New Patients, Summer Interns, and Tours Start Soon!

Greetings! The month of May is quickly coming to a close and I did a quick count of the patients we've admitted so far. I counted just over 70 patients since May 1st and we still have a few days to go! No wonder the clinic has been buzzing with activity. I unfortunately cannot introduce you to all of the 70+ new patients  so I've selected just a few.

Remember the little Sandhill Crane colt from the last blog post? Well today he's nearly 2 feet tall! Young cranes grow so incredibly fast. 

This gorgeous bird is a male Northern Harrier (formerly known as Marsh Hawk). Harriers are one of the few species of raptors in which you can easily tell the sexes apart. Males, like the one above, are a light grey color and have been nicknamed "the grey ghost." Females are a pretty brown color. This hawk was found along a road laying on his back. Of course we don't know for sure because the hawk cannot tell us what happened, but we hypothesize he has been hit by a car. After a whole day of being unable to stand, he delighted us all by getting up on his feet Monday afternoon! 

This lovely bird is a Great Crested Flycatcher. He came in with a broken wing. His wings are taped now and when they heal he will be placed in our passerine flight building to regain his strength. We don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but the prognosis for this little guy looks great.

This stunning male Indigo Bunting came in after colliding with a window. He has been placed in our passerine flight building to recover. He is currently unable to fly, but we will continue to monitor his improvements.  

These three little baby American Crows were blown 80 feet from their nest during the harsh winds last week. It's incredible that they survived such a high fall, but at least one of them is suffering from internal bleeding. Once their health improves they will hopefully be placed back where they came from so their parents can continue to raise them. Baby crows have a big apatite and a big gaping mouth! They also have light blue eyes for the first few months of their lives. 

These teeny baby birds have us a bit stumped. At this age it can be difficult to determine the species of baby birds because so many species can look similar as nestlings. We are thinking they may be Chipping Sparrows, but for now they are lovingly referred to as "LBJs"- little brown jobs.  

These little nestlings are Northern Flickers. They came in as tiny, pink, naked little things and they've grown incredibly fast. They are beginning to grow their feathers which has helped us identify them. Flickers are interesting woodpeckers because you usually find them on the ground instead of high up in trees like other species of woodpeckers. Flickers eat ground-dwelling insects, like ants and beetles, which is why they're frequently found pecking at the ground. 

Last week our interns began their 3-month summer internships with us and we have an additional visitor from Turkey! They are all working very hard this morning, but I managed to snap a few photos of them so I could introduce you to them.

Intern, Sarah (left) and Turkish Veterinarian, Aysegul (right) are carefully tube feeding the Northern Harrier. Aysegul has come all the way from Turkey for the summer to learn more about avian rehabilitation. We are thrilled to have her joining us! 

Intern, Sarah from the University of Minnesota Twin-Cities is a fisheries and wildlife major with a pre-vet and wildlife emphasis. She is transferring some ducklings to an outside enclosure for the day. 

Intern, Maddie from Humbolt State University in California is a wildlife management and conservation major. She is transferring the young American Crows in the box she's holding to the clinic for the day. I didn't notice the giant blue dumpster from our recent construction behind her until I had already taken the photo. Hopefully we'll have time to update you on our construction projects soon!

I'll introduce you to the other interns next time :)


REGI summer tours are beginning again soon! The first tour day is Thursday, June 7th.

Where: Raptor Education Group, Antigo, WI.
When: Tuesdays, Thursdays, and the 2nd Saturday of each month from June through August at 10:00am and 1:00pm. Pre-registration is required. 
Cost: $8/person (children under five are free)

Have you ever looked a bird of prey in the eye? We invite you to join us in discovering the powerful beauty and unique adaptations of raptors at our facility in Antigo, WI. Let the REGI education team guide you as we explore the wonderful world of hawks, eagles, owls, and falcons.
Tours are an entirely outdoors and are subject to the weather, please come prepared. 

Please call (715) 623-2563 to reserve your spot(s) as space is limited.

That's all for today! Have a great week everyone!

Karissa Mohr
Wildlife Educator

An Incredibly Busy Weekend!

Hello everyone. Boy, did we have an absolutely crazy weekend here at REGI. The education team held a special event celebrating migratory birds and the rehabilitators admitted over 14 new patients! I've selected just a hand full of the patients to introduce you to now.

