NEWSLETTER FOR WILDLIFE REHABILITATORS OF NORTH
CAROLINA
Volume 20 June 2005
| A quarterly newsletter produced by the Wildlife Rehabilitators of North Carolina (WRNC). WRNC's mission is to share information and knowledge about wildlife rehabilitation for the benefit of native wildlife. For comments or questions, write to: WRNC, 2542 Weymoth Rd, Winston-Salem, NC 27103. |
Continuing Education
|
Disclaimer
The opinions, techniques, and recommendations expressed in the articles of this newsletter are those of the author(s) and do not imply endorsement by WRNC. |
| Date |
Course
|
Location |
| Jul
09, 2005 - Jul 10, 2005 |
1AB: Basic Wildlife Rehabilitation |
Dallas, TX |
| Oct 08, 2005 - Oct 09, 2005 | 1AB: Basic Wildlife Rehabilitation | Kingston, RI |
| Nov 08, 2005 - Nov 09, 2005 | 1AB: Basic Wildlife Rehabilitation | Toronto, ON Canada |
| Nov
08, 2005 |
4BB: Initial Wildlife Care |
Toronto, ON Canada |
| Nov
09, 2005 |
3BB: Wildlife Feeding and Nutrition | Toronto, ON Canada |
Spotlight
on OWLS
By Linda Bergman
and Michaeleen Farrington
The Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter (OWLS)
was established in 1988 in response to a need for a facility where all species
of injured, sick, or orphaned native wild animals could be cared for in a
professional and compassionate manner. There was no such facility in North
Carolina at the time, but that need was amply demonstrated by the fact that the
shelter admitted more than 19,000 patients during its first 16 years. OWLS is
on N.C. 24, five miles west of Morehead City at 100
Wildlife Way in Newport, N.C. Our staff and volunteers come to the shelter and
begin every day with activities that exalt, exhaust, exasperate and excite us
all within the first 15 minutes of walking through the door. It's the work that keeps our blood pumping,
that keeps our hopes high and that binds us as a team with a common goal: to give all creatures a second chance to go
on with their lives or at least pass peacefully into a better one. Despite the most tragic cases, we are proud
of our 42 percent release rate, which is among the best in the country.
At OWLS, we are incredibly fortunate to
have a volunteer force whose skills and passion keep us going. Our volunteers
not only help with animal care, but spend hours every week landscaping, mopping
floors, cleaning cages, stocking
supplies, washing laundry, and updating databases and medical lists.
They collect and deliver supplies, type newsletters, repair pumps, power
washers, lawn mowers and perform the many tasks that allow us to provide a safe
and beautiful environment in which to educate the community and our
vacationers, as well as to release the animals. This is nothing new to any of
you who face the same daily challenges, and of course we all think our
volunteers are the best. And they are!
Onsite we are a working hospital and
nursery, and we are lucky to have the support of several veterinarians. We have a staff and volunteer force that
goes beyond the call of duty on a daily basis. We are able to handle anything
that comes through our clinic door. Although OWLS receives no federal or state
funds, generous community donations provide a large portion of our supplies and
the work of several local community groups and our Board of Directors assures that
our needs are met.
In addition to our rehabilitation
efforts, we feel education is a responsibility inherent to the services we
provide in our unique coastal communities of Eastern North Carolina. Placing an
emphasis on education rather than passing judgment or criticizing the
inexperienced is taken quite seriously, and we believe that focus will help
protect our wildlife for future generations.
We are in the process of redefining our education goals and creating a
shelter that attracts people not only to drop off injured or orphaned animals,
but also to learn about other animals that don't have a voice at the town
meetings.
How you educate is as important as the
decision to educate. We can present program after program about raptors and
lecture on the dangers of DDT or tell a group of kindergarteners how fast
a Peregrine falcon can fly, but once they get back on the bus, what do they
remember? We engage them in discussion,
rather than lecturing them. We make them find their own answers. They will
remember that. It's OK if they don't remember how fast the falcon can fly,
as long as they realize they can come up with the answers to ways we can coexist
with them. If we can get a child to observe an anthill and to come to appreciate
the smallest of creatures, imagine the appreciation of life further up the
food chain. Instead of lecturing about bad people doing bad things, we facilitate
discussion about how mistakes are made and what responsibility we have to
correct them. Reviewing our programs and visiting with local school staff
helps us to rethink our approach and goals and redevelop our off-site programs.
