Saw-whet Owl, Ruffed Grouse, Dark-eyed Junco, Patient Updates, and Fun Spring Ideas

Good Thursday afternoon everyone!

We have been thoroughly enjoying this beautiful atypical March weather. The bird migrations are a bit ahead of schedule and that means it is very likely we will be seeing lots of baby songbirds soon. While we don't have any babies to introduce you to quite yet, we do have a few other new patients and some updates for you.

Photo above: This beautiful male Northern Saw-whet Owl was rescued after being hit by a vehicle. This little male has us feeling a case of deja vu because only a few months ago we admitted another male Northern Saw-whet in the same condition, from a similar incident, but it was his opposite eye which was damaged. He has since become an education bird in training. This handsome little guy may follow a similar path if his eye doesn't heal properly.

Photo above: This male Roughed Grouse was admitted with a broken leg. These lovely birds get their name from the black "ruff" the males possess. His is neatly tucked away at the moment, but you can still see some signs of it. The black feathers that are poking out from his other neck feathers are his ruff. When displaying for females, the males raise these black feathers into a stunning ruffle of feathers around their neck as well as fan their impressive tail feathers; undoubtedly hard to resist for a female.

Photo above: This sweet little American Tree Sparrow was found along with a Dark-eyed Junco (not pictured) covered in unidentified "sticky stuff." The rehabbers turned to Dawn soap to try to remove some of the gooey material from their feathers, but with little success. These tiny birds will need to stay with us until they molt and grow new feathers.

Photo above: Sparrows are some of the trickiest birds to identify because many look similarly to each other. I'll try to point out some of the "field marks" which may help you identify this type of sparrow in the future. This is the same American Tree Sparrow from above (you can see the sticky material pulled out most of his tail feathers). Our rehabilitator, Katie Farvour, held him in such a way so you could see one of his identifying characteristics; these little sparrows have a black spot of feathers on their otherwise spotless breasts. They also have bicolored beaks; black on top and yellow on the bottom, and a rusty crown of feathers on their head as well as a rusty line of feathers coming from their eyes. These characteristics, along with knowing that they spend winters here in the United States and summers in far northern Canada, should help you distinguish these sparrows from their look-alikes.

I'd like to update you on a few of the patients we've mentioned in recent blog posts. The large number of eagles we have are still doing well. All are in the flight building reconditioning their muscles.

The Snowy Owl is getting us all really excited. Our amazing rehabbers examined her a few days ago to see how her Trichomonas gallinae infection is healing (To read more about Trichomonas please see previous blogs). They were shocked to see that most of her lesions are gone! She still has a long road to recovery, but this was very encouraging to see.

Photo above: The Snowy Owl is doing very well. She has found her way to one of the high perches in her mew. Her breathing becomes raspy when we approach her so to keep her calm I snapped a photo through the slats of her mew.

Spring is a time of constant change and it can be really fun to watch and keep track of. I become terribly excited in the spring and I have a hard time not sharing my joy with everyone. I find it extremely fulfilling to observe nature and help children observe it too and I want to tell you about a few of the really fun things you can do and see in the spring.

If you're looking for something new to try with the children in your life, you can explore phenology. Phenology is the study of the timing of changes in nature, such as the arrival of robins in the spring, the changing of leaf color in the fall, and the first snowfall of winter. You can choose an area like your yard or city park and keep a journal of all the changes you see throughout the year. Keep track of which birds you see; what day they leave in the fall and come back in the spring. Look to the sky for flocks of migrating ducks, swans, geese, and cranes. Listen for the sounds of frogs and toads calling. Watch for butterflies and moths. When did your lake, pond or river freeze over and when did it thaw? What was the last day snow was on the ground? I could go on and on. There are limitless things to look at in nature and you and your children will become more observant over time. You can keep these journals for years and look back at how the dates compare and how your area has changed over time. Someday your children's grandchildren may read those journals and if we work hard enough to instill conservation values and a love for nature in our young ones now, their descendants will still have wilderness to enjoy.

