Month: February 2014
Bufflehead, one of the smallest ducks, named after the mighty mammal of the Plains!
The teenager who called our clinic late on Monday thought the duck he’d found had a broken wing. We asked where he’d found the bird.
“On a sandbar in the river.”
He said the duck was black and white.
Finding a wild animal out of place – a baby bird on the ground, a bat in a doorway, a hawk by the side of the road – is outside the ordinary. Many people live their lives entirely without this experience.
Our clinic had already closed and the young man and the bird were an hour away with no way to get here. We would have to ask a volunteer to drive down to Rio Dell the next morning. We gave him instructions on how to keep the bird safe overnight – to place the bird in a box with a towel at the bottom and a lid that closes, to not give food or water, and to keep the injured and frightened animal away from any people or pets and our noises – an unused room is ideal. A heating pad on low can be placed under half the box so the animal can move toward or away from the heat, whichever is more comfortable.
Of course, over the phone it is impossible to be certain what the real situation is. But it is hunting season and this kid was down by the Eel River. It was perfectly imaginable that a goose or duck had been shot and wounded. We have treated many waterfowl who’d been shot and found, still alive, but flightless, trapped on the ground, helpless. We treat and release geese and ducks with this kind of injury commonly. It’s also true that many patients who’ve been shot do not survive.
One of Humboldt Wildlife Care Center’s regular volunteers came in first thing the next morning. He was happy to make the drive.
It takes a little bit of courage to transport injured wild animals. Injuries, especially gunshots, are not that much fun to see. Often we bring patients in who must be humanely euthanized due to the severity of their wounds. It may seem like a simple task – drive there, drive back – no radio or chit chat or smoking when the patient is in the car, but otherwise, simple. In fact it is an act that can change a volunteer’s entire perspective. While navigating the traffic of any town with an injured wild animal in your car you can’t help but begin to see a city through wild eyes.
As it turned out the duck was indeed a black and white duck. She was a Bufflehead – cousin to mergansers, scoters, eiders, goldeneyes, and long-tailed ducks – an awesome little duck who winters all around Humboldt Bay. You will see Bufflehead out in the open water of the bay, in the nooks and crannies of the bay’s shore as well as in the wide parts where rivers cross their flood plains on their way to the bay. Bufflehead are almost everyhere in winter.
This lady duck seemed perfectly healthy. Her exam revealed no significant injuries. Her small feet had a few very small scrapes. She definitely did not have a broken wing.
Often people who rescue birds, especially marine birds, assume a wing injury is the reason that the bird doesn’t fly away. Some animals live so remotely from most human experience that we don’t even recognze them when they come near. Everybody can identify a robin and would know if one is in trouble. In the case of aquatic birds, especially those who spend their entire lives on water, simply being on land is a sign that something could be wrong. Often these birds require an expanse of water to run across, building speed to become airborne. On land, they are grounded.
The thick coat of feathers seaducks and other primarily aquatic birds wear is what allows them to spend their lives in cold rivers and salt chucks. With no other obvious injury, the next possible problem we look for is with her waterproofing. A duck who gets wet, especially all the way down to her skin, will not be able to stay in water. This leads to death, eventually – water is where the food is.
To test her waterproofing, we have a specially-built warmwater tank (warm water is safer – if she is not waterproof, she won’t get cold). After a period of time we evaluate her feathers to make sure they are keeping her dry.
Each time we checked on her, she was under water swimming in circles looking for a way out. While she was obviously feeling stressed, her constant diving was a good sign.
Soon we moved her to a cold pool. She dove immediately. We rigged a food dish in her pool – fish, mealworms – and gave her a small platform made of netting in case she needed to get out of the water. We planned to leave her in the pool overnight.
While the duck swam in the cold pool, the young man who rescued her called. We let him know she was in good condition, no wing injury, no fractures.
“So, you found her at the river?”
“Yeah, she couldn’t fly away.”
