Bald Eagle Admitted from Shawano, Short-eared owl and Barred Owl Release

Our day started early at 5:30 A.M. with the call from a concerned citizen about an owl that was hit by a car. We drove to the site but when we arrived the owl was no where to be seen. Some days just start off that way. We hope someone else found him and perhaps they will bring him to the REGI facility later today.


We looked for things to be grateful for once we got back to REGI. We didn’t have to wait long. DNR Warden Jim Horne from the Shawano area called to say that he was transporting an adult bald eagle to REGI. The eagle was seen sitting in the same tree at the same place for five days. Jim was able to encourage the bird to come to the ground so he could capture her for transport. Jim arrived not only with the eagle but also a deer than had just been hit by a car to be used as food for our raptors. (Thank you Jim:)) The eagle is a beautiful adult female. She is banded with a USFWS band. We have already called in the band number so will soon find who banded her, where and how old she is.

The bird weighed just over eight pounds. That is light for a female as she should weigh between 11-14 lbs. She has severe neurological symptoms and kidney failure. Working with wildlife and trying to find our reasons for their problems is like being a medical detective.

We drew blood to check for lead poisoning and do other baseline blood tests. She does have lead poisoning but the numbers were not high enough to cause all of her symptoms. We are treating the lead poisoning and in the meantime checking her for other toxins. We are also treating her for a possible head injury. She has blood on her face and beak that could have been caused by an impact injury such as being hit by a car. Her behavior goes along with that diagnosis as well as did the location where she was found. The lead poisoning could have slowed her reaction time or caused her to be disoriented and contributed to her being hit by a car. Life is complicated for wildlife. What looks clear-cut at first often have underlying reasons.


What happened next turned us all weak in the knees. She began to call out in a gentle voice as if to a mate. When I put her into the critical care box she curled her talons under as an adult eagle does when sitting on eggs. She began to take small bites of food from us as if she was taking food from her mate. Mentally she seems to remember sitting on her nest and is behaving as such. In over forty years of working with eagles this is the first time I have had this happen. Head injuries are odd. She could wake up tomorrow and be back to acting like a wild eagle.

Our work can go from joy to heartbreak in the same minute. This case has us all working especially hard to see that she is able to go home again. Meanwhile Warden Horne is looking for an eagle nest in the area so we can keep track of her family while she is recovering.


We admitted a short-eared owl with a wing fracture. A beautiful owl, the Short-eared Owl is a bird of the grasslands. They are disappearing from the Wisconsin landscape quickly due in part to newer farming practices such as cutting hay three times a year. Short-eared Qwls nest on the ground. They are unable to get their young hatched and raised before the nest is destroyed with hay mowing. Destroying the nest and young is not done on purpose. Many people simply do not realize these owls and many other species nest on the ground. We are working to develop posters and informational hand-outs to alert not only those engaged in agriculture but people that for instance, may let their dogs run loose in what looks like an empty grassland area, that it can be an important breeding area.

End of year field trips fill the schedules of our educators these days. We are delighted to be able to be a fun outdoor destination for schools and offer a solid educational lesson at the same time.

We released a Barred Owl last night. He came in starving about six weeks ago from White Lake, WI. He is in great shape now and was anxious to leave and find him own mice from now on.

Have a great day everyone,

Marge Gibson ©2009

Busy REGI Day with Babies, Birthday and Releases

(Photo: Six week old Great-horned owl when admitted to REGI.)

Babies are springing up all over these days and tumbling into the REGI facility.

Tis the season for Great-horned Owlets to leave their nest. Young Great-horned Owls hatch in February in our region. They are the season’s earliest nester. Owlets typically leave the nest before they can fly. There are lots of biologic reasons for that and it works out to their advantage once the owls reach adulthood. The problem occurs if they are in an area that is close of human population centers. People cannot help but notice these adorable little fluff balls. As a result they are often picked up and taken into captivity. We have taken many calls this spring about Great-horned Owlets. Most of the time our role ends after advising the finders it is a natural part of an owlet’s life. We encourage people to try to make certain the little one is healthy and in no imminent danger from domestic animals such as cats of dogs and then to leave the area and let the youngsters be cared for by their parents. The parent birds are after all the best ones to raise their own babies. If the owlet has been injured, has truly fallen from a nest site too early and cannot be put back, or is an orphan, we can rear it here at REGI. All raptor orphans that come into REGI are raised by foster parents of their own species. They hardly know they are in captivity, and are not imprinted to humans, but there is no way that we can ever hope to do better than their own parents. It is a very costly process just in terms of supplying the young owls with enough natural food until they are hunting on their own and can be successfully released in October Mice cost us about $1.00 each. Great-horned Owls at age 4 -6 weeks can eat up to 13-17 mice a night each. They are little rodent eating machines. That is one reason they are so wonderful for the environment. When you do the math of how many days it is from April to October, you can see the dilemma.