Photo above: American Woodcocks, like the bird above, become very vocally active in the spring. While normally living in forested areas, they choose more open areas for their courtship displays. You and your children can be lucky enough to see this display if you head outside near open marshes, meadows or boggy areas at dusk during the spring. Listen for the male to make his "peent" and watch the area above where the sound is coming from (Please do not approach these birds as you will interrupt their courtship and scare them away). If you're near the area at the right time you may see the male shoot himself high in the sky, spiraling up as he goes. He makes a lovely twittering noise created by the feathers of his wings as he's spiraling in the sky. It's an experience you'll never forget! Follow this link to learn more about American Woodcocks and hear what their peent sounds like.

The last fun idea I'll tell you about today is already a pretty hot trend. Live nest cameras are rapidly gaining popularity, and if you haven't already jumped on the bandwagon, hop on now! Nest cams are a wonderful way to introduce your children to nature, family, and the lives of birds. These cameras provide an intimate and unobtrusive view into the lives of these otherwise secretive animals. You can watch from the time the nests are fixed up to the time the young leave the nest. There are cameras watching everything from hummingbirds to Bald Eagles, and so many species in between. My favorite ones right now are the Red-tailed Hawk nest in New York through the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Bald Eagle nest in Blair, Wisconsin, and of course the Bald Eagles from Decorah, Iowa, whose eggs are expected to hatch in the next few days. If you look around you can find many, many more.

There are so many more things that you can do to enjoy nature with your children, so get out there and have some fun!

Thanks everyone!

Karissa Mohr
Wildlife Educator

Another Bald Eagle Patient, Updates, and Klondike Days!

Good Tuesday morning everyone!

It has been a few days since our last update and we have another patient I'd like to introduce you to. Bald Eagle (#019) was brought to us from the Minocqua, WI area unable to fly. We tested his blood for lead and his results came back at a "normal" level, meaning that he is not suffering from lead poisoning. His inability to fly is still currently being determined.

Photo above: Eagle #019. The darker streaking in his beak tells us that he is likely just about 5 years old.

I'd also like to update you on a number of our patients.

The Barred Owl that originally came in after being hit by a vehicle has unfortunately passed away. It is a great loss for his species because he was such a wonderful adult. He will be missed.

The Great-horned Owl found along a road with a broken wing is improving slowly. She still has a swollen wing, but is eating very well. It isn't clear at this point whether she will be able to regain flight.

Eagle #008 is flying in the flight building and looking great. We are so thrilled with his recovery from lead poisoning. He still needs a lot of reconditioning, but the improvements he has shown are fantastic.

Photo above: Eagle #008 just before being moved into the flight building.

Eagle #012 is also beginning to fly back and forth in the flight building. Because of her injured "wrist" joint, we are tentative in our excitement about her short flights.

Eagle #013 has also been moved to the flight building, but is showing no ability of being able to fly. We will likely need to place him as a permanent resident at another facility.

The Snowy Owl has been very active in the clinic so she has been moved to a larger mew to give her more room to move around. She still has chunky lesions in her throat, but has begun to eat solid foods with encouragement from our rehabilitators.

The Rough-legged Hawk is still currently in the clinic and is eating very well.

On a separate note, would any of you like to have some fun this coming weekend?

Director of Education, Molly and I will be at Klondike Days in Eagle River this Saturday and Sunday. We will have a booth set up both days so you can meet our raptors face to face. There are plenty of other things to do and see at Klondike Days like: Native American exhibits; Snow Sculptures; Cut, Stack, & Split contest; Dog Sled weight pulls; Horse pulls; Ice Sculpture; Arts & Crafts; Amish Quilt Show & Sale; and much, much more. It is a great time for the whole family!

Where: Northland Pines High School, Eagle River, WI
When: Saturday and Sunday, March 3rd and 4th, 2012 from 9am to 4pm.

For more information follow this link.

Photo above: Molly and I at Klondike Days in 2011 with a Peregrine Falcon and a Barred Owl. Come and visit us this weekend at Klondike Days in Eagle River and meet some of our resident raptors!

That's all for now :) Have a great week everyone!

