Goshawk, Barred Owl, Red-tails, Broadwing, Nighthawk, & Great-horned Galore

Although baby season has slowed down for this season the clinic is still overflowing with patients. Let's start with a batch of good news. We enjoyed fantastic weather these past couple of weeks which is great for RELEASES. Watching the babies grow up is one of my favorite parts of the summertime. After seeing songbirds come in featherless and pinky-sized and raptors come in looking like abominable snowmen, it's the best feeling in the world to be able to watch them fly freely into the sky in the unruly, teenager phase.

These past couple of weeks gave way to several releases of this summer's babies, and we still have several more to go! Here's some photos of the birds before and during release. The list of released birds included several barn swallows, several Eastern phoebes, cardinal, yellow-rumped warbler (also known as a
butter-butt"), goldfinch, chipping sparrows, bluebirds, a couple of broad-winged hawks, turkey vulture baby, and 10 merlins. The following are photos of some of the released.

 Yellow-rumped warbler before release. See why they get the nickname "butter-butt"?

 Cardinal just before release

 Rehabilitator Brennan opening a box full of songbirds, first out of the gates, a beautiful bluebird

One of several barn swallows released. They all immediately took to the air and began to catch bugs!

 Although she's not quite ready for release yet, this Great-horned owl spends several hours in our long flight hallway each day.

 These two photos were taken right after release. This young turkey vulture graced the blog several weeks back as a white fluff-ball with a black face. After several weeks under the care of a foster parent, this young turkey vulture is soaring high above REGI daily with his new wild family!

We love releases here at REGI. It's always a reason to celebrate. The time and effort put into each individual bird adds up to countless man hours. Even though these birds were ready for release, new patients are coming in daily just beginning their rehabilitation process. We've admitted raptors, wetland birds, and a BABY GOLDFINCH within this past week (I'm not sure what the goldfinch's parental units were thinking when they decided that NOW was a good time to lay eggs). The next several pictures are updates from the clinic and their stories.

This Northern goshawk was found under someone's deck. It most likely had a run in with a window while hunting it's favorite prey... other birds. Her wings are now un-taped from her injury, and she spent several hours in our flight hallway today. The prognosis at this point is great!

This red-tailed hawk came in very thin and a little spacey with what we believe to be West Nile Virus (WNV). The virus is spread through bites of infected mosquitoes. WNV has several effects on birds. Everything from their eyesight to their feathers can be damaged indefinitely. 

 Great-horned owl that entered the clinic after being found in someone's front yard mid-day. Strange behavior for a GHO.

This common nighthawk was also found mid-day. Strange for a bird that flies nearly exclusively in the dusk and night hours. Although they have "hawk" in their name don't let it fool you, they only prey on insects. As of right now he eats every half-hour and can handle nearly 15 waxworms at a time!

Barred owl that came in very thin. He's been on a liquid starvation diet since admittance, and will likely begin to eat solid foods again soon

 Another red-tailed hawk exhibiting signs of WNV.

Getting just as much attention as the raptors is this little sora that was found under someone's vehicle. A strange place since they are mostly found in thick vegetation wetlands. He's thin, but is fattening up as we speak.

Although the songbird babies have flown the proverbial nest, the clinic is still very busy. WNV seems to be hitting the raptor world hard this year in the Wisconsin northwoods, and each bird that enters the clinic comes in a very critical state. Several of these birds come in very weak, emaciated, and spooked. One minute you look into their eyes and everything is okay, the next minute they are looking at you as if you were a giant purple monster and exhibiting more aggression. Each bird is handled with extreme care.

Time to head out for the day! Remember... REGI TOURS HAVE BEEN EXTENDED THROUGH SEPTEMBER! Tours will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10AM. Spots are limited, and pre-registration is required. Please call (715)623-2563 to reserve your spots!

- Katie Rymer, Assistant Avian Rehabilitator 

Catching Up and Patients Continue to Arrive

The worst part about taking vacation is getting back to mounds of work. Work doesn't take a vacation but should. I am going to do a memo next time!



( Photo: Barred Owl hit by a car in Mosinee has made great progress.)

While I was gone several patients were admitted. This is a slower time of the year as we don't have any babies to feed, but accidents continue to happen on a regular basis.

