Orphaned Raccoons, Field and Stream (Cool video!)

Posted on October 25, 2015October 25, 2015 by Monte Merrick

As we posted a couple of weeks ago, it’s the time of year that the orphaned raccoons we’ve cared for over the Summer are reaching an age that we can return them to their wild, free lives.

We often talk about the efforts that we can all make to co-exist with our wild neighbors as well as the work we do to keep our patients wild. No cuddling, we keep our voices down when we work near them. We strive to respect their wild natures and to protect them from the harm that comes to wild animals who don’t have an appropriate aversion to humans and human activity.

Another thing that we work for, when it comes to raising orphaned wild babies, is developing ways for them to learn the skills they will need to survive on their own. This is the hardest task of all, and involves every aspect of their care! Housing set-up that includes natural elements to imitate forest, field, stream or ocean, as best we can, foods selected that are similar to what an individual of any species might eat, and presenting the food in a manner that will teach hunting or foraging skills are all important aspects that must be included.

For raccoons, this task is as complex as they are. So, at our last release we were very gratified to watch one of our patients, moments after release, make her way downstream about 50 yards and then, to our happy surprise, start fishing! We are thrilled to see our hard work pay off and to see this young raccoon demonstrate that she knows what to do when presented with a real field and stream.

Check out this 3 minute video of our latest release (including the act of catching her first wild fish) and enjoy it too, because it’s your support that makes this work possible. So THANK YOU!!

Exploring the wide and wild world!

Agility and strength – fostering these while in captivity is a challenge when raising wild orphans! Our staff and your support make it possible!

[We are still deep in our fall fundraiser, nearly halfway to our goal of $10,000! Last week it seemed we would never make it and now it looks like we have a fighting chance! Help us cross the finish line! Every donation is tax-deductible, and every donation, no matter the size, goes directly toward meeting our mission! Your help is essential! Donate today!

Thank you for being a part of this live-saving work. Thank you for your love of the WILD!]

video taken by Laura Corsiglia and Lucinda Adamason for Bird Ally X; all photos Laura Corsiglia/BAX

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

Raccoons Raring to Re-enter the Real (video and photos)

Posted on October 9, 2015October 9, 2015 by Monte Merrick

[Help support our efforts to raise healthy, wild orphans and also prevent disruptions to wild families in the first place. Please contribute to our Fall campaign today. Every donation helps!]

Each year at Humboldt Wildlife Care Center, we can expect to treat a certain number of orphaned raccoons (Procyon lotor). Although we engage in outreach to promote humane solutions to denning mother raccoons, trying to keep wild families together, the simple fact is that several times each Spring and Summer we admit small groups of raccoon babies whose mothers have been either shot or trapped and “relocated” (illegal and inhumane, usually results in the death of the mother and, unless they are found and taken to a wildlife rehabilitator, the death of her babies that remain). On average we raise 20 to 30 raccoon babies at our Northern California clinic every season. This year we’ve had 25 (19 right now!) babies in care.

Although caring for orphaned raccoons is a common task for wildlife rehabilitators across the continent, it’s a very specialized skill, requiring experience, commitment, financial resources and appropriate housing. Without a mother who will show them the ways of the world, orphaned raccoons in care must learn to hunt, forage, climb, fish in rivers and most importantly remain wild and “untamed.” One of the cutest animals, people often try to raise raccoons as pets. This is never a good idea. Raccoons are wild animals, not pets, and deserve their freedom as much we deserve ours.

At BAX/HWCC we put a lot of effort into making sure the raccoons we care for eat the most natural and nutritionally complete diet we can provide. We place great emphasis on keeping a solid barrier between them and us, their care providers. Their survical depends on their fear of humans. An orphaned raccoon’s best shot at a happy life depends on all of these elements.

After four months in care, we just recently released the first 6 youngsters who were ready to begin their lives back in the wild. Check out the video and the photos – watch wild raccoons enter the wild for the first time since they lost their mama…

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!

As with all we do, it’s your support that makes it possible. Thank YOU!

all photos: BAX/Laura Corsiglia; video BAX/Matt Gunn

Osprey Returned to the Wild! (with pictures!)