Karissa Mohr

Wildlife Educator

Rough-legged Hawk, Eagles Moved to Flight Building, and Patient Updates

Good Monday morning everyone! We admitted a new patient over the weekend; a Rough-legged Hawk. This is the first Rough-legged Hawk we have had in our clinic this season. "Roughies," as we and fellow bird lovers refer to them, are magnificent birds of the north. They spend summers, along with Snowy Owls, in the Arctic rearing their young. We are lucky in the United States because these majestic birds will spend the winter here. Unlike Snowies, Roughies can be seen in Wisconsin every winter, not just when food sources become low up north.

Photo above: This Rough-legged Hawk was found west of Medford, WI unable to fly. He has an injury in his left wing which has been taped to allow it to heal. Thank you to the volunteer who made the 2 hour trip to get him here safely.

For an inexperienced bird watcher, a Roughie can be mistaken for a more common type of hawk around here; Red-tailed Hawks. There are a couple of characteristics which can help you tell which one you're looking at. Roughies have a dark patch of feathers at the "wrist" joint which can be seen from below when they are in flight. These hawks have a wide variety of color morphs which can range from very light with a lot of streaking, like the individual above, to dark, chocolaty brown overall. They frequently have a dark "bib" of feathers on their chest which may be more or less visible depending on the color morph of the individual. If you're very close, you may be able to get a look at their feet. Roughies have relatively small feet which are perfect for catching the small mammals they feed on as well as help to limit body heat lost through their skin. The characteristic from which they get their name are their "rough legs." They have feathers all the way down to their feet, much farther than most other hawks, which keep them warm gives them the appearance of having rough legs.

Our other patients are doing well and improving each day. We are very pleased with the progress we see in the Snowy Owl.

Photo above: The Snowy Owl continues to receive a liquid diet administered through a tube several times per day. The Trichomonas (trich) infection is improving and the caseous (cheesy) material in her throat is beginning to loosen. Licensed Rehabilitator, Katie Farvour, and Assistant Rehabilitator, Stacie Wild, are shown here tube-feeding the Snowy.

Photo above: Have you ever wondered why Snowy Owls look like they have big, wonderful walrus mustaches? The "mustache" is composed of stiff, bristly feathers which help to warm the air that they breathe; an important adaptation for arctic living. As they exhale, the feathers trap some of the warm moist air which then warms up the cooler air as they inhale. Those feathers also provide a barrier to dust and snow, keeping their nares (nostrils) free of debris.

I'd like to update you on the patients we've recently told you about. Sadly, the little Red-breasted Nuthatch passed away. We would like to thank the folks who brought him to us. He was given the best chance of survival through their quick action, but unfortunately his head injury was too much for him.

A bit of positive news... Bald Eagles #012 and #008 are well enough to begin regaining their flight muscles! They have been moved to our huge flight building where they can stretch their wings and fly. Yeah!

Thank you everyone!

Karissa Mohr

Wildlife Educator

Snowy Owl, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Patient Updates, Golden Hawk Canoes

We have two new patients to introduce you to.

We admitted a Snowy Owl last evening with a fairly uncommon illness for an owl. This female Snowy has Trichomonas gallinae, a protozoan (single-celled) parasite. "Trich" (pronounced 'trick'), as it is referred to, is a parasite that typically infects pigeons, doves, turkeys, and chickens. It can infect raptors (hawks, eagles, owls, falcons, and the like) after consuming a bird infected with trich. This parasite divides and multiplies, usually in the back of the mouth and throat of the birds, causing cheesy-looking lesions. It can ulcerate these delicate tissues and spread to other organs. Without treatment, infected birds usually won't survive.

Trich can be spread between song birds through infected feed and water. Bird feeders must be sanitized frequently to prevent the spread of trich through your backyard birds. Infected birds may have a hard time swallowing and breathing or may be puffed up and generally look unwell.

Photo above: This snowy owl was found in the barnyard of a farm in Nekoosa, WI. She was weak and unable to fly.

Photo above: During her examination, the rehabilitators discovered the cause of her illness; trich. The brownish-yellow cheese-like "gunk" you see in the back of her throat are lesions; a classic symptom of the parasite Trichomonas gallinae. Another symptom which she exhibits is putrid odor.

Photo above: The lesions can make swallowing food very painful or even impossible. As a result, she is in very low weight. The rehabilitators carefully tube-feed her a liquid diet. So far, she has been handling her tube-feedings very well with no adverse reactions. In addition to tube-feeding, she is receiving treatments to kill the protozoan organism.

