Experiencing Turbulence: The Rough and Tumble Life of A Harlequin Duck

Posted on March 9, 2017March 9, 2017 by Monte Merrick

Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) are not typical. Through the Winter they prefer the rocky coast, foraging blithely among the smashing waves. Generally speaking, they’re unusual to see, not because they’re rare, but because waves smashing on rocks is not habitat that suits the human animal that much. Come Spring the Harlequin leaves our rocky coast and goes North to raise this year’s family in the thrashing and fast moving current of Arctic rivers and streams. All of this is why it took us a moment to identify the injured duck brought down from Crescent City in the middle of last month.

A female Harlequin, she’d suffered quite a trauma. Found among the minefield of rocks that makes up the beach on the North side of Crescent City, she had a severe laceration on the top of her head, and her left cheek was badly cut, part of her feathered face hanging loose.

Somehow she’d been battered. By the recent storms? By a dog unleashed? We’ll never know. We do know that she needed care and given her dark colors among the dark rocks, her small size and the vastness of the sea, she was very lucky that she was found.

The lacerations looked bad, but in fact, they were easily treated. Each of her limbs was intact; she was in good health. We cleaned and dressed her wounds and prepared for the real task of her care: keeping a duck who loves the turbulent sea, fast moving water, and the freedom to dive against the rocks for her dinner of mollusks and crustacea in a calm pool in the middle of a small ranch a mile from the nearest saltwater.

Fortunately she accepted our diet of krill and small fish purchased at the pet store as a workable substitute for barnacles and tiny crabs.

A deep laceration on the Harlequin’s face would likely have lead to her death had she not been spotted and rescued.

While a Western grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis) is not one of her own kind, housing patients with others, usually helps reduce the stress of their temporary captivity.

After more than three weeks in care, she was at last ready to go home. Her wounds fully healed, in good body condition, her blood work good, we took her to Trinidad. We are fortunate with most seabirds that they don’t rely on specific territory as much as bountiful habitat. We didn’t need to return her to Crescent City – she’s soon going leave our region for the high Arctic. With a sheltered ocean beach that is just a quick paddle around the corner to the open swell of the Pacific, Trinidad offers an excellent place to release oceanic birds that is also relatively safe for human caregivers to reach.

Please help us reach our March goal of $7000. Now is the time to prepare for our busy Spring and Summer season! We need you. Please Donate Here ]

Here is the sequence of photos from her release on March 8.

Searching beneath the waves…

And finding food!

At home again.

And here we left her: to her own life, her privacy, her autonomy, her wild and mysterious freedom to be the kind of duck she is. Our world is a many-roomed mansion, and we enter few of its doors. Yet our actions have impact everywhere. Even the Harlequin must be considered.

[ An interesting article on Harlequin Ducks and the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil spill ]

From where this duck came and to where she will go, we’ll never know. Our concern, and what we can do, is make certain that she and her kind are able to freely live their lives. Your generosity made her success in rehabilitation possible.

Thank you for supporting the work of Bird Ally X and Humboldt Wildlife Care Center. Your love for the Wild makes a difference for thousands of our wild neighbors each year. Even those who you may never see.

All photos: Laura Corsiglia/Bird Ally X

Aquatic Birds in Care

Posted on November 21, 2016November 21, 2016 by Monte Merrick

Every year, as our busy wild baby season comes to a close, aquatic birds, who breed elsewhere, come back to the Pacific Coast to overwinter. The famed Aleutian Cackling Geese, Brant, Grebes, Loons, seaducks, dabbling ducks, all use our relatively mild winters with historically food-rich waters to while away the hibernal months.

At Humboldt Wildlife Care Center, the arrival of wintering aquatic birds means a dramatic change in our caseload. Already this Autumn we have provided care for dozens of adult and juvenile aquatic birds.

For adult birds, this season is a time of comparative ease, without the responsibilities of rearing young. For this year’s young, this is their first season in the world of adults, a time of learning – learning to hunt, where to find food, learning their way around the real world, becoming independent.