We have one owlet in at this time. He is about six weeks old and is from the Wisconsin Rapids area. He is the victim of having fallen from a weak nest site which collapsed during a storm. The storm raged on and he was on the ground for thirty six hours. That was time to take action and bring him into captivity. We are very lucky to have Nicki Christianson; a State of WI permitted mammal rehabilitator in the WI Rapids area that helps out in emergency cases such as this. She took him in for the night during the storm and was able to give him emergency care and a safe place to be until her could be transported to REGI in Antigo the next morning.

Were it not for Nicki and other rehabilitators throughout the state and country with whom we network and our transporters, in this case Judy Marshall, that bring patients to Antigo, many patients would die before they ever got to REGI.

The owlet from WI Rapids had some internal bleeding from the long fall and was weak from his adventure, but within a day was placed with his foster parents. He will have minimal contact with us from now on. We supply food to the enclosure and the adults do the rest. We could learn so much about being parents from the wild avian world. The adults both male and female take over feeding and caring for young quickly and without question. Most importantly the youngsters need not be their own.

( Photo: Foster mom Great-horned Owl with injured GHO owlet)

We will handle the little one only when he has intermittent physicals to chart his growth rate. We will share photos of those events on this blog.


It is also the season also for ducklings to be hatched. Four newly hatched mallard ducklings found themselves in a storm sewer in Wausau, WI yesterday morning. A city of Wausau Police officer was their hero andn ours when he took time to get them out of the sewer. Mom and the other young had long since left the area so they were brought to REGI to be reared until they are old enough for release. They are eating well and we expect all will survive their harrowing beginning. A big thanks to the Wausau Police Department and the Marathon Country Humane Society for their help. ( Photo: Four Mallard ducklings warming up after being admitted to REGI)


Our long time friend and environmental educator, Steve Fisher had a birthday earlier this week. The REGI team is as close as many families. We use every opportunity to celebrate and have cake and goodies so birthdays are celebrated with great enthusiasm here. Congratulations Steve!
( Photo: Steve and the REGI team gather to celebrate Steves birthday.)


Releases are always a time of celebration. Several birds were released back to their wild home yesterday. Some we don’t have photos yet and will share during the upcoming week. A male Coopers Hawk in the photo below could hardly fly with the crop filled with food I gave him before her left REGI. He is just a year old and still has brown plumage and yellow eyes. Once he is an adult his feathers will be gray in color and his eyes dark orange. It is great to see them well and back out on their own.



It is stacking up to be yet another event filled day. Spring is HERE!

Best to all,

Marge Gibson © 2009

David Tower Memorial

Every once in awhile someone enters your life and you are changed forever more. David Tower was such a person to me. David recently passed away. We will miss him but feel blessed to have had him in our life. His smile and gentle nature are forever in our hearts.
David and Lillian Tower have been a big part of the REGI family for many years. When REGI was just beginning I noticed someone out side the eagle enclosure one evening. I went out thinking it was yet another person bringing us a sick or injured bird. Instead there were two people holding an envelope and smiling. David explained he had just retired from the Post Office and wanted to give us a donation for our work with wildlife. That gift would be the first donation REGI ever received. David and Lillian Tower were the first people to believe in us way back when.

I was humbled by David, his generous nature and honest approach to life. Though the years he and Lillian remained active volunteers. As often as possible they were part of bird releases here at REGI. It was the one thing that we could give them back for their time and faith in us. David had health problems and had to travel with oxygen tank. Still they came and he was even able to release birds tethered to that tank.