While the rehabilitators were doing her examintion, I took the opportunity to snap a few photos to give you all a look at some amazing Snowy Owl characteristics.

Photo above: In this photo you can get a look at her large, heavily-feathered feet. These dense feathers protect their feet from brisk arctic temperatures, and give the owls the appearance of wearing big fuzzy slippers. Normally snow-white, this owl's feathers are stained, probably while she was in the barnyard. You can also see her lovely coloration; white with brown bars. She is more heavily barred than a male, but more lightly barred than a juvenile.

Photo above: This photo may be a little confusing, but what you're looking at is a Snowy Owl ear! Part of a normal examination includes checking the ears for abnormalities, blood, parasites, etc. The ears of a Snowy Owl are enormous openings just below and to the side of their equally enormous eyes. The owl's eye in this photo is gently covered by Alberta's index finger. When looking into an owl's ear, you can actually see the back side of the owl's eye inside the skull! The pink wall that you see inside the ear is in fact the back of her eye.

Photo above: This Red-breasted Nuthatch was brought to us early this afternoon. The bird was found in Marathon Park in Wausau, WI. The kind woman who found him wasted no time getting him to us, and we are grateful for her quick action and kindness. When he looks around he has a slight head twitch which may be indicative of a head injury. He spends most of the time with his head firmly tucked under his wing, as shown. He is in great weight and looks physically healthy over all. We hope some quiet time will help his headache go away.

Everyone from the recent blogs are alive and well in the clinic. Eagle #008 is on a break from his lead chelation shots, and things are looking very good for him! We will test his blood lead level again soon. He may not need another round of treatments which has us all excited! Juliet got a mouse treat fresh out of the mouse trap this morning, so she is in good spirits.

We would also like to send a thank you to Golden Hawk Canoes out of Merrill, WI. They recently volunteered to replace our decrepit basement utility sink with an amazing new larger utility sink. They worked so quickly that we weren't able to get a photo of them in action! Before we knew it they were already done! They have more projects up their sleeves for us, and we appreciate their hard work. Thank you everyone from Golden Hawk Canoes!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Karissa Mohr

Wildlife Educator

Snowy Owls and Lead Poisoned Bald Eagles

As the seasons shift from fall to winter, our clinic is still as busy as ever. Winter is usually a Wisconsin rehabber's "slow season," but there is truly nothing slow about the season we are experiencing here this year. Our clinic is still full, and more patients are coming through the door. While the babies of summer are gone, we are seeing cases of starvation and lead poisoning instead.

Photo above: Aurora, our Educational Snowy Owl, looking as beautiful as ever in fresh snow.

If you are a follower of happenings in the world of bird news, then you're probably aware of this year's irruption of Snowy Owls. If you haven't heard about it yet, I'll get you in the loop! Already this year, hundreds of Snowy Owls have been spotted throughout Wisconsin and other parts of the US. When these "irruptions" or "invasions" occur it is usually because of a dip in the lemming populations in the far north. Lemmings are small rodents that make up a large part of Snowy Owl's diets. Lemmings go through cycles of high and low populations which influence the owls. In times of low populations, the owls are forced south in search of food. The last time an irruption such as this occurred was in 2006.

This year, the owls are moving south, but it is likely because the lemming populations over the summer were high allowing the owls to have a very successful breeding season. Now that all of those baby Snowies have grown up, they are becoming territorial and the young owls are forced to find territory elsewhere.

The Duluth News Tribune put out a little article about the latest Snowy Owl irruption and you can click this link to check it out.

I prefer to refer to this movement of birds as an irruption because I think that "invasion" makes the birds sound frightening. They are nothing of the sort. They are simply gorgeous birds looking for new places to survive. This is somewhat good news for birders who may get a glimpse of these amazing birds which are rarely seen in Wisconsin. It also means that because they've flown all the way from the arctic in search of food, many may be starving or exhausted. Please keep an eye out for these magnificent birds. If you see a Snowy owl (or any bird) that is in need of assistance, please call our rehabilitation clinic at (715) 623-4015. We will be able to help you make the best decisions to help the bird.

