For those of you who perhaps don’t remember, the GBBC is a great way to allow scientists to track changing bird populations across North America, as ordinary citizens report the number of avian species they see at their feeders, in the woods, at the park—wherever they happen to be. You can count birds for as little as 15 minutes a day; you can participate every day from Feb. 18-21 or just one or two days, depending on your schedule; and you can list only the species you see or hear that you recognize, so you don’t even need a bird ID guide…although it’s my considered opinion that everybody should have one good bird guide handy at all times—I have several and even keep one in my car! How much easier could it be, unless you had someone counting the birds for you? (In which case, you’re probably so lazy you’d like to hire someone to eat and breathe for you, too…) Go to www.birdcount.org or click on the GBBC button below for more info.

Only one intake since the Feb. 3 update, a gorgeous mature male red-tailed hawk. Unfortunately, this laid-back bird had several major health issues that necessitated his euthanasia…He came in with a nasty open wing fracture, which is pretty much a death sentence for any bird. Steve Hicks of Bubba and Friends (www.bubba-and-friends.org) and I discussed the hawk’s potential fate prior to my taking him to Smalley’s Animal Hospital for x-rays and had decided if the x-rays didn’t show too much displacement or a totally shattered wing, we’d give him a chance, anyway.

Unfortunately, as you can see in the x-ray at right, the bone was too badly displaced for the bird to ever fly again, and we also discovered that he had severe bumblefoot in both feet. This is where the pads of the feet are punctured/torn/slashed and infection sets in.  Judging by the swelling in his feet, the infection was pretty bad by the time he got to us, and this is a long-term, difficult health issue to address, particularly when both feet are affected at the same time.

I’ve also had several calls, ranging from bats to possums, that didn’t result in intakes.  While the “downtime” has been nice, I’m cringing every time the phone rings, expecting the next call to signal the official beginning of baby season 2011—and as slow as things have been thus far, I’m afraid there will be a deluge, not a trickle!

Can you believe it? I’ve had no intakes for the past couple of weeks, not since the screech owl from the last report, who was released…although I’m now up to 14 calls that didn’t result in intakes.  This will change in short order, as squirrels begin to trickle and then flood in, followed by a smattering of juvenile owls, and then the possums and rabbits will appear…and then the floodgates will open as the weather warms and songbirds begin breeding!

Speaking of songbirds, one of the calls I received last week was from someone several counties away who had rescued a bluebird from his cat and wanted to bring it to me. I suggested a halfway point to meet and shortly after I’d left the house, he called and said someone in his home county had agreed to take the bird; they’d just opened up some sort of animal rescue, etc., etc…I ran through the names of licensed rehabbers in his general area; there was only one in his county, who was not federally licensed—a requirement for dealing with songbirds or raptors. He said none of the names rang a bell, but these people had assured him they could take the bird.  While he never returned my call after leaving the bird with these people, against my advice, I’m offering you the same warning and advice I gave him: ask to see the permits of anyone you take wildlife to, to make sure they are licensed for the wildlife in question. If they balk or can’t produce the permits, take the animal and find someone else who WILL produce current permits. There are many people out there who claim to “do rehab” and have never bothered to take the tests and undergo state and federal inspections of their facilities in order to acquire proper licensure. This sets them—and you, if you take them animals—up for hefty fines and even the confiscation and euthanasia of the animals they possess illegally. There are also those who do have state permits but not federal ones, so they should not be dealing with birds other than to triage and transfer to a federally licensed rehabber. I ran into this last year when I received several birds from a local rehabber who was not federally licensed and had raised these birds anyway and then had no clue how to release them, basically because the rehabber had come *this close* to imprinting them to the point of not being releasable and couldn’t figure out why they wouldn’t “go away” once their cage door was left open.

 I keep copies of both my state and federal permits readily available in case I need to produce them as proof that I am, in fact, licensed for the work that I do. Any rehabber who is properly licensed should be able to do the same upon request. Just a word of advice!