On-site we are expanding our education
areas as well. We have created a Discovery Classroom that includes information
and hands-on exhibits about the variety of wildlife we share in Eastern North
Carolina. It includes information about everything from birds, to bugs to
reptiles and even plants. A current exhibit gives step-by-step instructions
about how to create a backyard habitat and have it certified. We created a
reading corner with soft pillows where parents can sit with their children and
read about the wildlife in our area. We
have an owl pellet corner, an animal tracks corner, a resource library and many
other educational tools available for anyone who comes to visit. Our gift shop is a favorite spot to browse
for wildlife-related souvenirs.
OWLS offers behind-the-scenes tours of
the clinic and nurseries three days a week.
On our grounds we also
have created a 2-acre nature trail where native plants are identified so
visitors can consider incorporating these into their yards. A future addition
will include areas to attract amphibians. A pollinator garden is being planted
to teach about the importance of
our natural pollinators such as hummingbirds, bats, bees, butterflies and even
moths. Outdoor bird-feeding stations
cover the grounds and a large pond allows visitors to see everything from
Canada geese and migrating ducks to cormorants and great blue herons.
In addition to OWLS' passionate and selfless
commitment to providing the best possible medical attention and stewardship
of all wildlife entrusted to our care, there is a self-serving goal. It's
getting the community to value the service we provide. When we are perceived
as valuable, we help guarantee OWLS' future and our ability to continue the
important work of wildlife rehabilitation. If you're ever out our way, drop
in and say hello, or visit us at www.owlsonline.org
|
Directory Updates
Have you moved? Has you email address changed? Is your phone number listed incorrectly in the directory? Send updates to Carla Johnson at Wildlifeed2@aol.com |
| Board member contact list (email)
Bergman, Linda (President) lbergman@ec.rr.com |
|
10% Discount at the Squirrel
Store WRNC members can receive either a 10%
discount or free shipping on their first order from Squirrel Store,
which now carries rehab supplies (formulas, feeds, etc.) at competitive
prices, in addition to other wildlife related items. Orders can be placed
via their website (www.SquirrelStore.com)
or by calling Misty at 1-866-907-7757. |
| Newsletter Is ELECTRONIC This will be the second issue of our newsletter available online. To save trees we would like to move as many folks as possible to an electronic subscription. This will also free club money up for other membership activities too. To start your electronic subscription click here. |
Beginner Basics: Bunny Care – The Stress Factor
By Jean Chamberlain
Many
rehabilitators hesitate to take cottontails. They have a reputation of being
more difficult to rehabilitate than other mammals such as opossums and
squirrels. This is because many more things are stressful to cottontails. A key
to successfully rehabilitating them is to reduce stress in their environment.
Cottontails
should be handled as little as possible. When they are on formula, handle them
only at feeding times. Weigh them and change their bedding at the same time to
reduce the number of times you disturb them.
Keep
them in a quiet place where the temperature is comfortable throughout the day
and night. If they are too young to have their eyes open, use a heating pad set
on low, placed under half the container. They do best in containers appropriate
for their size. Small boxes or plastic containers lined with sweatshirt
material can be used when their eyes are still closed.
Move them to larger tubs, as they get
older. Don’t use transparent or wire cages because once their eyes are open
they will try to escape. It is best to have a covered tub with a ventilated
lid. Tubs with the lid on top rather than in the front make it easier and less
stressful when you pick up the bunny. Provide alfalfa hay for nesting. As they reach the weaning stage, they need
enough room to make individual nests. Crowded conditions are stressful.
Bunnies
are sensitive to many things we normally don’t consider. Wash your hands
thoroughly before handling them to remove creams and scents. Never smoke around them. Don’t allow them to
become familiar to dog and cat scents, including those on your hands or
clothing. If you own pets, you may need to change your clothes each time you
feed the bunnies. Be sure they are kept
in an area the pets don’t visit. Also
use distilled water to mix their formula. Young rabbits are sensitive to the
low levels of bacteria found in well water and to the chlorine and other
chemicals in tap water.