The real world naturally holds threats – not every juvenile bird lives. Adults die in storms. They are caught by predators. Old age takes its toll as well. Still, it’s rare that we admit patients suffering from these natural calamities and processes.

Most patients are admitted in poor body condition – emaciated, anemic and dehydrated – obviously suffering from starvation.

This year, the usually “productive” California Current is not providing the quantity of fish needed to support the wintering population. As we noted earlier in the year, Common Murres, who raise their young on the North Coast experienced complete colony failure this year due to the absence of appropriate prey fish. (Even at our clinic we are struggling to stay in supply of food to feed our patients, due to this shortage!)

There are other causes of injury. Some of our patients this season were entangled in derelict fishing gear, and no doubt we will treat more. Derelict fishing gear is a global problem that makes itself known locally everywhere.

Typically each year we treat waterfowl, geese and ducks, that have been legally shot by hunters, but not killed, that have been found later by someone else. And sometimes we admit aquatic birds with traumatic injuries that we can’t ascribe to any particular cause – wing fractures, leg fractures that may be from collisions with human infrastructure, boats, battering surf – we just don’t know.

In all cases, however, our trained staff and purpose-built facilities allow us to provide excellent care for aquatic birds – noe of which would be possible without your generous support. So as we continue through this season, scroll the photos below to see some of our recent and current patients. And get out and enjoy our wintering wild aquatic neighbors! And as usual, if you can help us meet our mission with financial support, please do! We need you!

Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)in care, moments before her release evaluation, demonstrating that explosive flight is well within her capabilities.

Female Northern Shoveler during her release evaluation exam

Northern Shoveler wing, extended for examination. Note her delicate blue and green speculum.
Northern Shoveler flies free!

Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis) feet! Very awkward on land, in the water, these feet become propellers, as the bird swiftly pursues fish for her meals.
Western Grebe wing.
Each bird receives nutritional support, is treated for parasites and given supplemental vitamins while in care.

Like many aquatic bird species, Western grebes are social and seek the comfort and safety of a like-minded community.
Even a Pacific Loon (Gavia pacifica) can be part of the gang!

Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) being released after two weeks in care, regaining lost body weight and strength.

Another Western Grebe released.
This Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) collided with a building suffering very little injury. Still this male needed a few days to recover. Upon release in his home territory at Big Lagoon he immediately circled around calling and joined a female, his likely mate.

An incredible moment as the Kingfisher flew a circle around his caregivers immediately after release.

Belted Kingfishers, like all aquatic birds, require specialized care. Bird Ally X was founded as a means to bring quality aquatic bird care to the more remote areas of our coast where experience and resources are scant. This male’s care and release at Big Lagoon is a testament to that mission.
In an awesome update to a recent story, this Pacific Loon, who was found by HWCC staff on the beach in Samoa entangled in a discarded fishing net, was just released today!
Releasing any patient is an immeasurable reward, but in another way we have a direct measure – your support. This Loon’s second chance was bought and paid for by your donation! Thank you!

Your support for our work during every season is critical. We have nearly a dozen aquatic birds in care right now, in addition to our other patients. We anticipate more to come. Each month brings us new challenges – some predictable, like the return of wintering seabirds, others less predictable, such as failing prey fish populations, sudden storms, and other emergencies. Being able to rely on you allows us to prepare for both. Your donation (click here) to help us meet our November goal of $7000 will go directly to the care of these remarkable birds who live so near to us, but whose lives are so different. Thank you!!!

New additions to our facility. You can help! (watch video)

Posted on June 9, 2016 by Monte Merrick

This Spring we’ve been adding to our capacity to provide care for injured and orphaned wildlife on California’s North coast. See our latest developmensts in this video. And please, help us help wildlife. We need your support! You can donate here: http://birdallyx.net/donate-now/

Young Seabirds Rescued and Released

Posted on October 13, 2015October 13, 2015 by Monte Merrick

2015 has not been a very good year for Common Murres (Uria aalge californica) on the west coast of North America. From Southern California to British Columbia, thousands of these seabirds, mostly young of the year, have been found on beaches dead or dying of starvation.

