The answer: the telephone!
At Humboldt Wildlife Care Center, BAX treats well over a thousand wild animals each year, animals who would have certainly died without our help. When we think about the patients that have passed though our clinic, over the years, and gotten a second chance at wild freedom, or even those who we’ve been able to at least end their suffering, we are staggered by the numbers.
Still this number is very small compared to those we’ve helped without ever laying a hand on them.
Each day, staff at our Care Center answer calls from people all over our region who have encountered or have a conflict with a wild animal. Often these callers are frustrated and may even have very negative feelings about the animal – a skunk in the yard that frightens their dog, raccoons getting into a crawl space, birds nesting in a chimney. Some callers aren’t hostile toward wildlife, but concerned about a possible problem – a deer fawn found along a trail while hiking, a skunk out in the daylight during baby season.
We get thousands of these calls yearly. No matter what the nature of the call is, it’s our task to make sure that each situation resolves peacefully for the animal. There are plenty of resources available for solutions that result in wild animals being killed – trapping and relocating, trapping and killing, shooting, poisoning – all manner of inhumane solutions can be found easily. Peaceful and humane resolution of conflicts between people and the Wild, however is strictly the name of our game.
Every Spring, our volunteers have a chance to practice the delicate art of advocating for and protecting our wild neighbors, and keeping wild families together. Bird Ally X produces several workshops for our staff and volunteers, as well as wildlife rehabilitators from around the state and nation. Our phone workshop is one of our most critical trainings. While the direct care we provide is important, good work done on the phone can prevent many of the injuries and deaths before care is needed. As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Last weekend, we offered this workshop to our newest volunteers. e were fortunate in that we had a nice Sunday afternoon, no wind or rain. We had a good time practicing these skills, using real world examples, and learning how to be powerful advocates for and protectors of our wild neighbors.
Describing the resources we rely on so that our volunteers are confident that they can give sound advice.
Demonstrating a typical call.
Because of the nearby Humboldt State University and the attraction of the Redwood Coast, our volunteers and neighbors come from around the world and around the state, bringing a wealth of experience and commitment to our work. Without volunteers, there would be no care for wild animals in need.
In the real world, you can always “phone a friend.” A workshop participant seeks advice while in the middle of his call.
The workshops we produce are a critical part of our mission. Not only are we committed to providing the best care we can, we also strive to make improvements in our field and help develop the next generation of wildlife care providers. Your support allows Humboldt Wildlife Care Center to provide direct care for wild animals in trouble, prevent injuries with our Humane Solutions program, and also, help protect the future of wildlife care with trainings and workshops. And as we enter our busiest season, the skills our volunteers learn will serve our wild neighbors immediately as well!
As always, it’s is your support that makes this possible. We are a very small organization facing global problems as locally as can be imagined. Our work is possible, our facility exists, next generations learn, because of your support. Thank you!
We need to raise $25,000 by May 31, 2017 in order to be ready to meet the challenge of our coming busy season… our region’s injured and orphaned wild animals depend on you. Please help if you can. Follow this link to donate now or become a Sustaining Member with a monthly donation.
Nestling Swallows (2015) receiving their regular feeding – soon these birds would fledge into our Songbird aviary where they continued to be fed while they learned to fly and eat on the wing. 
Every year for the last 5 years we’ve provided safe haven and bits of mouse for a 
Every year we care for several 
The most common reason for young 
A 
Every summer we save lives, preserve wild families, and give unfortunate victims of accidents and human intervention a second chance. This juvenile
Each year 
On examination no broken bones or other traumatic injuries were noted.
Raven and one of four Steller’s Jays in an aviary under quarantine. Eventually, the quarantine was lifted and all birds were given a clean bill of health.
Our new aviary is good place to learn to fly, but a bad place to live forever!
What this Raven doesn’t know is that this will be the last time she will ever suffer the indignities of the net!
A thorough examination on release is the bookend of the thorough examination we give on admission. Here her feet are inspected to be sure that no captivity-related problems are going to interfere with her ability to thrive in the wild. Captivity is very hard on wild animals. We resort to it only when their lives depend on treatment.
Is there anything more beautiful than a healthy young Raven?
All Ravens think “outside the box.”
Freed from us and far enough way to stop and consider what next she might do with her hard won freedom!
Thin and dehydrated upon admission, the Western screech-owl quickly accepted the offered bits of mouse we fed, gaining weight daily.
The forested ridge of Rohner Park, Fortuna, home for Western Screech-owls and many more wild neighbors.
BAX Wildlife Rehabilitator, Lucinda Adamson briefly holds the owlet so that he can call, hopefully bringing his parents to ivestigate. This method can be a very effective way to locate families. Imagine our own children calling, who we’ve missed.
An excellent flier now, his ability to evade the net was impressive. Soon his skills will open up the dense branches of the forest for his silent passage. 
The aviary of his youth will soon be only a memory.
A cautious young owl hopefully grows to be an old wise one.
The young owl’s first flight, free in the wild.
Perching relatively near after his first wild flight, the youngster gets his bearings.
At dusk he was perched much farther above – alive to the night. 
In our newest aviary, these four Steller’s Jays safely gained strength and replaced feathers.
By the time of their release, they were very difficult to catch in the aviary – an excellent indication!
Not all of dark horizontal lines in these tail feathers are natural color. Some of tose lines are “stress bars” which mark the time in this juvenile’s life was not getting physical needs met. These bars are weak points where the shaft might break. Too many and the bird would be unreleasable without some kind of intervention or the natural growth of new replacement feathers.
After a 2 hour drive, the birds are brought to heir release site along the Klamath River.
The first whiff of freedom (and a real river!)
Over the river and into the woods, to Grandmother’s house they go.
Just a few steps from the cloaking device that mother Earth provides all her children…
Taken with a zoom lens, one last view before these youngsters ‘disappear’ into the real world!