As the time for release nears, place them in a room with the windows open, or on a porch where they are exposed to fresh air and natural conditions. Placing them outdoors where they could be exposed to predators is not recommended.
|
How to go ELECTRONIC
Here
is your chance to do your little bit for the environment and also save
money for things of more use to the membership than printing and sending
paper in the mail. |
|
End of Year Reports
Please get your end of year reports in to WRNC. File existing federal records or use the forms in the last newsletter or print your own at http://www.ncwildliferehab.org/end_of_year.html. WRNC will be presenting statistics and other findings based on submitted reports at the next symposium. |
Killdeer
By
Toni O’Neil
Killdeer,
like other high-strung birds, are a challenge to raise in captivity. They’re
precocial birds that must begin to eat on their own soon or they simply stop
trying. The first 48 hours of care is crucial and may determine whether the
bird survives.
If you are not successful in locating the lost
parent and siblings and are truly going to have to try to raise a single
killdeer, here are some tips that have worked for me:
·
If it is a newly hatched bird, 8-10 grams, it may not be ready to
eat right away because it is still digesting its yolk sac. It is important to
keep the young bird hydrated - try giving it drops of warm Ringers Solution
from your fingertip rather than tubing it orally. I have tubed killdeer as a
last resort, if they weren't standing and seemed weak. Be aggressive in the
fluid therapy - if it's dehydrated, it won't eat.
·
Keep the baby warm! I use a heat lamp and a heating pad set on
medium under three-fourths of a small plastic container, the type crabs are
sold in. If the bird is on its feet, try to get it to eat. Movement
is the key; use active mealworms. That means if you keep them in the
refrigerator, you should allow them to warm up before feeding them to the bird.
Use only small mealworms - remember the size of the bird's beak. Once the bird
starts to grow, you can switch to medium and eventually large mealworms. I
agitate the small mealworms frequently by shaking them and stirring them.
Moving mealworms will catch the young bird's eye. Remove dead mealworms because
they won't get eaten.
·
I found it tricky to provide a floor surface that prevents the
bird's legs from slipping but doesn't allow the mealworms to crawl under it. I
finally settled on strips of adhesive tape about one-half inch apart on the bottom of
the plastic container. This provides
traction, and the mealworms can't hide.
Clean it by picking out the fecal matter daily. Every few days, wipe
down the tape, and when it gets too nasty, replace the plastic container with one that has clean tape. I tried using the strips used
in bathtubs, but they didn’t provide enough
traction. The very young birds' legs kept slipping, which could lead to joint
damage. Sprinkle the bottom of the box
with Start & Grow poultry chow by Purina. This will give the bird
something to eat in addition to the mealworms and will also give it more
traction.
·
Place a very shallow bowl of vitamin water in the corner, away
from the heating pad. Try teaching the bird to drink by dipping its beak into
the water. They usually get the hang of it fairly fast, but it may take a few
lessons. Don't allow the bird to get wet and chilled. Change the vitamin water daily because the vitamins degrade.
·
Keep three sides of the box covered with
contact paper, or drape it with a
towel. In front of the clear side, place a mirrored tile so the bird sees its reflection
for company.
·
Hang a feather duster above the heated side of the box to allow
the bird to hide. Raise the feather duster as the bird grows to allow enough
space for the bird to stand upright under it.
·
As the bird grows, you can move it to an aquarium. Keep the three
sides covered; use two mirrored tiles along the clear side, and keep using the
feather duster. Use either adhesive tape strips on the bottom of the aquarium
or bathtub strips to give the bird enough traction.
·
I've found "less is best" - the less you handle the
young bird, the less stress you will cause. Being precocial, they eat on their
own upon hatching. Force-feeding squelches self-feeding instincts. However, if
one is extremely weak and has difficulty eating, I'd force-feed it a soaked
mealworm every three to four hours to give it the energy to recover. Again,
that's a last resort. I'd also use LRS with dissolved poultry chow for the oral
rehydration treatment.