These two Barred Owlets came from the same nest but on two different days. Their condition suggests that they have been affected by rodenticide. It is likely that their parents were hunting and caught a mouse (or a few mice) that had consumed mouse poison. Not knowing that the mice contained poison, they fed the mice to their babies and probably ate some themselves. The parents may have become too weak to hunt or care for their young, leaving them very ill and orphaned. These two have luckily been rescued by caring individuals, but sadly there may have been more in the nest that have not been found. Their condition is poor, but they are growing stronger each day. Soon they will be placed with our adult foster father Barred Owl. Click here to watch a video of these two Barred Owlets gulping down their lunch. 

This adult Barred Owl was hit by a car near Weston, WI. He may have injured his tail which is essential for flight. We will continue to monitor him for improvements. His expression says it all... he doesn't feel well. 

This Sandhill Crane colt (baby) was found orphaned in Minnesota. His rescuers kept an eye on him for over an hour with no sign of the parents. When they were certain that his parents weren't coming back for him, they caught him up and took him to Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota (WRC). Rehabilitation centers frequently work together for the best possible outcome for the patients. REGI is known for successfully raising Sandhill Cranes, so WRC transferred the little tyke here to Wisconsin. He is the first crane colt of the season here at REGI, but will likely not be the last. 

This little guy has had quite a terrifying experience. Someone was mowing their lawn and was unable to stop in time or swerve around this little fledgling. Luckily for this little guy, the mower blades were high enough as to not chop him to bits. He survived with a few abrasions but things could have been much worse. At this young age identifying the species can be tricky. We are tentatively thinking that he is a Song Sparrow, but he just may prove us wrong. 

Another Great Horned Owlet has joined the family. Like the Barred Owlets mentioned earlier, this little owlet is likely a victim of rodent poison. She has been placed with our foster father Great Horned owl whom you can see in the background of this photo. The owlet looks giant in the photo, but that's only because she's much closer to the camera lens. 

This female domestic bronze Turkey has found herself lost. She weighs over 30 pounds and thinks she is a lapdog. This turkey is clearly someone's lost pet and wants to find her way home again. If you know someone who has lost their pet turkey near Antigo, WI, please give us a call. (715) 623-4015.

This past Saturday, May 12th was the 20th anniversary of International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD)! IMBD falls of the second Saturday each May and was created to celebrate birds and motivate the public to become involved in bird conservation. To get the community of Antigo involved in IMBD and excited about birds, we held our second annual "Celebrate Birds" event in Antigo's city park. We kicked off the day with a morning hike along the Springbrook trail boardwalk. Our quaint little group got to see wonderful migratory birds like Soras and Common Yellowthroats. In the afternoon we headed over to the city park for a live bird show and fun activities. I took a few photos of the festivities. Enjoy!

There was a station where children could design bird masks to look like one of their favorite species of birds. Ella is creating a male Indigo Bunting and Manning is creating an Eastern Screech Owl.

Manning's mask looks awesome! He sure looks like an Eastern Screech Owl :)

There was a station to build pine cone bird feeders. The kids didn't mind getting their fingers full of peanut butter one bit!

Ethan looks pretty pleased with his bird feeder!

There was a game designed to challenge kids to think about the function of differently shaped beaks and how each beak is perfectly designed for the food that the bird eats. Ella got every single one right! Great job!

At the end of the event people were able to build their own blue bird houses! The pieces to the houses were sold as kits and were all cut out and prepared by one of our wonderful volunteers, Denny Stenstrom. Thank you, Denny, for cutting the lumber for these wonderful houses. We have plenty of extra blue bird house kits if any one out there is interested. We are selling them here at REGI for only $10. We also have completed blue bird houses on sale for $20. Sorry, we cannot ship the kits or the houses, but you can pick one up if you visit us for a summer tour. Click here for more information about REGI summer tours!

Alex and his father completed their blue bird house perfectly. It looks great! I love that he built the house while wearing his Bald Eagle mask the whole time!

We had a wonderful time at our "Celebrate Birds" event! We would like to thank our volunteers for helping us prepare and run the event and everyone who came out to celebrate International Migratory Bird Day with us. We look forward to next year!