“Well, you know ducks like her are mostly on water. They can’t really walk or run on land – they need open water to get back in the air. If you hadn’t rescued her, she would have been really vulnerable to a predator, like a coyote.”
“Yeah,” he said, “there were cats all over there.”
“Well, it’s lucky for her you came along, then.”
And it’s true. This Bufflehead was lucky this young man had come along. She’d suffered a common mishap. For whatever reason, sometimes water birds find themselves on land, stranded. Often it’s wet pavement that looks like a body of water. Sometimes rough surf tosses birds to the shore. Occasionally, injuries or contaminants, like oil, force aquatic birds from the water. In her case, we’ll never know. We only had her vibrant and healthy condition to go on.
The next morning when we checked her, she was perfectly dry and still diving to get away from us. She was clearly ready to get back home.
The same volunteer who’d gone to Rio Dell to pick her up was available to release her. Considering how many animals he’d brought in who didn’t make it, it was especially nice to ask him if he wanted to ride with her back to the Eel River for her return to her wild and free life.
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Want to help return an animal to the wild? We are now accepting volunteers. And as always, your support makes our work possible. Your contribution goes directly to the rescue and care of injured and orphaned wild animals and to educating toward a responsible and respectful relationship with Mother Earth. Thank you!
(all photos: Laura Corsiglia/BAX)
Dog Intentionally Poisoned
Wilson’s Snipe Treated and Released
Wilson’s Snipe, a widespread and common member of the Sandpiper family (Scolopacidae), can be found along stream beds, marshy edges, meadows, bogs, and other open grassy habitats – in other words, coastal Humboldt County is a terrific place for birds such as these.
31 January, we received an injured Wilson’s Snipe brought in by a resident of Humboldt Hill, just south of Eureka. From the mouth of the Elk River in Humboldt Bay, up through the river’s valley, excellent snipe habitat is easy to find.
Unfortunately so is US101. Numerous other roads, plate glass windows, grassy fields divided into backyards with family dogs and outdoor cats, littered trash and more present a daily threat of catastrophe to these broadly adapted birds.
Upon initial examination the snipe appeared to be in serious trouble. A head wound, swollen and bruised was causing what we hoped was only temporarily impaired vision. Our seemingly blind patient struggled in the small, soft-sided enclosure we’d set up for initial care. Multiple food dishes were presented to make it less difficult for the bird to eat. It was apparent s/he knew when we were near, hearing us, but unable to see our hands or instruments placed before his (or her) unblinking eye. A course of anti-inflammatory medicine, nutrition and rest were the backbone of our treatment plan.
We’ll never know with certainty what caused the injury – most likely, the snipe, who is slightly larger than a robin, collided with a glass window or had been hit by a car.
As with every wild patient who we are able to release, patient 14-61 was one of the lucky ones. A study published in The Condor earlier this month estimated that collisions with windows kill between 365 and 988 million birds in the United States alone (second only to the death toll taken by homeless and free-roaming house cats) with nearly half that number resulting from collisions with residences 3 stories and less – people’s houses in other words. While there has been attention given to birds and skyscrapers, the same study found such collisions contribute only 1% to this staggering number.
Vehicle collisions kill millions of wild animals each year as well. A study conducted in Canada in 2013 estimated that 13.8 million birds (mostly songbirds and raptors) are killed annually on that country’s primary and secondary roads. This was was approximately 5% of all avian collisions with human-built infrastructure. Applying that figure to the estimated annual mortality in the window strike study above would mean between 18 and 49 million birds killed in the United States by vehicles each year.
Last year, Humboldt Wildlife Care Center treated 927 wild animals, 77 of whom were known to have been hit by a vehicle. A River Otter, dozens of owls, hawks, songbirds, rabbits – the list is long and diverse. In the first 6 weeks of 2014, we’ve treated 6 animals that we are certain were hit by vehicles.