·
Keep it quiet. Once the bird is eating on its own and gaining weight,
I try not to disturb it. Take a quick peek to see it has enough food and water,
stir up the mealworms, then leave it alone.
Board Meetings Summary
By Sally Davis
The
WRNC Board met April 16th to discuss this year’s symposium and to
plan for next year’s. The symposium
held Feb. 25-27 at the N.C. Zoo attracted 125 people who attended workshops,
taught or helped. The 2006 symposium
will be held from Jan. 27-29. Among the training sessions under consideration for
next year are: radiographs, in-depth rabbit care, idea sharing, imprinting and
a question-and-answer period.
Hummingbirds, necropsy and grant writing are also among the ideas for
new sessions. Workshops in 2006 may include bandaging for avian and mammals,
calculating drug dosages and a session on splinting, bandaging, wound
management and tube feeding.
We
also will be accepting pre-paid orders for books to be picked up during the
symposium. Order forms will appear in the newsletter.
The
Board awarded three cage-building grants totaling $750 this year. We’re
considering conducting a cage-building session during next year’s symposium
where a cage would be built on site and raffled. We also agreed that in order to avoid the appearance of impropriety, board members would not be
eligible to receive cage-building grants in the future.
Next
year’s symposium will be advertised through the newsletter and fliers.
Advertising through newsletters and newspapers that reach potential
participants and contributors is also under investigation. Board members agreed
not to spend money for advertising, but to use the existing channels of
publicity.
After preliminary discussions by email, the board
met a second time on May 25th to vote on financial foci for WRNC
funds. All board members
participated. The following motions
received a majority vote:
·
WRNC will sponsor a continuing
education program for vets and vet techs.
·
WRNC will create a plan where we can help
people get their federal permit to rehabilitate birds.
Hold classes specifically for bird rehabilitators, and/or organize
some type of internship program to facilitate getting the 100 hours of
experience.
·
WRNC will identify areas of the state that do not
have a local organization where we can teach the expanded beginner
class and help build the local network.
Also the preference was to offer these courses regionally.
·
More money will be invested in the symposium
itself. Ideas that were favored
included: more refreshments than
vegetable trays and chips, more advanced classes and spending to have speakers
come.
·
WRNC will form a committee to set up an emergency
fund of $2,000.00 to draw from to assist fellow rehabilitators when a
hurricane or other natural disaster strikes.
·
WRNC will maintain adherence to the awarding of a
cage grant at $500.00 only to those who meet eligibility requirements.
·
Change the WRNC fiscal year by
authorizing the treasurer to set the new fiscal year date to a date that better
matches annual WRNC activity. This date
would remain constant then until this issue is raised again and put to another
vote.
The
following motions did not receive majority vote:
·
WRNC will authorize a committee
to investigate and return findings to the board regarding the hiring of a
lobbyist to push for rehabilitation of Rabies Vector Species.
·
WRNC will financially assist the
fawn rehabilitation program. (The
common reason given was that WRNC should not favor one rehabilitation species
over another.)
Those decisions that did not map to an existing
committee called for formation of new committees. These committees with initial members appear below.
Committee for Continuing Education of Veterinarians
and Veterinary Technicians
·
Jean Chamberlain
·
Mathias Engelmann
·
Sally Davis
·
Joan McMurray
Federal Permits for Birds Assistance Committee
·
Toni O’Neill
·
Joan McMurray
·
Elizabeth Hanrahan
·
Jean Chamberlain
Emergency Fund Set-up and Administration Committee
·
Beth Knapp-Tyner
·
Linda Bergman
·
Mary Weiss
·
Jennifer Burgin
|
Ask
WRNC
Q:
Why is the membership fee $15 this year rather than $20? If you have any questions you would like WRNC to answer in future newsletters, submit them to Jean Chamberlain at jchamberlain1@alltel.net |
|
From
the editor's desk
This
newsletter is your tool for reaching everyone else in WRNC. Please feel
free to submit comments, corrections, announcements and submissions
for future newsletters to Sally Davis at wekaterrapin@hotmail.com or
by phone at (919) 462-3249. |
Banded Birds for WRNC
By
Elizabeth
Hanrahan
Occasionally wildlife rehabilitators receive birds
with metal or plastic bands on their legs.
