Happy Foster Father's Day to REGI's Barred Owl

Happy Foster Father's Day!

These two barred owls have a special foster dad this summer. The owlet in the front is utilizing his nictitating membranes. These help keep the eye clean & moist.

It's not too often that a raptor can say that they have a full-time job, but here at REGI... nothing is out of the ordinary! These two baby barred owls (pictured above) were featured in an earlier blog eating some mice in the clinic. Since then, they have been placed with a foster dad.  

When he's not busy doing education programs for the public, this barred owl works a summer job as a foster dad (pictured below, in the middle). He cares for a handful of owlets every year, teaching them how to act like a raptor. With his help, baby barred owls that make their way into REGI don't become imprinted on humans. Imprinting occurs when humans have too much contact with younger birds. The babies view you as one of their own... their parent... their friend... their chef... their.... dare I say it... mate. Because of this, imprinted birds are non-releasable. They rely heavily on humans, and wouldn't be able to fend for themselves.

Today, we celebrate our education barred owl's many accomplishments! Happy Foster Father's Day!

 Two years ago at this same time, our education barred owl was hard at work!

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 Patient Update
 

REGI's newest baby... a very hungry bald eagle

New patients are filling up the clinic everyday, and not all of them are lucky enough to get foster parents. One of this week's new patients is a young bald eagle. Although it's hard to believe, this bird hatched from an egg just this spring! Crazy! After only 10 weeks of being in the nest, young eagles are ready to make their first flights. Unfortunately, this one didn't have such a graceful first flight. Although the future looks bright for this young eagle, there is still a long road to a full recovery!

Raptors aren't the only birds that come through REGI's doors. The majority of our babies this time of year are songbirds and ducks.

These baby robins are enjoying their day outside!

A family of Eastern phoebes taking naps after feeding. 

Can you guess who's still hungry?

This baby turkey is only a day old. 
You can still see his egg tooth on the front of his beak. This tooth is used to help poke their way out of the egg.

Ruffed grouse chick nap-time!

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 The crew eats a delicious meal!

We are always hard at work and lunch time is no exception! This past Thursday, a delicious meal was prepared for the staff, interns, and volunteers from Linda, a long-time REGI friend! We made quick work of the chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and COOKIES!

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  Happy Father's Day! We were hard at work all day feeding babies from sun-up to sun-down!

- Katie Rymer, Assistant avian rehabilitator

                          ___
                       .-"-~-"-.
                      /.-"-.-"-.\   "Who
                      ||((o|o))||     cooks
                      )\__/V\__/(     for
                     / ~ -...- ~ \     you?"
                    |\` ~. ~ .~ `/|
                 () | `~ - ^ - ~` |   - Barred Owl
             () //  | ;  '  :  .  |
            ()\\/_() \ . : '  ; '/
           ___/ /_____'.   ; ' .'____
                 _   ^ `uu---uu`    /\
          _____________^ _________^_\/
                       \ \
                       //\\()
                     ()/  ()
                      ()

Patient Update and a Huge 'Thank You'!

It's a busy time of year here at REGI, even without all of the babies of summer. We haven't had time for an update for quite some time so I wanted to share with you just a few of our most recent patients.

Photo above: This Bald Eagle was admitted into our clinic with very high levels of lead in his blood. He has undergone treatments for lead poisoning and is still in critical condition. Each treatment for lead poisoning is a couple thousand dollars and recovery is not guaranteed. We hope that he continues to fight for his life; though he is weak from his illness, he has proven to be a fighter. It is likely that he picked up lead from a deer carcass left from the latest gun-deer season. Cases like this lead poisoned Bald Eagle would be virtually non-existent if hunters and fishermen made the simple switch to lead-free ammunition and fishing tackle.

Photo above: This male American Kestrel was suffering from starvation. His weight has improved a bit and his outlook is very good. He is currently in a flight enclosure regaining muscles necessary for flying and continuing to improve his weight.

Photo above: Two young Trumpeter Swans, also called cygnets, are keeping each other company. The cygnet on the left was admitted in very low weight with a high parasite load. Once the parasites were eliminated we put her in with a "buddy". Trumpeter Swans are highly social birds during non-breeding seasons and benefit from contact with others of the same species. It was amazing to watch her improve once she had some company. She went from not eating at all to eating well on her own. She has some weight to gain yet, but she is showing improvement.

Photo above: An adult Trumpeter Swan, admitted with a wing injury, and a cygnet Trumpeter Swan, suffering from starvation, recover together. Like the two swans above, they find comfort in company. Seeing these two birds side by side provides a great example of the differences between adults and cygnets. Adult trumpeter swans are a beautiful snow white color with a black bill and feet. Juvenile, or cygnet, trumpeter swans are a sooty gray color for their first year with a pinkish bill until their first winter. This cygnet is still gray but his bill has already turned black.

Photo above: This female American Goldfinch was admitted with wounds from a cat bite. She has been treated for the bites and is currently recovering. It is so important for people to keep their cats indoors all year long because protected song birds suffer when the cats invariably hunt them.

Thank You!

It is now near the end of the year and we wanted to take time to thank all of our supporters that have helped us out this year and in the past. Because the birds cannot speak for themselves I will help assist them in thanking you. Thank you to everyone who has donated funds, food (including deer hearts!), and supplies; volunteered time; transported injured birds; and anything else that I may have missed. You have helped us in a huge way! You have provided many sick and injured birds a new lease on life. We truly could not continue without the help of all of you!

You are the wind beneath our wings!

Thank you all!

Karissa Mohr

REGI Wildlife Educator