Bird Ally X co-directors Marie Travers and Shannon Riggs, DVM have been responding to this “crash” in Southern California at Pacific Wildlife Care in Morro Bay where Dr Riggs is director of animal care. This year they’ve treated well over a 150 young Common Murres. San Francisco Bay area wildlife care providers have been inundated with starving young Murres as well.

On the North Coast, the situation has been slightly different, our cooler temperatures and distance form the larger fishing ports and urban impact has left more room in the ocean for our seabird neighbors. Even so, Humboldt Wildlife Care Center has admitted nearly 50 starving juveniles since the “die-off” began in July. That’s a lot of work for our small facility and it’s a lot of fish, too.

[Help support our efforts to raise healthy, wild orphans and provide quality care for all marine wildlife caught in civilization’s many snares. Please contribute to our Fall campaign today. $ = Fish, medicine, water. Every donation helps!]

We posted earlier this Summer when we had a pool full of these beautiful elegant birds. Now as the season turns cool, many are ready for release back to their oceanic lives.

Thank you for being a part of this life saving work. Your support keeps us and our patients afloat.

Video/Photos: BAX/Ruth Mock, BAX/Stephanie Owens

Northern Fulmars, seabirds of mystery

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Monte Merrick

from the Bridge of a crabbing Ship
in the middle of the night on the southern Bering sea –
Wakened by the Rolling Sea.

it is december and in a locker on board
hang orange suits Meant to
Protect human Life
should the Vessel go Down.

otherwise, says the pilot
we have five minutes at Most
before we Succumb to the Cold
and we Drown –

the Bow points to the Sky,
then down into the Trough
the lights cast a wide arc and we see
peppering the Crests,
Heads Tucked, at rest
northern Fulmars,
common Murres, asleep.

Northern Fulmars (Fulmaris glacialis) are mysterious birds. Their pelagic lives rarely intersect our land-locked habits. When they do come ashore, to rear their young, they choose remote sea cliffs at the edge of ice-covered oceans. At sea, because they follow the fishing industry’s floating slaughter-houses, perhaps those who know them best are whalers and commercial fishers.

Infrequent visitors to land, they are less commonly admitted for care than other seabirds who stay close to the coasts. As with all tasks, increased exposure improves our skills. So for many years, Northern Fulmars were regarded as a difficult species to treat, and many of these birds died while in our care.

When caring for a wild animal, besides treatment for whatever the injury or condition, the primary care given is husbandry, which amounts mostly to diet and housing. When we tried to find how to provide better care for fulmars, these are the areas we had to study.

Early in treatment, in a small tepid salt pool. The environment is meant to be stress-free.

Northern Fulmars eat anything – aquatic invertebrates like krill, small fish, squid. And they live on the open ocean. While their habitat is impossible to recreate, it still is relatively simple. Open sea.

In late fall of 2003, there was a Northern Fulmar wreck (a seabird wreck is an unusual mortality event involving large numbers of the same or mixed species – while these have occurred throughout time, warmer oceans, acidified oceans, and nitrified oceans are playing an increasing role) in which hundreds of these birds were beached from Baja to British Columbia… sadly very few birds were released. Most facilities did not have proper pools and lacked experience. Along the coast, most birds died.

Evaluating feather condition and ablity to stay dry in water, or waterproofing…

At the facility where I was the care manager, we realized that our diet, established to provide high calories without fat, so that oils wouldn’t contaminate the pool, was not merely not helping, but was actively harming the birds, who were dying, several a day. We switched to a fish-based diet, and immediately, birds began to respond. We managed to release 7 of the 75 in our care. While we were encouraged by our improvement, still this was a dismal result.

Regular examinations and blood tests allow us to track the patient’s progress.

In 2007, along the coast of Monterey Bay, another Fulmar wreck occurred – much smaller in scope, only birds in the bay were affected, not the whole coast. Still we had 140 birds in care! We were seeing similar results, roughly 10% of the birds were looking good, appearing to be headed for release.

