes away from Edgar, WI. In addition, my wonderful little cousin, Madison Borchardt is a 1st grader at Edgar Elementary, and was able to see all of the wonderful birds we had to share.

Photo above: I am teaching the students of Edgar Elementary School about owls with help from Barred Owl, Malcolm. (Photo credit: Molly McKay)

Photo above: Education Coordinator, Molly McKay teaches the students about Peregrine Falcons during our third and final program at Edgar Elementary. The arrow is pointing to my darling cousin, Madison. I love you sweetie!


On Saturday, Molly and I traveled 7 hours round trip to Edgerton, WI to speak with members and friends of the Sterling North Society at Sterling's very own historic home and barn. Sterling North was an author and animal lover who grew up in Edgerton, WI. He has written many great books, the most well known being "Rascal," subtitled "a memoir of a better era," in which he writes about his trying childhood and special bond with his pet raccoon, Rascal. If you would like to learn more about the Sterling North Society, follow this link! Molly and I had a terrific time and want to thank everyone from the Sterling North Society for their wonderful hospitality!

Photo above: Sterling North's home in Edgerton, WI.


The rehabilitation team has also been extremely busy with many new patients. The baby season has arrived and tots have been slowly adding up.

We currently have three Bald Eagle patients in our clinic with a fourth on the way. That means we have 42 big, beautiful Bald Eagles under our care at REGI in addition to the dozens of other birds in need of help.

Photo above: This Bald Eagle from Birnamwood, WI is suffering from starvation. As you can tell, he is in very poor condition. We are tube feeding him several times per day in hopes that he will continue to fight. He is standing, which is a positive sign, but I'm tentative about being overly optimistic right now.

Photos above: This Bald Eagle from St. Germain, WI was found grounded under the nest he is guarding. He is eating well, and things are looking promising for him. We would like to get him back out to his nest as soon as we can to take some of the burden off of his mate, but he has some trauma from a possible fall.

Photo above: This Bald Eagle from Keshena, WI was admitted after having a "disagreement" with another Eagle. He is able to fly and is currently in a flight enclosure so he can maintain his flight muscles.

Photo above: This beautiful Red Tailed Hawk was found in someone's back yard in Wausau, WI. He has a broken right wing and is extremely thin, suggesting that he has been unable to fly for some time. How he broke his wing, we are unsure, but we do know that he wouldn't have lasted much longer without help. If this bird looks unusually light to you, you're correct. Red Tailed Hawks can have amazing color variations within the species, from deep browns to creamy tans. The more extreme the color variation, the less commonly you'll see them. This beautiful light male is less common and extremely gorgeous.


Photo above: This Great Horned Owl from Antigo, WI was found by some kind and observant turkey hunters with an injury to his left wing and smelling of skunk, a common occurrence when rehabilitating Great Horned Owls. These powerful and confident owls frequently take skunks, but when hunting for such large prey, they risk getting injured in the process. That is likely what happened to this fellow.


We also admitted our second baby Great Horned Owl. This youngster is underweight and needs to be tube fed several times per day.

Photo above: Even at this young age, Great Horned Owls have all the tenacity in the world.


Photo above: Tubing the baby. He's underweight and dehydrated so tube feeding is absolutely necessary to improve his condition. That doesn't mean they like it though...

Photo above: He looks pleased to have that yucky tube out of his throat. ;)

Photo above: As busy as we get, we always have time to pause to watch a baby swallow a mouse. It is such a terrific undertaking for an owlet to swallow a mouse, but they are able to accomplish it each time, and I am always amazed.

The first baby Great Horned Owl admitted last week is doing well. She is eating like a champion and growing quickly. We do have some concerns about her vision though. We need to do more vision testing, but if we do find that she has trouble seeing, it is likely that her parents noticed it before we did and bumped her out of the nest.


We also admitted two baby Pine Siskins found as orphans. One of the youngsters, the first to arrive, is in fair health and eating well. The second youngster is not doing so well. It appears that he may have tussled with a creature capable of fitting him inside its mouth, most likely a domestic dog or cat. Both babies are fully feathered and are already beginning to experiment with flight.