The Barred Owl pictured above was hit by a car near Mosinee. Someone stopped on the highway and put her in their trunk. Imagine their surprise when they got to work, opened the trunk to show co-workers and get help for the owl, and the bird, now conscious, jumped out in the parking lot of FED EX in Mosinee. The Marathon County Sheriff Department called REGI to alert us to the situation. I am grateful to this fine agency. We are located over an hour from the site, and they are excellent about responding to evaluate. They let us know if we need to come out or if they were able to capture the bird and only require transport. Education Director Steve Fisher lives the closest to the site. He got a VERY early morning call to "re-rescue" the owl. Steve wears many hats around here! He never knows when that next phone call will come or what adventure it will bring. The poor Barred Owl was standing but not able to fly and would not have survived had she been left in the parking lot. She had lots of drama in her life that early morning.

The exam after admission revealed blood in her mouth and one ear. That indicated a head and chest injury with some bleeding in the lungs. We are delighted to report that not only has she done well but may be coming out of critical care today and start the next phase of her rehabilitation.



( Photo: The Bald Eagle that was hit by a car is "STANDING".)

The Bald Eagle hit by a car last week is improving. We had another little "surprise" in his blood work. I will update that in the next blog.

In my last blog I commented that wild birds have to be perfect to survive. One reader sent me an email to ask if my comment diminished the need for our work. NO, it surely doesn't. Most of our patients come to REGI through human-caused events: being hit by a car, window collision, illegally shot, poisoned ( usually accidentally when people are trying to kill insects or rodents) and similar situations. A few year ago we saw "illness" in otherwise perfectly healthy birds but that was a rare situation. West Nile Virus, an emerging disease in the U.S. at that time, takes advantage of even the strongest immune system because no natural immunity yet exists. That is one reason we are careful with the likes of Avian Influenza ( A.I. ), for instance, and continue to test for it in target species.



( Photo: This beautiful Red-tailed Hawk is wrapped in what we call our "burrito wrap". I coined the phrase many years ago and notice it is now widely used in the raptor world. )

The truth is we don't "repair" birds that have what may be "genetic" problems.
While we don't get many, there have been some that for whatever reason should not breed in the wild. The chance of weakening the species is simply too great. Many of those birds are kept for educational purposes or placed in zoos or wildlife centers.

Off and running.
Have a great day everyone.

Marge Gibson © 2010

Trees are Changing Color, Insect Eating Birds On Their Way, Baby Birds Still Coming In

(Photo: This Eastern Bluebird sibling group are all males. They are from the Amherst, WI area. They have begun to fly and will soon be going into the large flight area to prepare for insect hunting training and release. )



( Photo: Night time baby bird line-up. Left to right. Eastern Bluebird X4, Cedar Waxwing, American Robin, Eastern Bluebird with head feathers missing,Cliff Swallow, Cedar Waxwing x2,Mourning Dove, Eastern Phoebe.

Evening is when I have the baby birds to myself. The staff and interns are off duty so I feed the little ones until midnight or so when we turn in for the night.
The line up photo above is what I saw the other night looking from above after feeding time. Before feeding time the little mouths would all be open/gaping skyward for food. I just couldn't resist sharing the cute little group in a single basket.
I am sorry the photo color quality is not great. The heat lamp above the babes produced odd lighting.

It is hard to believe that the leaves began changing here in Northern WI in the end of July. Now in mid August we are seeing a fair amount of color in the trees that is usually reserved for September. The wild birds have sensed the changing of the seasons too and are beginning to be on their way to their winter homes in the south. Our resident pair of Barn Swallows left on July 24th. That is an early migration time in anybodies book. We have had baby swallows come in that finders feel were left by their parents when the migration urge grew too strong. It has been an unusual summer for sure. Cold and dry many insect eating birds are not finding enough to eat or feed their families. Many in our public tours tell us they have seen less swallows and nighthawks this year.



( Photo: Young American Robin with West Nile Virus. Few birds this small survive the virus.)

We are seeing more West Nile Virus this week. Several species that are the hardest hit are the American Robin, Red-tailed Hawk, Great-horned Owl to name a few. The larger species have a chance of recovery whereas the smallest do not. It is sad to see otherwise healthy youngsters in such a difficult situation.

We had a few odd cases this week as well. We received a Red-tailed Hawk from Merrill, WI. He is an adult and was found floating in a horse watering tank. We could hardly believe our eyes when we examined him. The tumor was surgically removed and pathology was done on the tumor itself. Sadly it turned out to be a Sarcoma. That is a malignant soft tissue tumor. While it has been removed and the bird is now eating and in stable condition, this type of cancer will likely return. We are keeping him comfortable and trying to give him some quality of life during his remaining time.