That's all I can fit in for today! Molly and I are just about to head out for an evening program at Maine Elementary near Wausau, WI. It should be a fun night!
Thanks everyone!

Karissa Mohr
Wildlife Educator

Patient Updates

Hello everyone!

The babies here are growing up fast and I want to share their progress with you. The following photos are updates on just a small hand full of our patients. Next week I'll try to introduce you to some of the new patients coming through the door.

Photo above: These are 5 of the 6 baby Bald Eagles we currently have in our care. You can see that they are exploring beyond their nest and trying out the high perches in their enclosure. One even decided to lounge on the ground behind the nest, and he looks quite comfortable all stretched out like that.

Photo above: The Sandhill Crane colt is out for one of his many daily walks following the leader, Katherine. Believe it or not, he is larger in this photo than when he was admitted! This tiny kid will soon be his adult size!

Photo above: These adorable Eastern Blue Bird fledglings were first shown in our May 25th blog. Back then, they were just tiny, naked little nestlings, and now they can fly! This photo only shows two of the little babies, but all four are all grown up and are flying around their flight enclosure.

Photo above: This Red-breasted Nuthatch came in as an orphan, and he wasn't introduced to you when he was a naked little baby, but you can see him here, almost all grown up. He's even been practicing that classic nuthatch move... walking down the tree upside down.

Photo above: These two beauties, an American Robin and a Mourning Dove, were first introduced to you in our May 25th blog as little nestlings. Now they have fully fledged and are in a flight enclosure with many of the other song birds, gaining flight muscles and continuing to grow up. Thankfully, these guys are beginning to learn how to eat on their own, a relief for our rehabbers who, until now, have put every bite they've eaten into their mouths.

Photo above: Check out this little guy. This American Robin is lounging quite comfortably on one of the perches in his flight enclosure. It is so fun to see how much he has grown!

Photo above: These are the three Great Horned Owl fledglings with their foster father. Oddly enough, the adult male is the smallest owl in this photo on the far right. It is also very interesting to see the huge variation in colors and sizes among the unrelated fledglings. Great Horned Owls show lots of color variations depending on region and genetics. They can be more grey, to more rusty, to very light in color, and it will be exciting to see these kids transform as they get their adult feathers.

Photo above: This is the Red-shouldered Hawk with a broken leg that was mentioned in the previous blog. When he was first introduced to you, I mentioned that he was giving us hope by standing up from time to time. Well, you can see for yourself that he is standing. His leg still bothers him, but he is beginning to put some pressure on it. We hope that he continues to improve and perhaps gain at least partial use of that leg.

Photo above: The seven young Belted Kingfishers have been moved to an outside enclosure so they can begin practicing using their wings. All are doing well, and are looking so grown-up! One of my favorite things about kingfishers are their odd proportions. They have giant beaks and large eyes, but the teeniest feet! Gosh, they're fun to see!

Photo above: Here's an update photo for the little Green Heron. He still has a funny fuzzy little head, but his adult feathers are growing in nicely.

Now that you've seen some of our patients, I'd like you to meet... a thief!

Photo above: I know this isn't a bird, nor is he one of our patients, but I found this little guy sneaking food from some of our bowls. Look at how much he stuffed into those cheeks! What a little devil! ;)

Have a safe and happy holiday everyone! Independence Day is the time to celebrate our freedom and accomplishments as Americans, and to honor our brothers and sisters over seas. Most importantly, we must celebrate in a safe manor; safe for us, and safe for our wild neighbors. Please remember that birds and other wildlife are raising their families right now so limit your use of fireworks. Instead of buying your own fireworks, enjoy the show your town puts on; it is much safer for everyone that way (and cheaper!). The loud bangs associated with fireworks can cause acoustic concussions that can kill birds by damaging their internal organs, not to mention frighten and confuse them. If your child or pet is scared by the loud booming explosions of fireworks, imagine how the wild ones feel.

Have fun, but BE SAFE!

Thanks everyone!

Karissa Mohr
Wildlife Educator

Patient Update- Dozens of Babies!

We are bursting at the seams with young birds, and we have many new patients to introduce to you so here they are in no particular order...