Last year in late March, we admitted a baby Pine Siskin making it the earliest passerine chick and the first baby Pine Siskin in our 20 year history. This year, we have TWO Pine Siskin babies from two different nests! Both are from Marathon County, but definitely did not come from the same parents. The reason this is so strange is because in the Eastern half of North America, Pine Siskins nest in the North, farther North than humble little Wisconsin. They are frequent winter visitors of this area as adults, but have had very few recorded nesting events in Wisconsin. What is going on here?! At the risk of being controversial, I'll just say that climate change is a curious thing and it has consequences farther reaching than any of us can fathom.

Photo above: Baby Pine Siskin #1. As you can tell from the photo, Pine Siskins are fairly small birds, and as I have quite petite hands, this baby is tinier than you may think.

Photo above: Baby Pine Siskin #2. This little tyke is the less well of the two, but still is anxious for feeding time. You may be able to see that his wings look blurry and that is because, when hungry, young birds flutter their wings at a speed that would impress a hummingbird! They do this to tell their parents, "Hey! I'm hungry! Feed me first!", and it is terribly adorable to see an incubator full of fluttering babes.


Another early baby for this spring is a 6-week-old Common Raven. Admitting a baby this large so early in the season is a bit surprising, especially for a northern climate, but Common Ravens start early and produce very hardy young. This little guy (or gal) was found alone, and being so young, is still unskilled at flying. He has a misshapen beak and it is likely he was kicked out of the nest by his parents. It may sound harsh, but baby birds with birth defects are disposed of by their parents so more time and energy can be concentrated on the young with a better chance at survival. This also serves the species well because the individuals with lesser genetics are taken out of the gene pool right away ensuring healthier young in the next generation. Because of his deformity, he will not be released, but he will become an education bird and teach thousands of people about the wonderfulness of Ravens. He has a big job in front of him!


Photos above: The 6-week-old Common Raven spends a lot of time watching us, his human caretakers. Because he has a deformity, he is non-releasable, and it is OK for him to become habituated to humans being around him. In fact, we want him to be comfortable around people because he will be an education bird someday.


As promised, here's an update on the Eaglet. It has been one week since the last update and he has grown another pound! He's beginning to look more like a body builder than a baby bird! Right now, his body is spending a lot of time and energy developing muscles necessary for standing, and one day, flying.


Photos above: The eaglet is out for his weekly check-up. He has grown another pound and is beginning to really look like he could be the proud symbol of freedom Americans know and love. If you look closely you can see that he is crossing a milestone, adult feathers are beginning to peek out of his baby fuzz. His feet are also already gigantic! He has a long way to go, but he's getting there fast! I hope you all enjoy seeing him grow as much as we all do here at REGI.


Whew! That was quite the blog. Hopefully you were all able to get through it!

Thanks everyone!

Karissa Mohr
Wildlife Educator

Where Do I BEGIN? Lots of New Patients, Pileated Woodpecker, 15 More Wood Ducklings, Barred Owl Babes, Red-tailed Hawks, Pine Siskin Update

( Photo: Barred Owl Owlets lost their home when a tree was felled. The landowner was not aware the tree was a home for the owl family.)

It has been a very busy time at REGI. It didn't help that I was called away to two funerals, one out of state during the past five days. This time of the year, if you take the luxury of sleeping an extra hour one day, you find yourself still behind in August. Let me try to catch you up.



( Photo: This male Pileated Woodpecker was hit by a car near Wisconsin Rapids. He has a broken left leg, internal injuries and a bad headache.)

Nicki Christianson is a wildlife rehabilitator from Wisconsin Rapids, WI. I have talked about Nicki before in this blog. You can bet you will see her name many more times. Nicki works with mammals however, has been gracious to help us with our avian patients more times over the years than I can recall. The Pileated Woodpecker in the photo above was rescued by Nicki.



( Photo: The male Pileated Woodpecker is resting comfortably but is still in critical condition. he is eating well and that is a terrific improvement.Sadly this Pileated Woodpecker has young in the nest. We hope his mate can manage to care for them on her own. )

Last night a gentleman from Mosinee called. It was nearly 10 P.M.when the call came in. He found a nestling baby American Robin on the sidewalk. One of a downed nest was still alive. He took it home not knowing what to do, but knowing that he could not leave it on that sidewalk without any help. After talking with me, he drove the little one to me at REGI arriving a little after 11 P.M.
It is thriving and joined a nest of four other American Robin nestlings just his age. Some people are just nice.



( Photo: American Robin nestling was found on a sidewalk by a caring individual and brought to REGI late at night. This is the only photo I have but it is the important part of him, his wide open mouth.)



