Where Do I BEGIN? Lots of New Patients, Pileated Woodpecker, 15 More Wood Ducklings, Barred Owl Babes, Red-tailed Hawks, Pine Siskin Update

( Photo: Barred Owl Owlets lost their home when a tree was felled. The landowner was not aware the tree was a home for the owl family.)

It has been a very busy time at REGI. It didn't help that I was called away to two funerals, one out of state during the past five days. This time of the year, if you take the luxury of sleeping an extra hour one day, you find yourself still behind in August. Let me try to catch you up.



( Photo: This male Pileated Woodpecker was hit by a car near Wisconsin Rapids. He has a broken left leg, internal injuries and a bad headache.)

Nicki Christianson is a wildlife rehabilitator from Wisconsin Rapids, WI. I have talked about Nicki before in this blog. You can bet you will see her name many more times. Nicki works with mammals however, has been gracious to help us with our avian patients more times over the years than I can recall. The Pileated Woodpecker in the photo above was rescued by Nicki.



( Photo: The male Pileated Woodpecker is resting comfortably but is still in critical condition. he is eating well and that is a terrific improvement.Sadly this Pileated Woodpecker has young in the nest. We hope his mate can manage to care for them on her own. )

Last night a gentleman from Mosinee called. It was nearly 10 P.M.when the call came in. He found a nestling baby American Robin on the sidewalk. One of a downed nest was still alive. He took it home not knowing what to do, but knowing that he could not leave it on that sidewalk without any help. After talking with me, he drove the little one to me at REGI arriving a little after 11 P.M.
It is thriving and joined a nest of four other American Robin nestlings just his age. Some people are just nice.



( Photo: American Robin nestling was found on a sidewalk by a caring individual and brought to REGI late at night. This is the only photo I have but it is the important part of him, his wide open mouth.)



( Photo: Nestling American Robins are eager eaters. They open their mouth so wide you there is no mistaking what their intent is. )

Our baby nursery is brimming with mouths gaping open to be fed constantly. It is comic relief to see the many different species and how varied the behavior is. American Robins open their mouths so wide you can almost do a class on their anatomy. Check out the photo above.



( Photo: Nestling Eastern Bluebirds tend to be quiet and shy, but are showing their soon to be gorgeous blue feathers even at this age.)



( Photo: Remember the Pine Siskin nestling that arrived in late March? He will be released soon. In this photo he is in an outdoor aviary set up as a woodland complete with a variety of insects. Here he has a fat worm in his mouth.



( Photo: Our American Woodcock chicks are grown. They are preparing for release to the wild in the woodland aviary as well. This is a close up photo of the oldest chick and one of the younger ones probing the earth for worms.)



( Photo: Fifteen more Wood Duck ducklings were added to our group. The ducklings are divided into a few different brooders to keep them safe and healthy.)



( Photo: Two very tiny House Finches were admitted today. They are doing well and will eat every twenty minutes for the nest several days.)

Speaking of those little ones I must sign off and get back to them. More catching up tomorrow! Interns arrive! YEA!!!!
Have a great tomorrow.

Marge Gibson © 2010

Wood Duck Ducklings Join Our Growing Group of Babies

( Photo: These day-old baby Wood Ducks thrive on Duck Weed collected from a nearby lake. They make a real mess but are happy and healthy. )

Wildlife rehabilitators cringe when a call regarding orphaned ducklings ends up being Wood Duck or Merganser ducklings. Both of these species are really tough to raise. They are high strung to begin with and have special needs. They eat only insects their first month of life. No duck food for these tykes. Duck weed, which is a natural food for ducklings, is collected from nearby lakes and is key to raising youngWood Duck and Mergansers. Tiny invertebrates hide in the weed and make an excellent first food for the little ones.



( Photo: It is hard to believe the tiny duckling in my hand will be a handsome Wood Duck someday.)

