Grown Ups, Patient Updates, & Interns

Hey everyone, were still swamped in baby season here at REGI.

Here's a picture-filled blog full of updates!

_____ All Grown Up _____

These merlins made their debut on our last blog (above), look how grown up they look now (below)

Hard to imagine that just several weeks ago these striking falcons were just white puff balls with large eyes, sharp beaks, and quick feet. Merlins go from hatching to flight in only one month, and we can attest to that here at REGI. This has been the summer of the merlins. We've seen seven fluffy babies come through our clinic doors. All of which are currently flight training in an outside enclosure!

The Virginia Rail is doing great, and enjoys fresh duckweed and insects daily

Look at who else is growing up! REGI's Virginia Rail is no longer cotton ball size! He stirred up quite an array of followers on our Facebook, and would like to thank everyone for their monetary donations to support his bloodworm addictions! He still has expensive tastes, and has moved up to waxworms & small minnows.

This baby turkey vulture had a high-speed migration in a car from the University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota contacted us this past week with an interesting request. They had acquired a turkey vulture chick that had fallen from its nest into a large body of water, and he needed a foster parent. Kayakers found the little one flapping around in the water and were able to pull him up into the kayak and get him to the University of Minnesota. Here at REGI, we have several successful turkey vulture foster parents, some of which who have fostered Minnesota vultures in the past. It appears that these two are over the whole Packer/Viking feud, and are getting along great!

_____ Patient Updates _____

This young broad-winged hawk came into the clinic just yesterday. His parents may have kicked him out of the nest because he appears to be fully blind in his left eye.

This red-tailed hawk came into the clinic starving and has an injury to a leg. Cases like this lead us to believe he she had some sort of collision with a car which left her unable to hunt.

This great-horned owl came into the clinic very thin. A male great-horned owl weighs over 2 lbs, and a female can be over 4 lbs. This one came into the clinic weighing just over 1 lb. Release is a long way in the future for this owl... but we are crossing our fingers/toes for success

_____ Summer Interns _____

 Licensed rehabilitator Alberta & intern Alyssa tubing one of several fledgling eagles in the clinic

The interns this summer are doing a fantastic job! They truly get the whole rehabilitation experience here at REGI. Although they work long hours (as all of our former interns will remember), their spirits stay strong. The following are all photos of the interns learning experiences to date. They have seen a vast array of different species come through the clinic doors, and never know which one could be next!

Licensed rehabilitator Alberta & intern Maddie tubing another fledgling eagle

Intern Kerry holding a belted kingfisher while he anxiously awaits a larger box in the clinic

Interns Maddie and Sarah tubing the 1 lb great-horned owl

Intern Molly enjoying some alone time with our education peregrine falcon

_____ Summer Tours _____

 Molly, our education director, leading a tour past our crows & raven

Our education peregrine falcon poses for the tour group. Come meet our peregrine up close on one of our on-site tours

Summer tours are still soaring strong. Tours run Tuesdays, Thursdays, and the second Saturday of every month. Most tours still have spaces for both the 10AM & 1PM time slots. Call the education office at REGI to reserve your spots ahead of time (715) 623-2563.

Enjoy your week, it sounds like we finally have some rain in the forecast!

- Katie Rymer, Assistant Avian Rehabilitator

A Very Birdy Baby Shower & Meet the Interns

Greetings everyone! 

It's been a while since the last blog, and boy, have we had our hands full... of babies! Patients are pouring in left and right, we're quickly approaching our 200th patient of the year, and it's only the middle of June!

Patient Update

We are knee-deep into baby season here at REGI. The early warm weather stirred up some love bugs in the air, and nestlings and fledglings of numerous species have found their ways into REGI's clinic. Wood ducks, Eastern pheobes, robins, flickers, barred owls, great horned owls, and a bald eagle have already graced REGI's clinic... and we still have a lot of summer left.

