A Cooper's Hawk is Released

   This Cooper's Hawk was with us for only a few days while we evaluated her ability to fly.

   We gave the privelege of release to Susan Dalgarn, currently residing at Little Swamp Sanctuary.  Susan will be teaching environmental science at Northwood University winter semester. 

Joanne Williams photographs the event.

  Look closely, just to the right of center, and you will see the Cooper's Hawk as she takes flight.  These accipiters are swift, deep woods hawks, and are extremely agile in the air.

Eagle Release

   This mature male bald eagle came from Harrison and was dropped off at Guys and Dolls Photography in Clare.  Bob and Linda Guiliani, who run the photo shop, are long time members, and often help with incoming injured birds.
    This eagle was near death.  He could not lift his head and could barely open his eyes.  It was difficult to even detect breathing.  However, through gentle and intensive care, he was nursed back to health, and is once again a free-flying bird. 

Because this eagle was extremely wild, he was too sensitive to transport back to the original location.  He was released here at Little Swamp Sanctuary, where he can rest and fly on to his home territory when ready.

   You can read more about "Harry" and other birds that have been rehabilitated, and get current news about Wildlife Recovery Association by subscribing to our newsletter.  Check out our web site at wildliferecovery.org to become a member!

Net Cutting and Networking

   It took all three volunteers to remove this great horned owl from a soccer net.  Associated with a humane organization for the placement of domestic animals, these three women worked hard to cut the net away from the young owl without damaging feathers. 

   Late summer and early fall is typical of such accidents.  The young owls and hawks are trying to fend for themselsves without the help of their parents, and very like human teenagers, they often find themselves in troubled situations.

   Amazingly enough, this owl suffered very little feather damage.  He was, however, bruised and sore, so we allowed him several weeks in large outdoor pens, and two weeks in 50 and 100 foot long flight pens to regain his strength.  We chose Jessica Jackson (look at that smile!) to release the owl as a thank you to her for saving the owl and for her willingness to network with Wildlife Recovery Association.
   As is typical, this owl flew to the nearest perch tree just after the release, and paused for ten minutes to re-orient himself before flying on.  He was released on home territory just before sundown.  After he caught his breath, he made the most elegant flight along the nearby woods for about 600 yards.  Sorry, we did not catch this on videotape.  Perhaps next time.

Crowd Pleasers

   We recently released two broad-winged hawks at the Chippewa Nature Center with a group of over ninety people.  One of these hawks came from the Cadillac area; the other from Northwood Institute in Midland.  Both hawks were badly bruised and one suffered a concussion.  They kept each other company through the final stages of recovery, and were released together during peak migration for broad-wing hawks.

   To share the excitement, we selected two of the nature center staff to participate in the release.  What a beautiful day!

Young Screech Owls

   Screech owls are often received because a nest has been disrupted or because the nestlings are pushed out of their tree cavity early.  A family of five or six young can be too large for many hollow trees.  Storms with heavy winds sometimes take down the old hollow trees that house these birds.  Any of these situations can put the young owls in difficult circumstances.  If possible, we leave them with the parents, however, in some situations, they need our care. 

                      They do best when housed  with others of their own species.

   Learning to hunt crickets, moths, and other small prey species is critical to their survival.  This stage takes place in a large flight cage where they also build up flight muscles in preperation for release.

                      Look closely; a second owl is hiding just above the platform.  

   These screech owls were released at Little Swamp Sanctuary in August, when night flying insects were abundant.  We could hear their trills for many nights following the release.  Sometimes, one of the adult owls from our cages would answer.  Other times, a wild screech owl would trill from the woods.

Nestling Kestrel

   Young raptors that are turned in for rehabilitation require a unique system that allows the youngster to identfy with its own species, learn the correct language and behavior, and learn to hunt the typical prey species of its kind.  It will need to know its enemies and fear them.  Often the most likely enemy is humans, which poses an interesting problem when raising a young bird to be wild. 

Here, she has her head tucked under her wing and is sleeping.

   This kestrel was entirely covered with white down feathers when she arrived.  She was fed inside a nest box by a puppet of a female kestrel until fledgling age.

She still has a few down feathers, and is ready to fledge.

   She spent the last two weeks of her nestling stage housed in a nest box beside a foster parent.  This adult female foster parent was then released into the same large outdoor pen so that the two kestrels could freely socialize with each other.  They are fed through a small feeding flap that prevents them from associating people with food.
   Once they have adjusted to living together, they are placed in a flight cage at least fifty feet in length, and provided with a variety of live prey.  Crickets, grasshoppers, mealworms, and beetles are the mainstay of the young kestrels diet.  She quickly learned to watch for movement near logs and brush piles inside the flight cage.  After she became skilled at hunting insects, live mice were introduced.  Within a day, she was hunting mice.

   This kestrel was released in August, when grasshoppers were abundant.  She was turned out into an open field near a pond in mid-day on a sunny afternoon.

Oscar's Thank You

   Oscar survived this ordeal, thanks to many caring people involved.  He easily could have died at any step of the way.  Cameron Rath, who works at the East Tawas Wastewater Treatment Plant fished him out of the treatment pond just as his head was about to go under.  Cameron and his boss, George Holzworth quickly contacted Conservation Officer, Rebecca Hopkins who arranged transportation for the owl through Peggy Ridgeway and Dave and Linda Ostrander to the Wildlife Recovery Association.  Oscar was treated immediately.    Whew!

   Oscar survived because people acted quickly and they cared.  You can see the full story in the Iosco County News-Herald and Oscoda Press.

   Watch this blog spot for more updates on Oscar and other raptors in need.

After the Bath

   After each bath, Oscar was wrapped in a warm towel, and placed in intensive care with an additional heat source.
    Joe and Barb Rogers are just finishing the washing in this photo; summer staff Krisy Morris holds Oscar in a warm towel before placing him in his inensive care holding facility.

The Bath

   Oscar was washed thoroughly in warm water with a mild antibacterial soap, then rinsed in warm water.  This was repeated several times with gentleness and great care.  Extreme care must be taken to prevent hypothermia, or chilling due to evaporation, which can super-cool the bird.

Summer Visitors

   Remember that little guy on Sesame Street that peeks out of the garbage can with his big eyes?  Oscar is his name, I think.  So named is one that came to us with a similar history.  

It was one of the most dramatic cases of the past summer - a great horned owl who was saved from a sewage pond.  Soon after he arrived, he was washed thoroughly and kept very warm to prevent hypothermia.  Antibiotics were given as a precautionary measure.  He survived it all, with a little help from many friends along the way..........