Or, a goose or duck may bear a collar or other marker. Racing or homing
pigeons are often received with one or two plastic leg bands on both legs.
Each
year more than half a million North American birds are marked with small metal
bands placed on their lower leg by licensed banders for the U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service. In spite of the massive number of birds banded annually, 
less than 5
percent are recaptured or recovered. Hundreds of pigeons are banded by Pigeon
Racing Clubs each year. Racing pigeons can get “lost.” When someone reports the
band numbers, grateful owners know that the bird is safe, and hopefully, will return home.
By reporting band numbers,
the wildlife rehabilitator can contribute to scientific studies, locate the
owner of a valuable sport bird, and thrill the presenter of the bird with a
Certificate of Appreciation from the U.S.Geological Survey. All the above
provide good public relations for the wildlife rehabilitator and the
rehabilitation facility.
USFW Bands
Hundreds of passerines are banded throughout North and South America each year at stations known as MAPS -- Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survival. Specialized banding is done on raptors, seabirds and waterfowl. These birds are banded by federally licensed “cooperators” of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Each of these bands carries a unique serial number and the abbreviated name and address
of the Fish & Wildlife/ Geological Survey Bird Banding Laboratory in Laurel, Md. When birds are shot by hunters, found dead, recaptured by banders or admitted into wildlife rehabilitation, the numbers should be reported to the laboratory.
In addition to the standard
metal Fish & Wildlife leg bands, a variety of markers are used when studies
require the identification of individual birds. These banders are also required
to have federal banding permits and “auxiliary” marking authorization.
Federal auxiliary markers
include plastic cylinders or cone-shaped collars on geese, colored plastic leg
bands, radio transmitters or other types of markers. Wildlife rehabilitators
are most likely to see the metal leg bands, followed by neck bands or collars
on geese. Colored leg bands are rarely used.
Reporting USFW Bands
The success of banding and
marking efforts depends, in part, on reporting the band. If you receive a
bird wearing a Fish & Wildlife
band, record the number, the species, age and sex, if known, the condition of the
bird, and the precise location where the bird was found. Report the information
to the laboratory. The report can be
filed online at: http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/
If the bird has died, you
may remove the band, and mail it, with the information to:
USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Bird Banding Laboratory
Laurel, MD
20708-4037
If you receive a bird with
auxiliary markers, note the same information and include a description of the
habitat in which it was found, the specific numbers, colors, and position of
the additional markers. This information will be forwarded to the 
researcher who
originally marked the bird.
In all cases, you will
receive a Certificate of Appreciation from the U.S. Geological Survey. The
certificate lists the locality and date where the bird was banded, if auxiliary
markers were present, and a short summary of the research project. You may also
request that a certificate be sent to the person who brought the bird to rehabilitation.
Pigeon Bands
It is not unusual for a
wildlife rehabilitator to be presented with a banded pigeon. These are usually
racing pigeons that have been blown off course during a racing pigeon club
event.
It is easy to locate the
owner and return the bird after a day or so of “R&R.” Because the cost of
these birds ranges from hundreds of dollars to several thousand dollars, owners
are grateful to anyone who reunites them with their lost pigeons.
To return the pigeon, record
the band number on the admission form. Then go to the internet and either
Google “banded pigeons” or go to the website for the International Federation
of American Homing Pigeon Fanciers at www.ifpigeon.com. Here you will find information and contacts
for all racing pigeons. You also will find information on care and proper
release.
You can easily read the band
number that will tell you the origin of the bird. For example, a number might
be IF-1964-SMO-2004. This series of letters and numbers would be interpreted
as:
IF = International Federation
1964 = the serial
number identifying that bird
SM0 = local
Pigeon Club code within the organization
2004
= the year the pigeon
was born.
You may then call or write
the owner of the bird and make arrangements to have the owner pick it up or
release the bird and allow it to fly home. Be sure to notify the owner when the
bird is released.