( Photo: Red-tailed Hawk from Merrill, WI was admitted with a huge tumor on his wing. It proved to be a Sarcoma, which is a malignant soft tissue tumor. )

A Mourning Dove was admitted from Wausau yesterday. An older adult bird she has a tumor on her neck as well as other medical problems such as trichomonas. A section of the tumor was removed. While it is still in pathology for examination it could also be cancer. We are not used to seeing cancer naturally occurring in wildlife. It is very odd to see two in two days.



( Photo: REGI staff gathered for lunch as usual on Friday. Much talk has occured and friendships solidified around this table this summer. We are beginning to miss the interns already. Left to Rt. Aprill, Lance, Alberta, Steve, Nicole,and Elizabeth )

Our interns are getting ready to go back to college. Aprill and Natasha will be leaving on Wednesday. Lance is staying on until the end of August. The summer has gone fast but it has been a good summer for everyone. The list of things to do before the summers end has started. The reality of friends leaving is setting in.

More soon everyone,

Marge Gibson 2009

New Red-tails in and Patients Updates

( Photo: An immature Red-tailed Hawk was admitted suffering neurological symptoms and starvation.)

Several Red-tailed Hawks have been admitted during the past week. It has been frustrating seeing them come in several at a time and from different parts of the state. All seem to have neurological symptoms such as unable to stand and a sense of being unaware of their surroundings. The birds are also starving. The starvation is due in part to paralysis of the throat leaving them unable to swallow normally. We are tube feeding all of these patients liquid food until they are able to eat once again on their own.
It is labor intensive to care for birds in such critical condition but seeing them get well and fly free again makes it worth it all.



( Photo: An older adult female Red-tailed Hawk admitted from the Shawano area with paralysis.)

The cases are reminiscent of West Nile Virus , a virus we saw in large numbers several years ago in the Mid-West. We hoped we had seen the last of this virus, at least in terms of it being a problem to many birds in Wisconsin. Given the past week of admissions we will need to test the birds before we can be sure what is causing the symptoms. Lets all hope it is some odd coincidence and not WNV. Generally the birds in an region will be come immune to the virus as time goes on. The development of what becomes a natural immunity is the reason we see less of a virus. Problems arise if the virus mutates into a similar but slightly different virus to which the birds have no immunity.

I will be delighted beyond words to be wrong about this "gut feeling".



( Photo: Adult Red-tailed Hawk suffers neurological symptoms.)





There are lots of updates on patients I have written about in previous blogs. I love that readers are interested and call to find out what is happening with the "blog birds". :) Knowing these little darlings get you are "hooked" as they do us warms my heart.




The Great Blue Heron chick that came in near death just a week ago is growing fast. He is standing and eating TONS of minnows and beef heart. It gives us a great appreciation for what adult herons put up with at the nest.


( Photo: Great Blue Heron chick is growing fast and a favorite of the staff. Here he is with Aprill as he stands for the first time for the camera.)




The Common Nighthawk that came in starving and suffering a wing injury is well on her way to recovery. Lance has been exercising her in the flight hall and today she actually flew upwards and flew the length of the hall ( 100'). She is up to a normal weight again as well. That speaks volumes for my staff. Nighthawks have to be hand fed every single piece of food they eat. This beautiful bird will be spending more time in rehab before she is ready to be released, but we are excited with her progress.

( Photo: The Common Nighthawk from a week ago has gained weight and is flying.)







Our Sandhill Crane colts are growing quickly. The oldest colt is now flapping his wings in preparation for flight. It is hard to believe they go from a 6 inch tall hatchling to a full grown and flying crane in 56 days! The youngest colt has had some health problems that caused some delay in her growth. We hope those issues are behind her now.
( Photo: Sandhill Crane colts have grown. The older one is pictured when he was a month old and the younger colt was about 2 weeks.)


Lastly, it came to my attention that several people that brought baby robins in during the past few days called when reading my blog entry concerning the starving baby robin that someone wanted to keep as a pet. Apparently EVERYONE thought I was writing about them! The truth is we get in many babies a day and robins are a common patient to be admitted. We admitted four yesterday for instance. If you had good intentions with the bird it was most definitely NOT about you. The party that I wrote about knew what was happening and didn't care. THAT is why is was so frustrating. BTW The robin did live and is recovering.

Babies are calling so I must sign off and tend to them. I love hearing from you.

Have a good night everyone,
It will be another long one here tonight.

Marge Gibson 2009