[…]by this date in 2016! And 2016 had been a record year for Mallard babies, in which we also saw a dramatic increase over the previous year’s orphaned Mallard caseload! Mallard chicks are orphaned in any number of ways – most commonly by cars and dogs. A mother Mallard lays her eggs in a hidden nest and when they hatch, she leads her precocial young to water. Along the way the new family must cross roads and backyards, both of which are fraught with danger – cars, dogs, unsupervised kids – the human built world has provided little else but […]
UPDATE: 1 July 2010 We’ve learned that the email detailed below emanates from the Sea Turtle Restoration Project, itself part of the Turtle Island Restoration Network, which, along with the Center for Biological Diversity has announced a lawsuit against BP and the Federal government. How this relates to the mission for which volunteers are being recruited is unclear. Apparently Unified Command for the BP oil disaster (you know, BP plus the Feds) has decided that more experienced help would be nice with the rescue of sea turtles. The only thing that wouldn’t be nice would be to pay that help… […]
After nearly a year of watching the latest outbreak of a virus in wild birds and commercial flocks travel across the US, reaching California at the Summer’s end, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has recently been detected in Humboldt County. Two Cackling Geese (Branta hutchinsii) and Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) that Humboldt Wildlife Care Center submitted for testing, as well as a Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) carcass found in Orick and submitted for testing by the National Park Service, have been returned with prelimnary positives, and have been sent to a national laboratory for further confirmation. Since then, three […]
[…]her predicament had been caused by people. Unable to hunt, she’d nearly starved. We cut away the cup, treated her wounds, and provided her safe-haven so that her health could recover. When she’d nearly doubled in weight and was raring to go, she was released back to her wild and free life. And one small injustice among the daunting environmental challenges of our time was righted. That’s how we work, case by case, life by life. This season of gratitude and appreciation, we thank you for your support and for your love for all that is wild. Thank you for […]
the latest statistics from USFWS… And here is BP again looking quite Stupid in the […]
[…]Ally X is a collective of wildlife care-providers committed to raising the standard of care available for sick or injured aquatic birds and other wild animals. Bird Ally X works to help wild birds and other animals in their efforts to survive the hazards of civilization through: the direct action of caring for wild birds and other wild animals in distress supporting other rehabilitation groups through workshops and consultation generation and proliferation of educational and informational materials and literature, for our colleagues and our neighbors. Bird Ally X will build, strengthen and further develop the resources available to ensure that […]
[…]avoiding some of the life threatening outcomes, such as broken bones, dislocated joints, eye trauma and other injuries their larger cousins usually suffer when hit by vehicles. Since the first day of Autumn 2018 until today, January 7, we’ve admitted 14 Western Screech-Owls (Megascops kennicottii) for care after they each but two were likely hit by vehicles. Sadly, this is a fairly typical number of owls for us to admit at this time of year. If past years are any indication, there are several more of these small owls yet to be hit by cars before Winter’ end. While all […]
[…]of their own species although not related. For some species, including most raptors, this can be easily done. (check out the work of The Hungry Owl Project, one of the organizations that helped spread the use of this technique for raptors in California.) We attempt to wild foster our young orphans whenever we can, or is necessary. If re-uniting and fostering are not an option, we still have our faithful standby: we raise the orphans ourselves. While not ideal, successfully raising orphaned wild animals is done every day across the world by compassionate people, mostly volunteers, who take the business of being […]
[…]they might have a chance to raise their own babies! Also released was a Great Egret (Ardea alba) who’d been found in a ditch, covered in mud and very thin. After a two weeks of care, this bird was doing very well, using our aviary for built specifically for herons and egrets, as well as dabbling ducks. Check out the video of the heron’s release: A few days ago we admitted for care both a Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) and a Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola) who’d collided with windows. Window strikes can be deadly, especially for a larger bird like a woodpecker, […]
[…]the good food (Duckweed!) Unfortunately there are many obstacles between the nest and the water. Along the way sometimes a few ducklings might become separated from the family group – by cats, dogs, kids, streets and roads and more. And that’s where we come in. At Humboldt Wildlife Care Center we have an aviary built especially to take care of pond-loving birds like Mallards. While in care we provide them with all the duckweed they can eat. These ducklings get their first taste of freedom since they hatched over 6 weeks ago! The three ducklings we released last Wednesday were […]