For the Wilson’s Snipe in our care, we were able to provide the medicine and support needed for her (or him) to recover. Soon s/he was able to detect light from shadow. Within 2 days s/he could easily find the mixture of insects, aquatic invertebrates such as blood worms, the bit of clover and other typical food items on which these birds thrive. Our purpose-built shorebird aviary made for a good place for the lucky bird to regain coordinated flight. After 10 days, s/he had recuperated and was ready for release. Taking the snipe back to the Elk River valley, as far from highways and structures as possible, the bird flew free, back to the wild contract and a second chance we thankfully could provide.
Please Donate. You support helps us meet the needs of injured and orphaned wild animals. Your support makes the care we provide possible. If you find a wild animal in jeopardy call 888-975-8188 or in Humboldt 822-8839. Thank you!
Because getting home from a day of work is better than getting killed by a cat.
Red-tailed Hawk Released in Redway
On Christmas day, a young Red-tailed hawk was found on the shoulder of US101, near Redway, in southern Humboldt County. His rescuers kept him overnight, bringing him to our clinic, Humboldt Wildlife Care Center in Bayside the next day.
The juvenile hawk was in very poor condition – he’d lost 50% of his normal body mass and was also critically anemic. Had the bird died during transport from 70 miles away, had the bird died overnight his first day in care, or at any point in the first few days of treatment, it would have been sad, but we wouldn’t have been surprised.
Fortunately his attitude was astonishing and the emaciated young fellow lived. He not only lived, but he did so with gusto! As soon we deemed it safe for him to begin eating whole food, he was voracious. First only eating a few mice, soon he was eating two rats a day and putting on 30 or more grams at every daily weight check.
After a week in care, the trouble began.
First his left foot swelled badly. Along the side of his foot a newly opened wound began to ooze pus. This could have been a very bad development. A trip to the veterinarian to take x-rays and flush the wound revealed an infection but no injured bone. Still, we were disappointed that his recovery had an obstacle.
Within a day of this, the condition of his right foot also deteriorated. No swelling, but what we’d assumed to have been an old and healing wound incidental to his primary problems now was another source of concern. Antibiotics and wound care became part of the hawk’s daily treatment adding another layer of stress to his captivity.
This was especially nerve-wracking because the ferocious bird had been quickly regaining his wild intensity. Entering his aviary sent him into frantic flight and we worried he might injure himself.
After three weeks in care, we were dealt another setback. The skin over his crop (a sort of pre-stomach in his upper esophagus) split open.
While of course we would have preferred this not occur, the continuing appearance of major wounds revealed something very important: our patient had likely been electrocuted.
As raptor rehabilitators everywhere can attest, electrocution can be one of the most heartbreaking conditions. Life-threatening or fatal internal injuries take time to become apparent. After a week in care what had been healthy skin starts dying and sloughing off, toes suddenly turn black. Everything goes wrong and the patient dies.
In the case of this Red-tailed hawk, the wounds on his feet were probably where the current had entered his body when he perched on a transmission line near the freeway. The wound at his chest marked the current’s exit.
While these wounds were ugly, ultimately they were limited to skin and other soft tissue that healed quickly. Within two weeks, the crop wound and his feet had healed. He was strong, weighed twice what he had when we admitted him and, as was true from the moment he entered our care, he was extremely anxious to put some miles between himself and our helpful hands.
February 1, a Bird Ally X intern, along with the people who had first picked him up from the side of the road, took him back to Redway. Once the transport box was open, he launched toward the forest, the sky, and his free and wild life.
Your support allows us to care for these victims of industrial civilization. The modern world is filled with traps that wild animals, present on Mother Earth for millions of years, can’t recognize. With your help, we are able to provide skilled staff and appropriate facilities to nurse wild animals like this young hawk back to health, and give them another chance. Please contribute what you can. Thank you for being a part of this life saving work!
(photos: Laura Corsiglia and Bird Ally X)