A Snowy Owl has found her way to our clinic after what appears to be a horrible ordeal. Some very kind and thoughtful folks went out of their way to get her the help she needs. Kay Hawksford from Drummond, WI found the Snowy Owl along Highway 63. She scooped it up and brought it to safety. Luckily her husband, John, is a pilot so they were able to transport it to Antigo very quickly.

Photos above: Kay and John Hawksford and their daughter flew the injured owl to the Antigo airport where it was then transferred by van to REGI. (Photos by: Alberta Halfmann)

Photo above: When the Snowy Owl arrived, the rehabilitators examined her and learned that she is very thin, has a broken leg, and has bruising on her breast. She also smelled of skunk. We have to put the story together like pieces of a puzzle because the animals we help cannot tell us what happened. It is likely that she was forced out of the arctic and flew to Wisconsin in search of food and a place to live. Out of desperation and hunger, she went after a skunk, a fairly common occurrence with Great-horned Owls, but very strange for Snowies. Possibly hurt by the skunk and still weak from starvation, she was unable to fly very well and wound up being struck by a vehicle, leaving her with a broken leg. It is easy to see by her expression that she has been through a lot. Her size indicates she is female, and she is a young owl judging by the amount of dark speckling on her feathers. Adults have less to no dark speckling on their bodies.

Gun deer hunting season is now over and that means we will be treating many Bald Eagles suffering from lead poisoning. Several patients in our clinic at the moment are Bald Eagles with lead poisoning, and I'll introduce a couple to you now.

Photo above: This gorgeous Bald Eagle was found in the Merrill, WI area. She is shown here with Executive Director, Marge Gibson, right before her examination. The eagle was being watched by some concerned citizens who knew they needed to do something. They watched her and made sure they knew where she was until Marge could get there to rescue her. Without their help, she would have ended up like so many other birds that need help, but are lost forever.

Photo above: Once back at the REGI clinic, her blood was tested for lead and she was diagnosed with lead poisoning. That makes her the 7th Bald Eagle admitted into the REGI clinic with lead poisoning since this fall. She is shown here in the arms of Don Gibson after he drew her blood for testing.

The next patient I'll introduce you to has an encouraging story.

Photo above: This Bald Eagle was admitted a few weeks ago with blood lead levels so high that our lead analyzing machine couldn't read it. Lead levels that high are a death sentence without treatment. The rehabilitators immediately began chelation treatments to remove the lead from her blood, but for three weeks her blood lead levels were still too high to be read by the analyzer. Marge tried a technique that has never been done before with birds, and it seems to have worked! This may be a breakthrough, but more research needs to be done. Her lead levels have dropped dramatically, and excited "high-fives" were passed among the staff here when we learned the good news. We are not out of the woods yet, but we may have found a key to treating these extremely ill birds. We continue to look forward to her complete recovery, and we could not be happier with her improvements.

It is estimated that for every one Bald Eagle suffering from lead poisoning that is found and brought to a rehabilitation center for help, there are 9 others that are never found that suffer and die needlessly in the wilderness. For the 7 lead poisoned eagles that were brought to us for help so far this fall, there were likely 63 others who were not as lucky and were never found. We work so hard through the year to get the word out about lead-free options in hunting ammunition and fishing tackle, and yet every year we treat many birds suffering from the effects of ingesting lead. It is such a senseless loss of life and I will never understand why people would knowingly let that happen.

I grew up with a strong tradition of hunting and fishing in my family, and I am a hunter and a fisher myself. When I learned about the horrible things that lead does to wildlife and saw for myself a gorgeous Bald Eagle suffering from lead poisoning, I made the decision to change my ways. I now hunt with lead-free copper bullets and fish with bismuth-tin alloy tackle. It has been one of the easiest changes I've made, and I encourage everyone out there to do the same. If you love the outdoors, the small extra cost for safe ammo and tackle will be worth it. Maybe one day in the future, you'll look up and see a Bald Eagle flying gracefully in the sky-- a Bald Eagle that would have been killed after ingesting a piece of your lead had you not made the switch.

We will never stop educating people and encouraging them to switch to safe alternatives and we hope for a year where we won't see a single bird suffer due to the carelessness of humans. It is a dream of ours, and you can help make that happen.

