On December 3 at Humboldt Wildlife Care Center/bird ally x, we were called about a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) seen struggling alongside Table Bluff Road. Our rescue team arrived at the scene shortly after and found the large bird, who tried to escape from our capture attempt, but was unable to fly.
Once back at our facility in Manila, we found a very skinny bird. Typically Great Blue Herons weigh between 1800 and 2200 grams. This one weighed only 1000 grams on admission, missing more than a third of their body mass. Weak, with a dangerously low body temperature, severely anemic, and with a very signicant amount of intestinal parasites, this heron was close to death. If we hadn’t been called, it’s very likely the bird would have died overnight, by the side of the road.
It was a few days before we had helped the Heron stabilize and begin to eat and maintain a proper temperature. After five days, we were able to move the heron to an outdoors aviary.
The parasites were stubborn. We had to administer medicines to fight them twice a day for 14 days. That’s a lot of handling and bothering the patient, but sometimes there is no other way. After 7 days in care, the Heron began flying again, though, so we were optimistic.
Finally, on the 22nd of December, 19 days in care, flying well, the parasites defeated, body mass restored and red blood cells up from 15 per cent on admission to a very healthy 43 per cent, it was time for release. Due to area flooding, getting back to Table Bluff was iffy, but not for a Heron who can fly. So we took here to the edge of Humboldt Bay, with Table Bluff in view, and she stepped out of our crate and back into her wild and free life!
Please enjoy this gallery of her release day!
One useful indication of patient health is found in a small sample of blood. We take less than a fiftieth of a teaspoon (0.1 ml) to measure the red blood cells.The Great Blue Heron is gently placed into a transport crate.The blood sample is spun at 5000 rpms for 5 minutes. This separates the red blood cells from the plasma.The Heron had an impressive amount of red blood cells! So release it is!!A long shot close up, and our patient is a patient no more! Wild and free!
Not all of our patients need so much time, some need even more. But whether we’re taking care of an orphaned raccoon for four months, or songbird who hit a window for two days, each patient requires and deserves our best. Your support is what makes and keeps our best available to any of our wild neighbors in need. Thank you for making our work possible. Please donate if you can.
Thank you so much for your support over the years especially in 2025! This year has been extremely busy. Moreover, we are still rebuilding our facility after a sudden move nearly 3 years ago!
Your support has meant that there hasn’t been a day when we could not meet our mission. In difficult times, because of you, we’ve thrived. Thank you!!
Our latest episode of our podcast in which our host recounts two epic releases, and how they demonstrate release as last item of care for our patients.
Your support makes our work possible. Every year we treat and release hundeds of wild animals thank to your generosity.
Introducing a new feature and new voice to New Wild Review, the Bird Ally X blog, we bring you Joc Garcia, a wildlife rehabilitator at Humboldt Wildlife Care Center thinking on the topic of aliens, human use of animals, and what that means for a wildlife care provider.
When you become a wildlife rehabilitator you quickly learn that a lot of media that’s not about wildlife rehab is, in fact, absolutely, undeniably about wildlife rehab. Suddenly, songs about love, life, and loss somehow capture the exact feeling of releasing a once-emaciated seabird, or raising a litter of baby raccoons, and, of course, the dreaded and inevitable loss of some patients.
One night in July, while relaxing after a ten-hour day at the clinic, neck deep in baby season, I rewatched Jordan Peele’s 2022 horror sci-fi film, Nope. And it happened again. Suddenly, a movie that was once about two siblings on a quest to capture footage of an alien was reminding me of work. No, Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer didn’t capture the alien being and restore it to health with IV fluids and antiparasitics. That would be a little too on the nose, and that’s just not Peele’s style. I’ll just give you a brief (spoiler-filled) synopsis:
The film opens with a rather gruesome scene of the chimpanzee-turned-sitcom-star “Gordy” mauling and maiming his human costars after being set off by the pop of a latex balloon. He then approaches the only remaining costar, a young Jupe Park (Steven Yeun), and offers him a gentle , bloody fist bump before being fatally shot by police.
In his adulthood, Jupe operates a small theme park attraction. Upon the arrival of an other-worldly creature in the sky, Jupe, believing he has a special connection with non-humans after being spared by Gordy, begins to try to tame the alien by feeding it horses as part of his new show, the Star Lasso Experience. He ultimately learns that he is not special when he, his loved ones, and the audience are devoured by the creature in one fell swoop. The being (nicknamed “Jean Jacket”) then moves on to find its next meal, unaware and unfazed that it had just consumed its most loyal disciple.
Meanwhile, siblings OJ (Kaluuya) and Emerald (Palmer) of Haywood Hollywood Horses understand the difficulties and dangers inherent to taming a wild animal. They’re able to capture a life-changing photograph of Jean Jacket from a distance, emerging relatively unscathed. Though unfortunately, Jean Jacket now has a taste for human flesh and must be taken out to protect those remaining. The euthanasia technique included a giant cowboy mascot balloon, but I’ll leave it at that for now.
This film showcases various approaches to (co)existing with wild creatures, and three main takeaways stand out to me in relating the film to the life of a wildlife rehabilitator:
A wild animal does not know your intentions. We humans are large predators; naturally, animals assume the worst for their safety. Because of this, you should do the same. If you must interact with an animal, approach it considering it is terrified and likely to take means to protect itself. Bills, talons, teeth, and hooves serve several purposes. Protect yourself, and don’t take offense when an animal doesn’t know you are trying to help it.
Wild animals seldom belong in captivity. Nope wonderfully highlights the effects of captivity-related stress and how attempts to stifle wildness never end well. As we’ve learned time and time again, with cases such as Tilikum, Harambe, Travis the Chimp, andMantecore, captivity and anthropomorphising are dangerous (and occasionally deadly) for both humans and the animals we believe we are appreciating.
Leave it to the professionals. Occasionally, rescuers are hesitant to turn over an animal to our care, believing they know what’s best and that they can care for the animal themselves. Wildlife rehabilitation is an ever-evolving science based on trial and error. Our methods of care have been developed over decades, and every patient offers an opportunity to learn, whether or not the individual makes it to release.
Fortunately, we are always accepting new volunteers! If you feel a pull to care for injured and orphaned wildlife, this is a place where you can learn how to do so while prioritizing the patients’ well-being.
All in all, Nope is a cautionary tale about the dangers of anthropo-morphising animals, and a reminder to maintain a level of humility in the presence of our wild neighbors. Or, perhaps, simply that balloons and wild animals do not make a great pairing.
Humboldt Wildlife Care Center staff rehabilitator Joc Garcia (left), releasing successfully treated orphaned raccoons after several months in care with intern Camryn Hanf (right).
Your support makes our work possible. Please donate if you can. Thank you so much!!!
After some unforeseen delays, we were able to begin putting up our new raptor aviary. Soon it will be soaring!
Your support makes our work possible, including re-building our facility after our sudden move two years ago. Thank you for keeping our doors open and our patients provided with care.
This Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata) got a second chance because your support keeps our seabird pools functioning and our doors open to the many faces of the Wild who call our region home in their hour of need. Thank you.
After several days of eating berries from branches and no longer being fed by care providers, it was time to release the young Waxwings! Fortunately Arcata is filled with Cedar Waxwings and Berries at this time of year (late September) so releasing them was a cinch!
Without your support, none of this would be possible. Please donate if you can. Every little bit helps!