(These American kestrel nestling siblings are some of REGI's newest patients)

These American kestrel nestlings are some of REGI's most recent patients. This brother and sister pair are rapidly growing nestlings. Just like a younger human child, these nestlings are too young to leave the nest, and are still being watched closely by their parents. Although they look white and fluffy now, make no mistake, someday they will be big, tough raptor parents!

(American kestrel fledgling who's first flight ended in a manure pile)

This American kestrel fledgling was born several days before the nestlings shown above. Ready for her first flying debut, she was in the process of leaving her nest for the first time and landed into a pile of manure. It wasn't the most graceful first flight, but her prognosis is great (only a little smelly), and is headed home soon!

Baby Bird Shower

This Saturday (6/16) is our Wild Birds Unlimited Baby Bird Shower in Wausau, WI. There is a playpen in the store set up for donations to our baby birds! REGI's very own education birds will be making a special appearance at 1:00pm! Wild Birds Unlimited's continuous support for REGI continues to inspire our staff and save our patients lives. Join us this weekend and receive a $15 Wild Birds Unlimited gift card with every $20 donation to REGI's baby birds! How neat is that! Below is our ever-changing wish list, add to that some used children's toys... our crows are always looking for new enrichment opportunities.

Meet the Interns

Our interns are well into their third week of a crash course in avian rehabilitation, ecology, biology, and education. Here at REGI, we welcome interns with open arms, and this year is no exception. This summer we are joined by 5 interns and a wildlife veterinarian from Turkey! Interns and volunteers are a HUGE help to REGI. Babies in the clinic are fed every 20 minutes from sun-up to sun-down, and this would be nearly impossible without the help of our great team of interns! Now's the chance for you to get to know our interns, I'm sure they will be gracing the blog several times within the next couple of months.

(Maddie is holding REGI's education harris's hawk, both are California girls!)

Maddie

Hometown: Lafayette, CA

College: Humboldt State University, CA

Degree: Wildlife management and conservation, focusing in ornithology

Why a REGI internship? Eventually, I would like to be a wildlife rehabilitator focusing on avian species.

Favorite part of REGI so far? Watching the babies growing up before our eyes, and knowing that I have a huge impact on their livelihood 

What bird would you be? Why? Peregrine falcon, I think it'd be great to be considered the fastest animal on the planet, it'd be an honor!

Favorite childhood toy? The stilts! I was up on stilts by age 6, and was able to attend a circus school for a summer!

(Molly is holding REGI's education barn owl)

Molly

Hometown: Hortonville, WI

College: University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, WI

Degree: Wildlife ecology & biology, minor in captive wildlife management

Why a REGI internship? I'd love to someday be a wildlife rehabilitator, and this seemed like a great, hands-on place to get some experience!

Favorite part of REGI so far? Working up close with so many different species of birds.

What bird would you be? Why? Puffin, they just seem to live in some pretty awesome places!

What is your favorite childhood cartoon? Bugs Bunny, it's the best cartoon ever!

(Sarah is holding REGI's education dark-morph, rough-legged hawk)

Sarah

Hometown: Shoreview, MN

College: University of Minnesota, MN

Degree: Fisheries and wildlife, pre-veterinary and wildlife emphasis

Why a REGI internship? I was looking to make a difference in my internship and REGI seemed like a wonderful place to do that.

Favorite part of REGI so far? Handling the education birds and being so close to the wild patients.

What bird would you be? Why? Barn owl, I'd love to be able to scare people into thinking I was a ghost! 

What would I find in your refrigerator right now? Leftover mac n' cheese and pretzels. Yum!

(Alyssa is holding one of REGI's education turkey vultures)

Alyssa

Hometown: Wauwatosa, WI

College: University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, WI

Degree: Wildlife research and management, captive wildlife management minor

Why a REGI internship? I have always wanted to work with animals, and I have heard great things about REGI from all of my college professors. It's also just awesome.