Lots of new admits keep coming in. We are a bit overwhelmed at the moment but will keep updating as we can.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Marge Gibson © 2010


-

Great-horned Owl Early Morning Arrival, Northern Red-tailed Hawk, Ducks Released

( Photo: Baby mergansers when they were admitted in June. Now grown, they have been released. See release photos and story below.)



(Photo: This Great-horned Owl admitted early a.m. after he was found on the side of a road. He has quite a headache,and a broken wing but is improving rapidly.)

My doorbell was ringing very early the other morning. I sprang from bed to find a citizen at the door. He found a Great-horned Owl on the side of the road and didn't know what else to do so he put it in his trunk and raced to REGI. Since I live on the property I am often jarred awake by ringing phones or doorbells for an emergency that occurs WAY out of normal hours. That was the situation with this Great-horned Owl.

The owl was unconscious when found and remained so for most of the day but has made a remarkable recovery thus far. Often owls with head injuries such as this owl has have vision problems even after recovery. This owl however has good pupil reaction in both eyes. He is also regaining his stamina quickly.

A few hours later a beautiful Red-tailed Hawk was admitted from the Mosinee, WI area.



( Photo: Red-tailed Hawk admitted from Mosinee, Wi with a wing injury of undetermined cause.)

As you can tell from his photo, this red-tailed hawk is intelligent and displays amazing curiosity about "us". The photo was taken minutes after he arrived at REGI. You notice there is no fear in this lovely face. His feather coloration, size and behavior tell us he is most likely from the far north. Where he was hatched there are more animals than people. While he knows all about four legged and winged predators he has no idea what people are all about. Not being aware of, or afraid of people can be a real problem for many northern species including Rough-legged Hawks and Snowy Owls. In their curiosity about us they are often injured or get too close to those that might cause them harm.

Our former ducklings are all grown now and were released. It was great to see them go off on their own after all these months of care. They have spent the past 6 weeks in a pond/lagoon area away from humans with their foster parents.
We were the last people they wanted to be with and that is exactly the way we wanted it to be before they are released. Rearing wild animals that have a hunting season on them makes contact with humans a dangerous thing. After their initial baby stage we limit contact quickly so they do not have a disadvantage once released. Enjoy the photos of the Mergansers, Wood Ducks and Mallards as they were released. They took off flying so fast, getting any photos was a challenge, but here are some so you can share our joy of seeing them finally in the wild.



( Photo: Our former ducklings, now grown ducks about to be released. A quick photo with the camera venturing a peek into their box shows Mergansers, Wood Ducks and Mallards just seconds before the box was opened.)



( Photo: Look at those strong wing beats as our ducks take their place in the wild world. They have been with us for several months being reared by foster parents in a pond area.)


( Photo: Some of the ducks as they settled to the water after release. )


( Photo: This great photo was taken by REGI's Katie Farvour. She got the water coming off the head and "duck tail" of one of our young mergansers. Check out that cool beak shape. Perfect for catching fish and other invertebrates.)

Have a great tomorrow everyone,
Marge Gibson © 2009

Hooded Merganser and Wood Ducks Nearing Release

( Photos: Hooded Merganser Ducklings are about half grown in this photo. They are being raised with a Wood Duck duckling of the same age, also in the photo. Age of the ducklings is an important criteria when grouping hatching's.
Photo below are the same ducklings when admitted.)




The Hooded Merganser ducklings that came into REGI just a month ago are about half grown these days. They are very shy guys. It is hard to catch them doing anything but hiding when we come into view. That makes taking photos of them challenging, but that cautious streak will serve them well once they are released to the wild. Both Hooded Merganser and the Wood Duck are some of the most colorful of the ducks in the wild. Mergansers are the fastest ducks in the world. We never get to see them in their adult plumage because they are always released in their juvenile plumage. But, that is fine with us. Once they can take care of themselves and have the skill to do it, they belong in the wild. The diet for both species is similar and that is aquatic insects, crustaceans, frogs and mollusks. No duck food for these guys. That makes them tough to raise and keeps us scrambling for food sources for them.