Posted on October 7, 2015October 7, 2015 by Monte Merrick

Over the Summer BAX/Humboldt Wildlife Care Center has been treating two Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), one of whom came from Red Bluff and the other from Modesto. (read more about their care here)

A fire swept through an Osprey nest in Red Bluff, CA, a small city in the far northern end of the Sacramento Valley. One adult and one nearly fledged (ready to leave nest) chick were rescued and taken to Tehama Wild Care. After stabilizing the birds their only injuries appeard to be the singed feathers both had suffered. Feathers of course are a critical component of any bird’s health and well-being. Feathers make flight possible. Feathers allow hot-blooded birds to maintain a stable temperature (normal for most birds is between 103 and 106 degrees!). Unhealthy or damaged feathers could cause life-threatening challenges. Early in care, the young bird died, while the adult did well. Still the adult was very stressed by captivity and would dive in a threatening manner toward her human caregivers!

Soon after we admitted another Osprey chick who had been found out of her nest as a very small bird and hand-raised by our colleagues at Stanislaus Wildlife Care Center, near Modesto. This young bird now needed time in an aviary to be able to develop flight skills and also be monitored for appropriate behavior and fear of humans. Fortunately for her, we had an adult in care and good housing for the job so the young bird was sent north. The two birds quickly bonded, assuming a kind of parent/chick relationship. We knew then that the prognosis for a happy outcome was good.

After 5 weeks in an aviary together, gaining weight and strength, developing flight and eating a lot of fish ($ = fish!) we were able to determine that their feather conditon was adequate to be released – no good would come from more time in the aviary, with the layer of stress caused by captivity factored in, and the need for the young bird to learn real world skills that her new surrogate mother could teach her in the wild. Strong and healthy and sick of us, it was time for them to go.

[Fall Fundraiser: Bird Ally X/Humboldt Wildlife Care Center need your support! Summer bills must be paid. Winter maintenance must be done. Food and medicine for patients must be purchased. Utilities too! Without you we cannot keep our doors open, ready to accept into care all native California wildlife, orphaned or injured by the impact of our towns, our highways, our trash, our reckless disregard for our wild neighbors. Please contribute today. Any amount helps. Please give what you can.]

Yesterday, BAX co-director Laura Corsiglia and volunteer Bonnie MacRaith took the two birds on the long drive back to Red Bluff, back to adult’s home place and with her new kid in tow.

After returning to Humboldt, Bonnie stopped in at the clinic – this had been her first wild release… her eyes welling up, she reported the joy of seeing the adult fly out over the Sacramento River, and the youngster, who had come out of the carrier first and stood looking about, leaping into flight right behind her and following out across the river and into the sky and into perfect wild freedom.

Another open door to a wild and free future!

Juvenile Osprey wonders what to do with the wide open possibilities.

The adult Osprey seemed to know exactly where she was and what she wanted. Out of the carrier and into the sky!

And the youngster followed close behind…

The last glimpse! Good luck fishing!

As is always the case, our work is possible because of mutual aid between wildlife rehabilitators, help from agencies like the US Fish and Wildlife Service and CA Dept of Fish and Wildlife, and most importantly, your support. Your donations pay for everything we do! Food, medicine, appropriate housing – all of the critical elements to these birds’ happy outcome is the direct result of your donation. We are a very small organization with a huge task to do. Please give what you can today!

All photos: BAX/Laura Corsiglia

Gray Fox is Free!

Posted on October 4, 2015October 4, 2015 by Monte Merrick

Early September, during a Sunday morning shift, this Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) was brought to Humboldt Wildlife Care Center with her head caught in a hard plastic cup. Her rescuer, a traveler passing through, was able to catch and restrain her, locate us on the internet and walk her over. He and his companions brought her in just past 10am. (read more of her first day in care here)

Over the course of her treatment (read about her time in care here) she rebounded quickly. Although at first we worried that the trauma to her ears was too severe for her to be returned to the wild, soon she was alert, ears up, wounds healing quickly and snarling mad!

We kept our hands and eyes off her as much as we could during her course of treatment, balancing her need for wild privacy with our need to monitor her recovery.

On a diet of fish, thawed rats, eggs and occasional car-killed pigeons, her weight shot up from 2000 grams to 2700 grams (4 1/2 pounds to 6 pounds – a big gain for a small animal!). Her agility and energy increased dramatically as well. (see photos below!)

After nearly a month in care, her wounds were healed, her fur growing back in nicely, and her body strong and lithe. It was time for her to be released. She couldn’t have agreed more.

In the Gray fox’ housing to catch for her release examination

Flying fox? No, just anxious to be free.

Nabbed!

In the net for less than a minute, this is still a stressful moment for all concerned.

Onto the exam table for a look at her condition.

Bird Ally X/HWCC volunteer staffperson, Stephanie Owens, restrains our patient. Her job is to protect both patient and examiner. 6 pounds of fury can bite pretty hard!

Hard to believe how quickly her condition improved. Her ears are nearly perfect now. Compare with the next photo of her on admission day!