On top of all of the busyness in our clinic, the education department just finished the Fall 2011 Newsletters so you should be expecting those in your mail box or email inbox very soon. We ship out over 1800 paper newsletters each mailing and that's the reason we haven't been able to offer you many updates recently. It is quite an undertaking, but we enjoy it, and we hope you enjoy reading it as well! If you aren't on the newsletter mailing list yet, we'd be happy to add you! You can sign up for the paper version by sending me your address at Karissa.REGI@gmail.com (or Molly at MollyM.REGI@gmail.com) or you can go GREEN and sign up for the paperless email version by clicking on this link. You can find past and current newsletters on our website and by following this link.

Please keep us in mind with your end of year donations. This year has been a record breaker in terms of patient numbers, and we need your help now more than ever.

Thanks everyone!

Karissa Mohr

Wildlife Educator

Snowy Owl, Bluebird, Saw-whet Owl and Canada Geese OH MY!

Patients are coming through the door rapidly now. They are of every shape and size and keep our life interesting with their diversity of species and medical needs.

A beautiful adult Snowy Owl was admitted on Wednesday. She is thin weighing less than half her normal weight. She is blind in one eye. Her blindness may have played a role in her level of starvation. We do see Snowy Owls in Wisconsin some winters, but this date is too late for her to be here. She should be settling into breeding with her mate in the tundra near Churchill, Canada. Her prognosis is not good to recover from her multiple medical problems, but we have seen miracles before here at REGI. Our rule of thumb is if she is fighting to stay alive we are willing to do our part to help her recover. We will continue to tube feed her oral emaciation diet and give her sub-q fluids. She was found by some very caring people that wanted to make sure she had the best chance at life. As so often happens, without members of the public calling to alert us to emergency situations we would never have the chance to help.

We also admitted an adult female Saw-whet Owl yesterday. How odd we are seeing adult patient this time of year when babies are more the rule. This owl has a brood patch which means she was sitting on eggs before she became ill. She is blind in one eye. Her blindness could be due to a head injury as she has a small patch of feathers in an odd shape on the back of her head. She is doing much better and I hope we can get her home soon.

Three lovely goslings admitted from the Marshfield area. They are lively and doing well. We are have some cold weather again this week, but they were able to spent a short period outside in the sun. It is funny to see the Canada goose goslings at a few days old so much smaller than the Mallard ducklings that came in about 2 weeks ago. It always amazes me how fast they grow. There is something about baby waterfowl that brings joy just to watch them in their excitement and interaction with each other.
A male Bluebird came in late this afternoon. He is very thin and has pneumonia. I suspect he ate some worms that had been sprayed sometime earlier this week. Life is hard for insectivores. If there are plenty of insects we are often out spraying them or the grasses where they live. Secondary poisoning occurs so often to these beautiful birds. This time of year it is a double problem as Bluebirds like many other species have young in the nest that depend on the adult being there. The lose of an adult at a nest could cause the entire nest to fail.


We have so many great updates! The Bald Eagle with the head injury from Neopit is now in a flight. She is recognizing her surroundings better. She is not yet flying and while that is a concern she has time to recover.

Dave Koch volunteered two days this week doing repairs on the middle mews. Dave has volunteered at REGI for a number of years. He is one of those people that can do anything in terms of repairs or carpentry and is a wonderful help and a blessing. Dave wrote me a few weeks back to ask if we had any volunteer labor jobs available. I think my email back to him was one word, YES! No sense wasting time writing a bunch of words when an enthusiastic YES will do it.

E. O. Johnson Co. has begun our technology transformation. We are all like a group of children staring big eyed at the incredible equipment and changes they are making to our computers including networking. While we are up to date on biology and medical issues, technology other than the most basic was always too far a reach for REGI as a non profit. Winning this makeover means more than even we knew.

That is just part of our news. I will have to catch up more tomorrow. I am off to feed babies one more time before catching a few hours of sleep. The Sandhill colt gets me up at 3:00 A.M.and then again at 5:00A.M. if I am not already awake.

Have a great tomorrow everyone.

Marge Gibson ©2009