In the case above, the pigeon
was from Naples, Fla. It entered its 10th race of the 2005 season on
April 16. It was to fly from Naples, Fla. to Atlanta, Ga. A low-pressure area
and storms blew it off course. It was recovered on Ocracoke Island on Monday,
April 18th.
Book Corner
By Brenda Hiles
“The Geese of Beaver
Bog”
By Bernd Heinrich
HarperCollins
202 pages
$24.95
In the summer of 1998,
biologist Bernd Heinrich became a foster parent to a gosling he named Peep.
Peep lived on the lawn of Heinrich's house in Maine, following him and his
family like she would her own. Heinrich devised strategies to escape Peep's
attention. He'd throw cracked corn on the lawn and slip out the back door. But
Peep soon became wise and followed him.
The first time she saw him
get in his pick up truck, she followed, flying behind him along the road to
town. "Perhaps to Peep I had entered something akin to a flock; I had
disappeared into something big, mobile, and noisy," Heinrich writes.
"And so she had followed." A week later, Peep leaves Heinrich,
presumably to join one of the noisy, honking formations of Canada geese heading
south for the winter.
So begins the adventures of
"The Geese of Beaver Bog."
Bernd Heinrich, whose earlier
books include "Winter World," and "Ravens in Winter," makes
readers see the world afresh. The common place and the mundane become wondrous.
Heinrich's enthusiasm and joy in the natural world is infectious.
Peep returns to Heinrich's
cabin two years later. Through her, he meets the other Canada geese that
inhabit Beaver Bog: Pop, Jane, Harry and the Sedge pair. He tells them apart by
the slight variations in their white face patches. We're also introduced to
other denizens of the pond: red-wing black birds, grackles, cedar waxwings and
the frogs that provide a soundtrack to spring's arrival.
The book is an entrée to the
private lives of Canada geese. It has all the elements of a good drama: love,
jealousy, infidelity, and a fight for survival. The incubation period of eggs,
which might not be expected to lend itself to drama, is filled with suspense:
Will the eggs survive? Will Peep know how to be a mother? Will Pop be able to
protect Peep and the goslings? Stay tuned.
Heinrich also makes a few
discoveries about geese that have yet to be explained. Within two days of
hatching, the parents lead the goslings on a two-mile trip to another pond. To
reach the pond, they have to walk through a half-mile of forest filled with
predators, over a hill through hayfields and across a road.
Heinrich also observed geese
adopting additional young into their brood when the biological parents took off
with another group of geese. He theorizes that the extra youngsters act as a
predator shield by providing more eyes to see danger.
Heinrich chose to conduct a
field study of the geese rather than an all-out scientific investigation. A
scientific investigation would have involved catching the geese, banding them,
videotaping the nests and spending a good deal of time begging for money to
finance the study "I lived and
recorded it willy-nilly as it occurred without expectation, and hopefully
without bias, to try to reveal patterns and isolate them from the
imagined," he writes.
Heinrich also sees no problem
in naming the geese rather than assigning them numbers. Most scientists avoid
the practice in order to keep from attributing human characteristics to their
subjects. Heinrich doesn't believe science suffers from the bond between
researcher and animal. The danger for scientists is not the love of the animal,
he writes, but the love of a theory under investigation. By giving the geese
names, he brings their stories to life, they become members of the family, to
be worried over and cherished.
Shortly after reading "The Geese of Beaver Bog," I had the pleasure of seeing several geese at a park in Greensboro. I was delighted to notice the variations in their white face patches. As Heinrich noted, they were all slightly different. I watched as one goose nodded his head up and down and pointed across the parking lot to a pond. "I want to go!" he was saying, just as Pop had encouraged Peep to leave Heinrich's yard for the bog. A few seconds later, the geese were crossing the parking lot, heading to the water.
|
That
gorgeous opossum cage
Any
one interested in the 24 x 24 wire cage that was given away at the WRNC
Symposium raffle? |
|
Directories
State membership directories will be mailed this month; if you arranged for a printed directory and haven't received yours by the end of the month please contact Carla Johnson at cmjohnso@wfubmc.edu. |