( Photo: Nestling American Robins are eager eaters. They open their mouth so wide you there is no mistaking what their intent is. )

Our baby nursery is brimming with mouths gaping open to be fed constantly. It is comic relief to see the many different species and how varied the behavior is. American Robins open their mouths so wide you can almost do a class on their anatomy. Check out the photo above.



( Photo: Nestling Eastern Bluebirds tend to be quiet and shy, but are showing their soon to be gorgeous blue feathers even at this age.)



( Photo: Remember the Pine Siskin nestling that arrived in late March? He will be released soon. In this photo he is in an outdoor aviary set up as a woodland complete with a variety of insects. Here he has a fat worm in his mouth.



( Photo: Our American Woodcock chicks are grown. They are preparing for release to the wild in the woodland aviary as well. This is a close up photo of the oldest chick and one of the younger ones probing the earth for worms.)



( Photo: Fifteen more Wood Duck ducklings were added to our group. The ducklings are divided into a few different brooders to keep them safe and healthy.)



( Photo: Two very tiny House Finches were admitted today. They are doing well and will eat every twenty minutes for the nest several days.)

Speaking of those little ones I must sign off and get back to them. More catching up tomorrow! Interns arrive! YEA!!!!
Have a great tomorrow.

Marge Gibson © 2010

Baby Passerines ALREADY!, Spring Cleaning in Full Swing

( Photo: This Pine Siskin is only about 14 days old but almost fully feathered and beginning to eat on it own. It has the distinction of being the earliest nestling passerine admitted to REGI in our twenty year history! )

We have been hard at work here at REGI. Unfortunately the blog has not had attention as we are trying to tend our spring cleaning. We have several UWSP Field Trips coming up and a seminar so the facility needs to have the gloom of winter gone.

We have already admitted a nestling passerine this year! That makes the earliest admission of a baby passerine in our history. Our far north location makes it nearly impossible for songbirds to successfully nest in March, which is when the parents of the little one above went to nest. Besides being early, this is the first Pine Siskin youngster we have ever had at REGI.

We get plenty of adults during the winter season, but never chicks. Pine Siskins are birds of the par north and are usally thought of as irruptive winter finches. This year was not however an irruptive year for northern birds. With the presentation of this youngster we KNOW for sure there were at least two adults in Langlade County this early spring. :) The Breeding Bird Atlas for Wisconsin documented only 27 confirmed nesting of Pine Siskin in WI, so we don't feel too bad that we were surprised when the little one showed up on our door step. Our babe is the earliest nesting ever reported to our knowledge.

We are delighted we can add the data for the earliest nesting to the logs of ornithology for the State of Wisconsin.

We are grateful for students from the Biological Honor Society that came to help last weekend. They did some really hard work hauling gravel out of the flights. Every few years we have to change the pea gravel in the flights. it is hard, heavy work and not one that people think of when they consider what needs to be done at REGI.
Thanks everyone for lending a hand and strong backs too.







( Photos: Students from the The UWSP Biological Honor Society, Jamie Klemish, Brandon Carmichael and Nyssa Maki worked hard with REGI staff Katie Farvour and Alberta Halfmann and volunteer Ryan Pregler to change out pea gravel in on of the large flights. )

We have some sad news this week. REGI lost a good friend with the passing of Bob Javurek. Bob was not only a friend of the REGI organization but also the father of former REGI intern and employee Gina Javurek. We are a close "family" at REGI. Our interns become our extended family. Don and I attended Bobs funeral on Thursday in Eau Claire, WI. We released a Red-tailed Hawk in his memory following the service. Bob was a special person and will be missed very much. Our deepest sympathy to his wonderful wife Kris and daughters Gina and Nicki Javurek as they struggle to cope with Bob's sudden passing at age 59. Rest in peace dear friend.



( Photo: Bob Javurek with his daughters Nicki ( left) and Gina ( right))

We will be back at a more regular pace with the blog now so stay tuned! If we can admit a baby Pine Siskin, you never know what may be coming in next!

Marge Gibson 2010

Bald Eagle Skewered Wing, Exciting Sandhill Crane Update

Hello Everyone,
The day began early this morning with a call from a concerned resident about a Bald Eagle on the ground bleeding. A large stick was through her wing. By seven A.M. I was in the van and on my way to attempt a rescue of the eagle.