Last summer Lillian came to tend our flowers and brought the grave news that David was entering hospice for his illness. Lillian brought him one more time to meet some of our patients and see our young cranes as they grew. He smiled and although he was weak I know he enjoyed the visit. I took that moment to tell him how much he and Lillian have meant to us over the years. When someone believes in your dreams with you they become a part of you and that dream. He reached into his pocket book and gave me $40.00 for the birds. I protested but he insisted. I looked up at Lillian for guidance and all she said was, “That’s my husband.” So it was.

David passed away this spring. I wanted to do a memorial for him in the form of the release of a red tailed hawk. Time has gone by and finally we had the perfect hawk and it was the perfect day.

Lillian was at REGI today with the Master Gardening Club and a 4-H Club group doing a cooperative planting project at REGI. The day was perfect with a clear blue sky as I handed Lillian a beautiful adult male red tail to release in David’s memory. The bird flew well and strong. I meant it when I said the David is with us everyday and will remain a part of us forever. David continues to bring joy and happiness even in his memory. I cannot think a better way to go on in spirit.







David Tower made a difference in the lives of many. We are honored he chose to be a part of ours.

Marge Gibson

Ruffed Grouse is an Uninvited Houseguest

When a local pastor heard a loud bang on the side of her home she assumed it was winter thaw coming out of the ground. It is a sound we are used to here in the north woods of Wisconsin. A few days later a cold wind was blowing under the closed door to her guest room.

When she opened the door she saw the reason. The double pane window was shattered. Glass was spread all over the room and a ruffed grouse was sitting on the curtain rod. She called REGI.

Fortunately we are used to getting odd calls and when wildlife and people are involved we pretty much expect the unexpected.

My grandson and I drove over the her house and just as the Pastor said, the window was shattered and a Ruffed grouse sat almost casually on the curtain rod.

We were able to capture the bird after a short chase and brought her back to REGI as the pastor made a call to the local glass company. How does one explain THAT to an insurance company I wonder? It was hard for people to believe that a grouse would have the flight velocity to go through a double pane window.

The bird was in good condition. She had no broken bones. Her vision appeared to be perfect and there were no wounds of any kind. The grouse was dehydrated because she had not had anything to eat or drink in the two days since the accident. After the physical the grouse was tube fed liquid food and fluids. She perked up. We thought a few days in rehabilitation would give us a chance to observe her making sure she was 100% well before her release back to the wild.

To our surprise she flew like a stunt pilot immediately. Within a few hours it was obvious that this ruffed grouse was ready to leave our care and be on her own.

As she was released she shot into the air. Ruffed grouse have short but powerful wings. The wings make a very loud sound especially for such a small bird. It sounds more like an explosion as they rocket into the air. She went over the house and when we last saw her was tree top level heading in the direction of home.


I know we will be talking about this Ruffed Grouse and her adventure in a guest room for some time to come. The grouse that broke a double pane of glass and not only lived to talk about it, but today is getting on with her life in the wild.

I wonder how she explained her two day absence to her mate?

Have a good day everyone,

Marge Gibson ©2009

Kingfishers Return from Migration, Bald Eagle Recovers

I have gotten behind on our blog and I apologize to our readers. The flu hit us hard here at REGI. We are finally recovering and can get back to the computer. Thanks for your patience. A lot has gone on and I will be catching you up.

We have great news from John and Jennifer Benishek. Last summer we released four young kingfishers, raised at REGI, on their river front property, The young birds stayed on close to the property and as they honed their fishing skills. John supplemented them with minnows from a large pan. In October the last of the young kingfishers left the area and migrated to their wintering grounds. It is both exciting and tense at the same time when “our” babies no matter what species migrate. We know it is exactly what they need to do, BUT we also know that there are lots of things that can happen to them during this migration adventure. We are pensive until we see signs of their return in the spring. Some birds are more obvious than others when they come back home. This week three of the four kingfishers made themselves VERY obvious as they returned to the river release site and were waiting for some supplement feeding on favorite limb perches. We welcome them home and hope they have a good season.

