Laurens Wildlife Rescue
  • Home
  • I found a wild baby - what do I do?
  • How can I help?
  • Contact us
  • FAQ
  • This week in wildlife

Make hay while the sun shines

3/8/2020

2 Comments

 
Anybody else remember that old expression? Well, I put action to those words late last week when the first of four glorious, rain-free days arrived. Five birds regained their freedom—and, as many of y’all already know, Sisyphus the kestrel is now in his new home. So all in all, it was a great week, despite insane rain amounts early on.
​
A third barred owl came in late Monday and was also one of the five releases on Saturday: three barreds, the Coop and the screech. Only the screech hung around long enough for a post-release photo, and he’s actually the only one I didn’t manage a decent release video of, so that balanced out nicely. The release videos and the screech’s photo are below.
Picture
​And with what seemed like record speed, Beth Thomson of Blue Ridge Raptors received both her federal and state approval for Sisyphus’ transfer in the same week, so she was able to pick him up Thursday and reports that he’s adjusting well to his new home and being trained for his new role as an educational ambassador for his species.
Picture
​The red tail recovering from the wing fracture has finally realized she’s not gonna starve to death in rehab and has cut back to a mere two large mice a day. In another week or so, she’ll be due for follow-up X-rays to see how that wing’s healing.
Picture
Picture
​And this is what I see when I feed the flyers at night:
Finally, with baby season already beginning for mammal rehabbers and not far off for bird rehabbers, let me hop on my soapbox and remind you that rehabbers rely on the public to get wildlife in need to them; we cannot go out and pick up the wildlife. I actually had someone argue last week that asking the public to transport wildlife to a rehabber is like asking them to extract wreck victims from a car and transport them to a hospital, rather than calling an ambulance. I initially said this was not an apt analogy, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it’s not totally inaccurate.

Ambulance drivers transport their patients to treatment facilities (hospitals) where they are cared for by trained, PAID professionals—the doctors and nurses—who do NOT drive all over the place, loading up and transporting their patients to their facilities. They wait for the ambulance drivers to do this. Therefore, the wildlife finder/transporter serves as the "ambulance driver," transporting to wildlife rehabbers’ homes, which serve as the treatment facilities for our "patients." Wildlife rehabbers are trained, UNPAID professionals, outside large centers, which are few and far between. And just try calling any of those large centers with paid staff and see if they’ll hop right in their cars and come pick up your wildlife. I promise you, they’ll give you the same reply we home-based folks do—no can do.

Most of us are, in fact, home-based and have paying jobs to support our rehab efforts and keep the lights on. We can’t be on the road picking up the wildlife all the time; it’s a logistical impossibility. For example, with just 12 songbird rehabbers and 11 raptor rehabbers in the entire state of Georgia (per our latest list), those of us in the state cannot pick up all the birds we get calls about. If we're on the road picking up birds—or squirrels or rabbits or deer, for my colleagues who rehab mammals—when are we supposed to take care of the ones we already have in rehab?
​
We will gladly walk anyone who calls through what they need to do to get wildlife secured and to us; we will refer them to volunteer transportation networks when the sheer distance requires it; we will refer to closer rehabbers when possible. Work with us on this; we want to help the wildlife you’ve found, but we cannot pick it up. Driving it to us is maybe an hour out of your day to bring us a bird or mammal that will require days, more often weeks or months, of round-the-clock care from us. Surely you can spare that measly little hour to do the right thing—the HUMANE thing.
2 Comments
Ann Feldman
3/9/2020 09:16:28 am

Nice to read positive news. That Red-tail is gorgeous, btw. The local pair that I watch has been very "active" and I am hoping for lovely fledglings like last year. It amazes me how most folks are oblivious to the "activities" taking place a few yards over their heads!

Reply
Laurens Wildlife Rescue
3/9/2020 01:47:11 pm

Yeah, I love those rare weeks with no DOAs and no euthanasias.

Isn't that gal gorgeous, though?! And feisty! I love her.

Most people are so oblivious to nature; it's sad, really. And here folks like you and me will stop dead mid-sentence to watch a bird fly overhead...

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    February 2009
    January 2009
    December 2008
    November 2008
    October 2008
    September 2008
    August 2008
    July 2008
    June 2008
    May 2008
    April 2008

    Categories

    All
    Baby Birds
    Baby Deer
    Baby Opossums
    Baby Possums
    Baby Rabbits
    Bluegray Gnatcatchers
    Carolina Wren
    Common Loons
    Epd
    Fawns
    House Finch
    Mbta
    Migratory Bird Treaty Act
    Mockers
    Mockingbirds
    Orphaned Birds
    Orphaned Deer
    Orphaned Fawns
    Orphaned Opossums
    Orphaned Possums
    Orphaned Rabbits
    Orphaned Wildlife
    Squirrels
    Wildlife
    Wood Ducks

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.