Raw, flattened by who knows how long in that cup, and infested with fly larvae (maggots) we were worried her ears would not heal well enough for her to hunt again. Thankfully she made a full recovery! (photo: BAX/Heather Freitas)

At the release site, close to where she was rescued. Freedom’s just a box top away!

Buh-bye! Our favorite moment in the care of any patient!

The last glimpse we had before she disappeared into the Wild.

This Gray fox was a dramatic patient. She exemplified all the frustration and all of the reward of caring for injured and orphaned wild animals. Her injury was caused by something easily prevented. Reckless and irresponsible action by humans in society, one little piece of litter in a world full of toxins, traumas, challenges and threats nearly ended the life of this fox. But with accessible care available for her, and a dedicated staff, she was able to be treated successfully and returned to her wild and free life. Although the causes are the same for most of our patients, not all are so lucky. Most aren’t.

Thanks to your support, we are able to be here 7 days a week, every day of the year. Dedicated volunteers, very limited paid staff, and our Bayside clinic – we don’t have much by way of resources, but we make the most of what we’ve got! Your donation goes a very long way in keeping us going and making sure that the North Coast has a place for injured and orphaned wild neighbors to be treated – treated for injuries and treated with the respect that all wild animals deserve. As Henry Thoreau elegantly wrote, “All good things are wild and free.”

all photos: Bird Ally X/Laura Corsiglia except where noted.

Your support matters.

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Monte Merrick

Your support makes our work possible. Thank you for helping us give injured and orphaned wild animals a second chance.

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Heermann’s gulls – not intrinsically funny.

Posted on August 28, 2015August 28, 2015 by Monte Merrick

A little “humor” to begin the weekend! Heermann’s gulls – a close companion of Brown pelicans. These birds were successfuly rescued, treated and released by BAX/HWCC! egull

Western Screech-owl in care shows his finery right before release to the wild

Posted on August 24, 2015 by Monte Merrick

One of the lesser known side-benefits of working at a wildlife hospital is the intense and privileged proximity caregivers have to wild freedom. Want to help give injured and orphaned wild animals a second chance? Volunteer with your local wildlife rehabilitator!

weso wingspread aviary

Young Common Murres in Care

Posted on August 22, 2015August 22, 2015 by Monte Merrick

For Northern California and the Pacific Northwest, natural conditions (i.e., deep, cold nutrient rich water) are excellent for seabirds, many of whom we rarely meet. Even the Common Murre (Uria aalge), a species with a breeding population well over a million in the Northeast Pacific ocean, is not so commonly seen after all, except by ocean-going anglers and others aboard vessels.

Common Murres spend their lives on the open ocean coming to land only during the nesting season, when they lay eggs and raise their young on sea stacks and rocky cliffs – Devil’s Slide just south of San Francisco, the Marin Headlands, on sea stacks and rocky cliffs all the way to Alaska, including Flatiron Rock just off Trinidad, Humboldt County and Castle Rock near Crescent City at the Oregon border in Del Norte.

A periodic physical examination makes certain our young Common Murre patients are developing into healthy young adults.

While their wild salt lives may be a mystery to those who stay ashore, unfortunately Common Murres are all too familiar with human action, especially when it comes to ocean health. Common Murres are regular victims of oil pollution, derelict fishing gear, overfishing, agricultural runoff which can produce harmful algal blooms that coat prey fish in poison, and of course, the general industrialization of the sea.

Because of these threats, Common Murres are regularly admitted into the many (but too few!) wildlife care facilities that are found along the Pacific Coast.

Humboldt Wildlife Care Center is no exception. Each year approximately 3% of our patients (roughly 30 birds) are admitted for care. Half of these, typically, are juvenile birds who have become separated from their parents before they were ready. In our seabird pool right now we are caring for 6 juveniles and 1 adult.

Common Murres are colony nesters who enjoy the proximity of their cohorts.

Unlike many birds (e.g., pelicans, albatross) who are nearly full grown when they leave their nest, Murre chicks leap from their rocky colonies weeks before they can fly. The chicks are led to sea by their fathers, who continue their care, feeding them and showing the young birds how to dive for fish. Fathers and young congregate in large feeding areas off the coast.

Chicks and fathers recognize each other by call, with voices that are evolved to resonate across waves and wind. Should the father be injured or killed, or a large vessel plow through the feeding area, scattering the birds, it is possible the chick will be orphaned or unable to survive alone. How often this happens, we don’t know. What we do know is that when an orphaned youngster makes it to the beach – usually weak, cold and exhausted – if found, we can raise them in our specially prepared saline pool and release them when they are able to fend for themselves.