Kingfishers are nearly impossible to raise from babies. The fact is not many have been raised in captivity. These young birds came to us when a citizen bulldozed a sandbank where their nest was located. The youngsters that lived through the bulldozing event ended up on the ground. With their nest destroyed and the chicks too young to care for themselves we had no option but to bring them into care at REGI. Kingfishers are high strung birds and have specialized needs. Every single mouthful has to be force fed to the little darlings. Having said that, they fight every mouthful and more times than not spit it out. Basically it becomes a war of wills to get enough nutrition into the tykes and then teach them to fish before they can be released. We were so very lucky to have a group of interns last summer that were as strong willed as the kingfishers. They raised every one of the snarling little darlings to release.






The photos show their progress to release.
Thank you to 2008 interns Jamie Kelmish, Kendra Sawyer, and Kiel Stevens. You guys rock!

The bald eagle impaled on a stick on April 6th is FLYING! We are elated with her progress. She is still in a medium sized flight cage because she is still receiving treatment for lead poisoning but we are drawing blood work today and if her lead level is down she will go into the large eagle flight to prepare for release. I alerted the folks that found her and they could not be happier. Her mate is still at the nest site and still incubating. We just need to get her home as soon as possible.

Have a great day everyone,

© 2009 Marge Gibson

UWSP Events!

Over the years REGI has formed a strong friendship with the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point because of their strong natural resources and captive wildlife programs. Every summer REGI accepts interns and often many if not all of them are current Point students. As a former Pointer, it is always exciting for me to travel to campus events. In the last month REGI has joined UWSP for their Open House and just recently for Eco Fair in celebration of Earth Day. At these events REGI is able to reach out to the public and students in a fun educational setting.

After a stormy morning the clouds cleared out and temperatures soared into the 80’s for Eco Fair! This year REGI was really promoting the Get the Lead Out campaign. We offered a free lead sinker exchange program. If you brought us your lead sinkers we would give you lead free sinkers in exchange! We spoke to many students about the problems birds face when they swallow lead linkers or ammunition. We brought photographs of actual x-rays taken of swans and eagles emitted to REGI for lead poisoning. The only way to solve this problem in the future is through educating the public on lead free alternatives such as tin, bismuth, steel, tungsten or ceramic. People are always surprised by the number of alternatives.

Are you interested in learning about more alternatives to lead for your tackle box? Follow this link http://www.pca.state.mn.us/oea/reduce/sinkers.cfm

Of course we were also on campus trying to win a few votes for the Office Technology Makeover! Thank you to the Wildlife Society, Fisheries Society, Environmental Educators and Naturalist Association, Vet Club, and the many other student organizations that helped REGI spread the word across campus to vote for REGI. No matter the outcome your support and encouragement is greatly appreciated! If you haven’t had a chance to vote yet click here.

VOTE! Help REGI win a $25,000 Office Technology Makeover!

REGI was recently nominated for an Office Technology Make over put on by EO Johnson and WSAW Channel 7 news.

Go to this link to vote! Voting is from April 23 to May 5th. http://www.eojohnson.com/meet_finalists_and_vote

How to Vote:
You must create a one day user name with EO Johnson to vote. This allows only 1 vote per email address. Once you create this log in to your email and cast your vote.

Why Vote?
This is an amazing opportunity for REGI! As you know everything we do is for the birds. This often puts other business necessities like office equipment at the bottom of the list. This makeover would allow REGI to receive a professional copy machine, printer, electronic filing system, and much more. A top of the line office printer would allow REGI to turn our annual newsletter into a quarterly newsletter! Plus cutting cost of having all of our printing done in house. The electronic filing system would allow all the medical information we collect on our birds to be organized data. Imagine with a click of a button being able to see what the top 3 injuries of all Bald Eagles emitted to REGI in the last 10 years is. We have all this important medical information on paper, in boxes but to to have that data in a computer system will make it more meaningful and easier to access. These are just a few example of how this makeover would help REGI. Please take the time to vote!



If you would like to see Channel 7's media coverage of REGI and the make over contest click on this link http://ww2.wsaw.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?clipId1=3675104&at1=News&vt1=v&h1=Raptor+Education+Group+One+Of+Three+Finalists+In+Technology+Makeover+Contest&d1=159567&redirUrl=www.wsaw.com&activePane=info&LaunchPageAdTag=homepage&clipFormat=flv&rnd=57829123