By coincidence, the facility we were using had seawater pools that were available for Sea Otters. Because of the large numbers of birds in care, we had to use these pools as well. Imagine our shock when nearly all the birds on seawater suddenly became voracious eaters, vocalizing and highly active. While we had no physiological reason for these birds not thriving on freshwater (many other seabirds do fine on freshwater while in care) our eyes told us all we really needed to know. Northern Fulmars require salt water.

As their health improves, a larger salt pool and far less handling are required for continued recovery.

So last month, when we got four fulmars in from local beaches in Humboldt County, the first thing we did was salt our pools. In fact, our pools are built with pumps that allow us to switch back and forth between salt and fresh water for just this reason. We use salt for all pelagic birds now – while it is more expensive to add salt to a pool, certainly, but salt, especially for Northern Fulmars, is the difference between life and death.

Your generosity supports innovations like these. Without you we would not be able to provide the best care we can, and “push the envelope” to improve, to learn, and to be able to save more wild lives. Thank you so much for making our work possible. Scroll through the following pictures of our Northern Fulmars recently in care… and when you feel good about their release, please, feel free to feel good about yourselves for helping to make it happen.

Release!

Rehabilitator Lucinda Adamson (left) and wildlife student/volunteer Lisa Falcao watch their patients fly away.

All Photos: Laura Corsiglia/Bird Ally X

Western Grebes Need Your Help

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Monte Merrick

Young birds, tossed by big seas, struggle on area beaches. Over 50 Grebes rescued so far! Bird Ally X/Humboldt Wildlife Care Center needs your help providing these birds a second chance.

Western Grebes, elegant and graceful, recover in our seabird pool

During the second week of October a period of rough ocean conditions began on the North coast with breakers higher than 16 feet. Immediately Humboldt Wildlife Care Center/BAX began admitting immature Western Grebes who had been tossed on the beach by the big waves.

A young Grebe in a transport carrier. Eye protection is a good idea when handling these birds!

To date, we have admitted 50 of these elegant black and white birds for care. All of them are young birds. Western grebes raise their families all over the west on freshwater lakes. Once their young can fly and hunt for fish on their own, they depart the lakes to spend the winter along the coast on bays, inlets, river mouths and on the open ocean, often seen just beyond the break in large groups called rafts.

Checking body condition: many of our patients are emaciated.

Young birds who are unfamiliar with the ocean can struggle with storms and high seas, leaving them vulnerable. A few days of not being able to eat and they may find themselves too weak to recover on their own. Add to this mix the modern challenges of unpredictable ocean health due to a disrupted climate, overfishing and the pollution stream that comes from all sides, and the near-shore environment can now be seen as a much less hospitable place for young seabirds.

Blood is drawn for simple tests that can help us determine the overall health of each bird.

Once in care, all oceanic birds require resource-intensive treatment. Each bird eats a pound of fish a day! Rehydrating fluids, anti-parasite medicine and nutritional supplements also are needed.

After millions of years of evolution, Grebes are unable to tolerate being on land, or any hard surface, and must quickly be housed in pools. Clean water is absolutely necessary for their recovery. We conserve our resources as much as we can, but we still need your help providing these fundamental necessities for our patients.

A slightly warmed pool helps weakened Grebes get back on water – a must if they are to survive.

Each bird eats about a pound of fish a day.

Some tossed fish encourage our patients’ appetite while in the stressful captive environment.

Fortunately Western grebes are highly social and prefer to be with others.

Once healthy, the young birds are released into Humboldt Bay, where many species of prey-fish are abundant.

Thanks to community support we have released 18 of these birds back into the wild. We still have 14 Western Grebes in care who need you to help cover the costs of their ongoing treatment. A few more are admitted each day. Please give what you can.

Our mission to help individual animals survive against the challenges modern society has placed on the natural world is only possible with your support. As you scroll through the photographs of our patients, you can enjoy knowing that your contribution provides the best care available for struggling wild animals here on the beautiful Redwood Coast. Any amount helps. Besides financial support you can also help spread our work by sharing this page. Invite us to present at your club or organization. We love to talk to our community about wildlife and how we can all help. Contact us at info@birdallyx.net!

all photographs Laura Corsiglia/BAX