More updates coming soon.
Marge Gibson 2009

Baby Birds Flood In to REGI

We are admitting many patients each day now. We receive 10-15 patients a day at this point. That will only increase as summer approaches.



Baby birds of every shape and species are pouring through the door. Here are some of their photos! They grow so quickly. Baby passerines can go from egg to flight in as little as 8 days. It is hard to even imagine the process unless you have experienced it.


Passerines need to be fed every twenty minutes their first week of life from sun-up to sundown. The next time you see adult birds such as robins in a frantic search for food you can appreciate the reason.

The Saw-whet Owl admitted from Merrill late last week is currently in an exercise flight. We are encouraged with her quick recovery from her head injury. Her vision has all but returned. We will check her depth perception and hearing in the flight. An owls hearing is just as important as their sight. About sixty percent of an owls hunting ability comes from hearing. A head injury could cause problems with hearing so we need to make sure hers is spot on before we send her home. We hope her mate has been taking good care of the youngsters in her absence. Male birds, raptors in particular are incredible parents and can take over raising young without the female in most cases. At REGI we have male foster parents that rear orphans from tiny through release with no female present. I am always tempted to write the "Father of the Year" contests for some of our special "dads".



(Photo: Mallard ducklings in brooder on the left and Canada Goose goslings on the right. The duckings are much bigger than the goslings at this point, but that will not last for long.)

The ducklings rescued by a Wausau Police Officer are growing. They are about ¾ the size of adult Mallards now. They are ravenous all of the time. We wish duckweed was developed on ponds in the area. We harvest the duck weed and bring it home for our ducklings. There is nothing better for them to grow in. Tiny invertebrates hide in the duck weed and give them a meal filled with all the natural things they need. UNFORTUNATELY it has been so cold in our region the duckweed is not yet out in ponds. We are making due with lots of meal worms and wax worms as well as a specialized diet for them. Thanks to Dale Waterhouse of Jada Baits in Antigo for continuing to provide us with cast off wax worms and Lori Schubring owner of Wild Birds Unlimited Wausau. Lori offers “Bird Bucks” at her store on certain items such as books. The public can use the "Bird Bucks" as money off their next order OR donate them to REGI and WE can buy things we need for our patients. YEA! I got 5,000 meal worms yesterday just using the bird bucks. A friend of REGI John Jacobs of Antigo also raises meal worms for our hungry birds. You know your lifestyle is a little different from the rest of the world when you celebrate the gift of insects with the enthusiasm that we do.

The young Canada geese admitted last Wed from Marshfield are growing beautifully. The Mallard ducklings picked on the goslings when they were first admitted. We had to laugh at the sight knowing that soon the goslings would be giant size neighbors to the Mallard Ducks. They better hope the goslings don’t hold a grudge from that first day.

Wood Duck ducklings are very high stress and high energy babes. I can tell when a caller has a box of Wood Ducks when they call just by the sound or their frantic and distinctive peeping. They jump like little jumping beans and find it hard to settle down. We admitted a little Wood Duck family from Medford when their mom was hit by a car as she led them to a pond. Sadly not all survived but those that have are doing very well. They eat insects exclusively their first month of life. The insects have to be small because this duck species is ultra tiny when hatched. We buy frozen bloodworm's, they type people feed tropical fish, from the pet store for our Wood and Merganser ducklings as a first food.


An adult male Coopers Hawk was admitted from Plover. He had been shot. This is an old bird as his eye coloration is so intense. The gray feathers and the deep orange-red eyes are typical of older birds. What a shame he will never fly again. Shooting any native bird is illegal, but happens more than we like to admit. It is actually against the federal law in the Migratory Bird Treaty Act

Tomorrow will be an exciting day as our summer interns are arriving! The addition of college interns is energizing for all of us.

Best to all,

Marge Gibson © 2009