Favorite part of REGI so far? Watching the patients from admission to release. Each of their stories are so different and compelling. I've also enjoyed bonding with my fellow "intern shipmates".

What bird would you be? Why? Penguin, they are always dressed so classy.

What is your favorite color of clinic gloves? Bright purple!

(Kerry is holding one of REGI's great-horned owls)

Kerry

Hometown: Antigo, WI

College: University of Wisconsin Green Bay, WI

Degree: Biology

Why a REGI internship? I'd like to keep my options open in the future, and I spent time as a volunteer last year!

Favorite part of REGI so far? Watching the baby birds grow everyday!

What bird would you be? Why? Goldfinch, they are just so beautiful, light up any bird feeder, and everyone could hear my song!

What is your favorite color? Yellow, it's the color of the sunshine (and goldfinches oddly enough!).

(Aysegul is holding one of REGI's education red-tailed hawks)

Aysegul

Hometown: Ankara, Turkey

College: Istanbul University, Turkey

Degree: Veterinary 

Why come oversees to REGI? Experience wildlife rehabilitation up close and personal with all of the birds, I hope to learn techniques to continue my wildlife veterinary positions in Turkey.

Favorite part of REGI so far? Treating all of the injured birds.

What bird would you be? Why? Kestrel, they are so cute, yet so wild.

What do you miss most about home? My boyfriend, I am only able to talk to him for a few minutes every day.

I hope to see you all in Wausau, WI this Saturday at 1:00pm to come meet our education birds! Bring some Kleenex, kids toys, or meaty Gerber baby food (no ham please)! The birds thank you!

Stay tuned to the blog for more updates, and enjoy the summer heat wave for us, we've been in frost advisories the past several nights.

Katie Rymer

Assistant Avian Rehabilitator

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

Patient Updates, Former Intern Updates,

( Photo: Peli, our education White Pelican, makes us smile even on difficult days.)

Things got better after the last blog entry. Wildlife rehabilitation is a constant roller coaster of emotions. The kind words of support from blog readers were appreciated so much.

For those of you that wonder how or why we keep doing this work, I can only say we keep on going trying to make a difference for wild ones, educate those who are unaware, and bring situations to the attention of the public that may otherwise be perceived as a fluke or rare happening. People need to know what is illegal or even abnormal behavior in folks they may know. Years ago it was all left to a state agency to intervene on the behalf of wildlife. Those days are fading as state and federal funding for wildlife issues is cut. Wildlife belongs to all of us. It is up to the collective "us" to have a responsible role in protecting it. I am in no way suggesting you take up weapons and patrol, but being aware and proactive is important.

When I left you last the condition of the Rough-legged Hawk was grave. We pulled out all the stops in hopes this gentle bird would survive. I have good news. While very fragile and in critical condition, he is still with us. He has actually has eaten a few pieces on his own. We are a long way from celebrating, but things are looking up. I wish I could share this bird with everyone. His gentle nature is touching. As birds of the far north, these hawks have often never seen a human. They are curious and unafraid of people, which is not to their benefit around those that are unethical.



( Photo: The Rough-legged Hawk that was shot in Taylor County has begun to eat a few pieces of meat on his own. )

We have more good patient news. The Saw-whet Owl hit by a car west of Wausau a week ago has been in an outdoor flight. He is self sufficient in the flight, eating and flying and gaining strength and has maintained his weight. We hope for a release early next week.



( Photo: Saw-whet Owl hit by a car near Wausau is nearing release to the wild.)

The male Ruffed Grouse ( x2) are well and nearing release. We have had a bit of a run on male Ruffed Grouse as the mating season begins in earnest. The males in particular seem to have much on their mind and are not paying attention to things like walls or windows.

The female Ring-necked Pheasant from Wausau is using the leg that was broken when she arrived and is eating on her own. Her internal injuries are resolving well.

We have some great news from some former interns as well. Jamie Klemish, a REGI summer intern in 2008, is now a Fulbright Scholar!
Way to go, Jamie!