For this year’s Murre chicks, fate has provided an adult Murre, whose prognosis for recovery is very good, and who for now has the role of surrogate parent, or at least favorite aunt or uncle. The presence of this adult bird greatly reduces the stress of the youngsters. We hope the benefit is mutual.

As always, your support makes our work possible. Each Common Murre chick eats a little over a pound of fish a day. After 6 weeks in care that’s about 50 pounds. With 7 Murres, you can see how quickly our fish bill adds up! Keeping salt pools for the young birds takes resources too! Thank you for your support! If you would like to contribute to their care, please click on the donate link. Your tax-deductible support goes directly to the rescue, treatment and release of injured and orphaned wildlife on the North coast and beyond! Thank you for being a part of this life saving work!

(All photos: Laura Corsiglia/BAX)

Mendocino County Sued Over Wildlife Services Contract Renewal

Posted on July 28, 2015July 28, 2015 by Monte Merrick

MENDOCINO, Calif.— Animal-protection and conservation organizations filed suit today challenging Mendocino County’s contract renewal with Wildlife Services, a notorious federal wildlife-killing program that killed close to 3 million animals in the United States in 2014.

“Mendocino County is using taxpayer money to kill its native wildlife, which is highly valued by many Mendocino residents,” said Elly Pepper, Natural Resources Defense Council wildlife advocate. “Instead, it should put that money towards nonlethal practices, which preserve our native wildlife while effectively deterring predators from livestock.”

According to the complaint, the county’s renewal of the contract violates the California Environmental Quality Act and a previously signedsettlement agreement, in which the county agreed to comply with the Act before renewing its contract with Wildlife Services. The coalition consists of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, the Animal Welfare Institute, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Project Coyote and a Mendocino Country resident.

“By claiming exemptions from CEQA, Mendocino County is attempting to avoid performing any environmental studies on Wildlife Services’ environmental impacts,” stated Tara Zuardo, wildlife attorney with the Animal Welfare Institute. “Through this lawsuit, we hope to ensure Mendocino County officials follow through on the obligations they agreed to in our settlement agreement.”

Mendocino County’s previous $144,000 contract authorized the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services program to kill hundreds of coyotes, as well as bears, bobcats, foxes and other animals in the county every year, without fully assessing the ecological damage or considering alternatives.

Although hundreds of county residents sent postcards and letters to the Board of Supervisors and showed up to make public comment at two meetings, the Board renewed the contract without taking the time to fully investigate the program, learn about the public’s concerns, and consider alternatives, as required by the Act.

”Unfortunately, despite the county’s promise to consider nonlethal alternatives that are better for wildlife and taxpayers, county supervisors decided to do an end run around the law,” said Amy Atwood of the Center for Biological Diversity. “They have misled and disappointed hundreds of their constituents.”

Wildlife Services’ indiscriminate killing of millions of animals annually has many damaging impacts on the environment. Peer-reviewed research shows that such reckless slaughter of animals — particularly predators — results in broad ecological destruction and loss of biodiversity. The program’s controversial and indiscriminate killing methods are employed largely at the behest of ranchers to protect livestock and have come under increased scrutiny from scientists, the public and government officials. In addition the agency has been responsible for the countless deaths of threatened and endangered species, as well as family pets.

“We are encouraging Mendocino County to explore and adopt alternative, nonlethal models (like the Marin County Livestock & Wildlife Protection Program) that are more ecologically, ethically and economically defensible — and more effective at protecting livestock,” said Camilla Fox, founder and executive director of Marin-based Project Coyote.

“ALDF and its allies will continue to push for CEQA compliance and wildlife protection in Mendocino County,” said Stephen Wells, executive director of ALDF. “California deserves more than shady dealings from their elected officials.”

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The Animal Legal Defense Fund is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the lives and advancing the interests of animals through the legal system through litigation, legislation, supporting prosecutors, and advancing the emerging field of animal law. For more information, visit aldf.org.

The Animal Welfare Institute is a nonprofit charitable organization founded in 1951 and dedicated to reducing animal suffering caused by people. AWI engages policymakers, scientists, industry, and the public to achieve better treatment of animals everywhere—in the laboratory, on the farm, in commerce, at home, and in the wild. For more information, visit www.awionline.org.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 900,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places: www.biologicaldiversity.org.

Project Coyote is a North American coalition of wildlife educators, scientists, predator friendly ranchers, and community leaders promoting coexistence between people and wildlife, and compassionate conservation through education, science, and advocacy.
Visit: ProjectCoyote.org

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 2 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world’s natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.