Now to the 2010 year-end report:

Laurens Wildlife Rescue received a total of 247 intakes for 2010. Final outcomes are as follows:

·        23 were transferred—22 raptors and 1 RVS (fox kit)

·        49 were euthanized

·        21 died in care

·        60 were DOA (dead on arrival) (Most of these were the massive possum influx we saw in April/May, with babies that had been removed from the pouches of dead mothers; possums still in the pouch generally don’t survive removal from their mother’s nipples, as their mouths aren’t even fully formed yet.)

·        94 were released

Taking the transfers, DOAs and euthanasias out of play, that means that my release rate for the year was 82%, the same as last year.

I received 162 calls that didn’t result in an intake; most of these were from the Atlanta area and were referred to rehabbers closer to their homes, and several were again from out of state—one from a child in Minnesota, who was referred to a rehabber in her state. The metro-area calls led me to add a special page to the website alerting metro residents that while I was NOT in their area, I would take their animals if they would meet me at least halfway. The others were cases where I was able to advise the caller so that mama and babies were reunited or never separated in the first place.

I racked up 6609 miles picking up, transferring and running animals to the vet, which at the federal mileage allowance of $.50/mile, equates to $3305 in gas expenses. This is lower than last year’s mileage because for 16 days I was without transportation while my transmission was being rebuilt, after it died on me while I was on the way to the vet with a carload of birds.

Food, bedding and other supplies totaled $3386, while professional memberships and registrations and such came to $155. While the cost for memberships and registrations increased, the total spent on food, etc. decreased slightly, in large part because I finally managed to get my mealworm colony well-enough established to reduce my need for as many orders of this expensive favorite “weaning” food for songbirds. I’m not self-sustaining with the mealies yet, but having my own small colony has cut the expenses considerably!

LWR received a $3000 facilities grant, which was used to purchase feeding dishes for birds and mammals (hopefully enough of each that I’ll not run short, even during the height of baby season), extra caging, heating pads for babies needing supplemental heat, food preparation tools, perches, chemical- and dye-free feather dusters (serve as surrogate “mama” to species such as wood ducks, quail and killdeer) and an incubator. (Yes, I do occasionally receive eggs, and the incubator will give them a better chance of hatching than my previous makeshift method.)

Leaving the equipment funded by the grant out of the final expenses, it took a total of $6846 (that includes the mileage allowance) to “give Nature’s children a second chance” in 2010.  Donations totaled $1937, only 28% of LWR’s total operating costs—up from 12% last year. With 247 intakes, only 20 people made donations when they brought me animals, for a total of $937. The remaining $1000 in donations came from two families who support LWR with more than just words, even though neither family brought any animals to LWR last year.

Where did the remaining $4909 in operating expenses come from?  My own paltry coffers. This is why I stress that kudos are nice but cash keeps the rehabber in business. As I’ve said repeatedly over the past year (repeat along with me, now), respect and admiration don’t fill furry bellies or feathered crops.

 Providing for these animals and giving them a second chance at life isn’t cheap, and everyone seems to assume that someone else will step up and help cover the costs. That leaves me making up the rather substantial difference. Sadly, this is true for most rehabbers: we are among those few who can honestly say that we put blood, sweat and tears into our work, along with vast amounts of our own limited funds.

Please keep in mind that YOU are the “somebody else” whose tax-deductible donations can help us continue to compensate for general human stupidity (which I’m STILL not allowed to list as a reason for the animal’s need for rehab) and return these animals to the wild. (Helpful hint: there are PayPal links at the bottom of every page on this site except this one!) Folks, the wildlife I care for is a part of YOUR natural heritage; step up to the plate and assume “ownership” by helping us rehabbers do our jobs!

And finally, don’t forget about the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) coming up Feb. 18-21. This is a fun, easy way to become what Cornell Lab of Ornithology terms a “citizen scientist.” You can count birds in your back yard, in a park, off your balcony—wherever—and for as little as 15 minutes! See the GBBC website at www.birdcount.org  or click on the photo at left for more details.