(Photo: Jamie Klemish holds a Belted Kingfisher raised at REGI before its release. This photo was taken while Jamie was a REGI Intern in 2008. Jamie has just been named a Fulbright Scholar!)

Liz Ferderbar , a student at University of Minnesota, just wrote to say she was accepted to Veterinary School in CA. Liz spent an abbreviated summer internship in 2009.



( Photo: Liz Ferderbar holds a Bald Eagle before surgery at the Antigo Veterinary Clinic in July of 2009. Liz was just notified she has been accepted to Vet School in Pomona CA.)

Congratulations ladies! I brag that REGI interns are the absolute best. I'm not kidding. I have proof!

Have a great day everyone,

Marge Gibson © 2010

Summer Intern Interviews Completed, Qushquluk Lays Eggs, Update on Weekend Patients

( Photo: REGI's static display Bald Eagle, Qushquluk, laid two eggs this week.)

What an eventful day. Molly and I interviewed summer intern applicants. We have so many wonderful applicants. This is the final interview before we make a choice. I wish we could have them all, but because our housing space is limited, we have to chose just three.

Our static display Bald Eagle, Qushquluk surprised us by laying an egg a few days ago. It is not fertile. We were going to remove the egg and move Qush to her summer enclosure when we noticed she had TWO eggs in the makeshift straw nest. Since it is early spring and tours have not begun for the season, we will let her have peace with the eggs. In about a month she will realize they are not fertile and give them up by herself.

Lest you think I am just being "nice" by letting Qush have the eggs for awhile, this is the photo I took after I suggested to her that I was going to take them. Gentle blog readers, if you can read Bald Eagle lips...err beaks, skip the next photo. To say she was clear about what she wanted is an understatement. It is never a good thing to cross any hormonal female, especially one "of a certain age". Qushquluk has been with me for over 20 years but was an older adult when I captured her in Alaska. We were both involved in the Valdez Oil Spill in Alaska in 1989. She was a victim and I was a Bald Eagle researcher studying the effects of the oil spill on Bald Eagles in Prince William Sound. Since we have been together so long, we understand each other. She is not shy about making her wishes known, and I respect them. She does the same for me when I am having a "moment":).



( Photo: Qushquluk was unhappy when I suggested taking her infertile eggs from her.)

We had many patients admitted this weekend. One was a beautiful female Ring-necked Pheasant. Pheasants are not indigenous species. Caring for them in an emergency is a humane choice we make.




( Photo: This female Ring-necked Pheasant was likely hit by a car near Wausau. She was very cooperative during her physical.)



( Photo: Say Ahh-- Notice the pheasant's pale mouth. She also had a hard abdomen which indicates internal bleeding.)

Some terrific people watched this pheasant at their bird feeder all winter. They were horrified to find she was injured. They were able to capture her without incident and a REGI volunteer transported her for care.

The pheasant has a broken leg and internal bleeding. I am happy to report she is improving. I am confident she will be fine again in a month or so.
She has begun to eat on her own. Regular blog readers may recall a male pheasant admitted in December. He is perfect now and we hope these two can be friends as soon as her leg is healed.



( Photo: The Ring-necked Pheasant a few hours ago when I last checked her.)

We have great news on the Saw-whet Owl hit by a car near Wausau.
His eyes are back to normal. The soft tissue swelling was down by this afternoon. He has begun flying. He ate an entire mouse last night. We are supplementing with oral fluids and emaciation diet to assure he continues doing well. Saw-whet Owls are tiny. He weighs just 80 grams. Missing just one meal has a big impact on them.



( Photo: Eye-drops for the Saw-whet Owl,.)



( Photo: Saw-whet Owl hit by a car on Sunday near Wausau has done very well. Both eyes are open and his vision is normal.)

We have another busy day tomorrow with programs in Wausau and more "de-winterizing".

Have a great day everyone.

Marge Gibson © 2010