Photo above: This Trumpeter Swan Cygnet (youngster) sustained a back injury from an unspecified source. He is recovering well and gets to swim in the tub multiple times per day. It is essential for young swans to get regular exercise in the water to strengthen their swimming muscles and help waterproof their feathers. In this photo he is shown after having fallen asleep one evening. I don't think I've ever looked this comfortable in my life! The little guy in the background is a Mallard duckling that was keeping him company for a short time. (Photo credit: Marge Gibson)

Photo above: Do you know where your pet is right now? This baby Green Heron was carried away from home by a dog. This time of year, it is critical to keep your pets leashed and under control because baby animal’s lives count on it. We see countless patients per year that have been injured and misplaced by domestic animals and even the kindest pets can injure a young animal by mistake. This Green Heron was also initially confused for a Great Blue Heron by the folks that rescued him from their dog; an easy mistake for someone who is unfamiliar with Green Herons. Green Herons are a small species of heron in Wisconsin, much smaller than Great Blue Herons, and have bright yellow legs, a pointed spear-like beak, a long neck, although it is typically tucked down so it looks short, and beautiful greens, purples, and blues in their feathers. Lovely little herons. This little fellow survived with minor bruises and will be hand raised here until he is ready to go back into the wild.

Photo above: This tiny American Kestrel was found as an orphan and is now in the good hands of our rehabilitation staff here at REGI.

Photo above: These seven (YES SEVEN!) young Belted Kingfishers were found when their nest was destroyed on a construction site. Kingfishers are a real challenge to raise in captivity, because every bit of food provided to them has to be put into their mouths by our rehabbers. Luckily for us, these birds are fairly old for being babies, and should not have to stay with us for quite as long as a new hatchling would.

Photo above: This teeny tiny Turkey Vulture was found as an orphan in MN and is one of the littlest baby vultures we have ever had as a patient. As you can see, his whole body fits in my little hand. Young Turkey Vultures hatch as helpless little creatures with white fluff and black faces; very different from their parent’s shiny brown feathers and lovely red heads.

Photo above: This baby Red-shouldered Hawk was found as an orphan with a broken leg. A broken leg at this age is a bad situation, but he has been giving us hope; the other day he was found standing.

Photo above: This baby Red-tailed Hawk was also found as an orphan and is growing very fast. She is currently in with a foster parent to avoid imprinting on humans. Even at this age, you can see the intelligence behind those beautiful eyes.

Photo above: This Sandhill Crane colt (baby) was found along a road. They watched him for several days with no signs of his parents so he was brought to REGI. This little tyke was only a few days old when he was rescued, and now he is receiving exceptional care here. Young cranes need to walk many miles per day so their legs and muscles develop properly so the staff here takes turns walking laps around the driveway with him. Cranes are some of our cutest patients, but some of the most time consuming as well.

Photo above: These darling little fluffballs have been keeping each other company. The baby in the back is a Wild Turkey chick and the baby in the front is a Ruffed Grouse chick. They are similar in size now, but soon the turkey will tower over the small grouse. (Photo credit: Marge Gibson)

Photo above: Here is another photo of the baby Ruffed Grouse. This is one of the cutest babies I have ever seen!

Photo above: This adult female Ruby-throated Hummingbird was admitted unable to fly. In addition to a wing injury, she may possibly be weakened from organophosphate poisoning.

Photo above: This gorgeous adult Common Loon was rescued by another rehabber in the Northwoods. The wonderful folks from Wild Instincts rescued her and found that she had a nasty fish hook embedded in her wing. They removed the hook and transferred her to us for care. She is doing much better now that she is hook-free. We are never "happy" that a patient is with us because that means they aren’t in the wild living their lives like they normally would, but it is a real treat to see an adult loon in her breeding plumage. Loons are definitely some of the most beautiful waterfowl in Wisconsin.

In addition to all of these patents that I just shared with you, we currently have many, many other babies. The numbers are always increasing, but at last count we have around 15 American Robins, 6 Mourning Doves, 3 Common Grackles, 4 Chipping sparrows, 4 Great Horned Owls, 6 baby Bald Eagles, a few other passerines (song birds) here and there, and well over a dozen water fowl of species ranging from Mallards, Wood ducks and Mergansers. Plus there are many adult Bald Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks, and other species in our clinic that I haven't even mentioned. Needless to say, we are busy, busy, busy!

As always, we are in need of volunteers, and any way that you can help us is appreciated!

Thanks everyone!

Karissa Mohr
Wildlife Educator