The drive was beautiful with 3-4 inches of fresh snow decorating the trees and ground. Now that it is April I am trying to enjoy the beauty of it all knowing it will not last long.

Arriving at the location some 45 minutes later we found the situation to be exactly what the homeowner reported. An adult bald eagle sat on the ground under an evergreen tree. From her wing came a very large stick. ( See photo) I have no idea how the accident happened. An eagles nest is located directly above where the bird sat. An adult eagle was sitting on the nest and no other eagles were seen or heard in the area. We suspect strongly that this is one of the adults from the nest site. From her size it is likely the female.

The eagle ran from capture and there were some anxious times as we followed her across a still frozen part of a lake. Gratefully the ice held me and the homeowner. The homeowners were very helpful in helping corral the bird on a peninsula where we could capture her.




We were able to get the stick out of the wing in the field before we transported her to the REGI facility. Once at REGI the injury site was cleaned and evaluated. Her blood work looked good and she is in excellent physical condition. The hole in her wing should heal, but will take some time. She will require physical therapy to make certain the wing keeps mobile. No bones were fractured and that is good news. The prognosis is good that she will be released once healed. Without the help of the homeowners reporting the bird and calling REGI she would certainly have died a horrible slow death.

We had a call with more than exciting news about the Sandhill Crane released Wednesday near Wisconsin Rapids. The cranes full story is in the blog below this entry. This crane has become an extended part of many families in that town and they watch her closely. Today there was some exciting albeit intimate news to be shared. The crane and her mate were seen copulating this morning!!! They will be parents this year despite the bad luck of last year. We are delighted for them. Their youngster from last year is still with them and was in the same field while his parents were declaring their affection. The lad is getting an education that may be a bit ahead of his needs. I suspect his close contact with them will change now that they are serious about nesting, but with this pair nothing surprises me.

We also have a new pine siskin with a wing fracture. Unlike most siskins this spring, this one does not appear to be suffering with salmonella. That is great news and we hope to get him on his way soon so he can finish his northward migration.

Best to all,

Marge Gibson

Adult Bald Eagle Hit By Car/ Lead Poisoning

An adult Bald Eagle was admitted from Lincoln County with lead poisoning and a spinal injury. The injury was likely caused by impact such as being hit by a car. It is not unusual for our patients to have more than one problem. Something like a toxin even when not fatal can cause a bird to be weakened, move slowly or be disoriented. Those factors make a wild animal at risk for being hit by cars, shot or even hitting electric lines that they don’t see as well. When a bird comes in with an obvious injury we think, “OK, why did this happen?” “What is the primary problem that caused this injury?’ Caring for wildlife takes sleuthing. It is a lot like in the “old days” when doctors didn’t have the luxury of being able to run lots of tests on patients that allow them to “see inside” the patient through CAT Scans and MRI’s. We do basic blood work and test for toxins and basic x-rays, but the cost mounts quickly and become prohibitive for a non profit such as REGI.

We also are not able to talk to the patient or the patient’s family to get a history of the illness or injury. We have to put pieces together to get an idea of what happened. This bird was found in a ditch by a road so we can consider the bird was hit by a car. Had she been found in the middle of a large field or woods that would be less a consideration.

We observe a patient closely. Everything from the typical “Do you see blood and where?” “Does the bird stand without help?” “Does the bird fluff up the feathers in an effort to retain heat from its body?” This observation has to be done without the patient realizing we are watching. Birds are very good at hiding their health issues, or bluffing to stay alive in the wild. If they show weakness or injury they are killed or eaten by predators. It is the law of survival of the fittest.

Wildlife rehabilitation is a complicated field. There are many similarities to human medicine, but just as many differences.

We hope our new patient survives. She is eating and that is a great sign both for lead poisoned birds as those with spinal injuries. She is not yet standing. That is a negative to her prognosis. We will continue to offer her the best in supportive care, a safe warm and low stress place to recover. So many wild patients survive despite huge odds. Wild animals have strong DNA which has been perfected for eons. Only the strongest individuals of species survive in the wild. That serves them well in case of injury and captive survival.

As if to underscore the variety of birds we care for, a young family brought a Pine Siskin with a wing fracture. A tiny bird, the wing was likely broken when it hit a window. The wing is in good position. The bird is in good body condition. There is a 90% chance this bird will be released again. The public is always surprised that tiny bones heal well and quickly.

Stay tuned for more exciting news coming up next week!

Marge