WILDLIFE CONSERVATION & REHABILITATION ~ 2012-2013

gigi · **Posted:** Sat Jul 14, 2012 7:23 pm

The iPhone does a great job. I recently got one and have not discovered all of its potential yet.

beans · **Posted:** Sat Jul 21, 2012 1:51 pm

Brown Pelicans in peril again…

A skinny and starving brown pelican that landed on the Golden Gate Bridge last week and held up traffic was more than a wayward bird, wildlife experts said.

It was one of thousands of brown pelicans that are barely making land or washing ashore this summer along the California coast. Since the birds began their migration from the Gulf of Mexico in late June, emaciated pelicans - famished from a lack of food - have been flooding into rescue centers.

High mortality rates are typical for brown pelicans - fewer than half survive their first year - but experts don't know whether the apparent increase in deaths is due to a higher birth rate, lower food availability or something else.

To read more and see pictures, click this link: CLICK
Source: San Francisco Chronicle

kittenface · **Posted:** Tue Jul 31, 2012 4:50 pm

I guess this is a good place for this

Falcon chicks introduced to new home
Drayton Valley Western Review
To help reverse this saddening fact there have been many conservation programs to help recover threatened species by the Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, which saw five peregrine falcon chicks move into their new temporary ...

gigi · **Posted:** Tue Jul 31, 2012 10:06 pm

I always hate to think of them without the watchful eyes of their parents, but hacking has helped tremendously in saving this species. Thanks KF!

gigi · **Posted:** Tue Jul 31, 2012 10:13 pm

I thought I would share this funny story from bird rehab.

This is the time of year that most of the songbird fledglings finally get released after growing up in rehab for one reason or another. Liz particularly likes the soft release of just opening a cage and letting the bird go on its own. Sometimes they are quick to leave, and sometimes a bit more hesitant. Because Liz also has bird feeding areas in her yard we often see our newly released birds. It is extremely rewarding to recognize one of "our"birds in the yard!

Such was the case of a little woodpecker released Monday. As Liz went out the front door, this little guy was on the porch and proceded to walk right back in the front door. We'll keep him overnight, make sure he has a full belly and try again tomorrow!

beans · **Posted:** Tue Jul 31, 2012 10:17 pm

He knew where there was good room & board!

kittenface · **Posted:** Tue Jul 31, 2012 10:51 pm

That is so cute I hope it finally realises he's free but if not he definitely has a great place to live :biggrin:

gigi · **Posted:** Wed Aug 01, 2012 9:37 pm

gigi wrote:

I thought I would share this funny story from bird rehab.

This is the time of year that most of the songbird fledglings finally get released after growing up in rehab for one reason or another. Liz particularly likes the soft release of just opening a cage and letting the bird go on its own. Sometimes they are quick to leave, and sometimes a bit more hesitant. Because Liz also has bird feeding areas in her yard we often see our newly released birds. It is extremely rewarding to recognize one of "our"birds in the yard!

Such was the case of a little woodpecker released Monday. As Liz went out the front door, this little guy was on the porch and proceded to walk right back in the front door. We'll keep him overnight, make sure he has a full belly and try again tomorrow!

Day 3 of freedom: Liz, once again took his cage outside for another soft release. When I arrived he was just above the cage in a nice soft wood weeping willow. Perfect for trying out that beak. Later as I left, as soon as we walked outside, he swooped over and above us, knocking into a window. Not at all daunted, he flew back to the tree, barely missing Liz's head chattering all the while. Just talked to Liz and he is still outside. We'll see what tomorrow brings....

beans · **Posted:** Wed Aug 01, 2012 9:59 pm

Thanks for the update!

gigi · **Posted:** Thu Aug 02, 2012 12:11 am

Woodie was last seen pecking on a dead cherry tree. There is hope he knows he is supposed to live outdoors!!

beans · **Posted:** Fri Aug 24, 2012 6:38 pm

No more news about Woodie?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three American Crows from Lindsay Wildlife Hospital passed their exit exams and were released on August 23. Because they are juveniles, it is important that they be released near an established group of Crows, where they will be accepted and taught how to survive. Nine more juveniles remain in the hospital, but they are not quite ready.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

American Crows are familiar over much of the continent: large, intelligent, all-black birds with hoarse, cawing voices. They are common sights in treetops, fields, and roadsides, and in habitats ranging from open woods and empty beaches to town centers. They usually feed on the ground and eat almost anything -- typically earthworms, insects and other small animals, seeds, and fruit but also garbage, carrion, and chicks they rob from nests. Their flight style is unique, a patient, methodical flapping that is rarely broken up with glides.

American Crow
Corvus brachyrhynchos

gigi · **Posted:** Sat Aug 25, 2012 10:03 am

Thanks beans. Always good to see them finally fly to freedom! :sum10:

kittenface · **Posted:** Wed Aug 29, 2012 2:38 am

40 Facts About Bald Eagle

The bald eagle's scientific name signifies a sea (halo) eagle (aeetos) with a white (leukos) head. At one time, the word "bald" meant "white," not hairless.
Eagles are a member of the Accipitridae family, which also includes hawks, kites, and oldworld vultures.
There are two subspecies of bald eagles. The "southern" bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus and the "nothern "bald eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus alascanus.
The golden eagle is larger than the bald eagle in average height and wingspan, but there isn't much difference in their average weight.
Eagles do not sweat, so they need to use other cooling methods such as perching in the shade, panting, and holding their wings away from their body.
Tolerance to cold temperatures- A bald eagle's skin is protected by feathers lined with down. The feet are cold resistance because they are mostly tendon.The outside of the bill is mostly nonliving material, with little blood supply.
Largest member of the Hawk family.
About 90% of eagles do not survive their first year.
About 40% do not survive their first flight.
Eagles are capable of breeding from age 4
Some eagles do not breed every year. (Reason unknown).
Eggs are generally laid in late March or early May, depending on the area of the country.
Incubation period is 35 days.
At 10 to 12 weeks of age, eagles are fully grown and capable of flight.
Nesting territory roughly 1 to 2 square miles.
½ of world eagle population lives in Alaska.
Bald eagleís skeleton weighs approximately ½ pound. (200-300 gram range)
There are some 7,200 feathers on an eagleís body.
Feathers weigh twice as much in total weight than the skeleton.
Beak, talons and feathers are all made of keratin; therefore they are in a constant state of growth.
Eagles can shift and fluff their feathers in order to protect themselves from harsh weather, wind and temperatures.
Eagles have color vision .An eagle's eye is almost as large as a human's, but its sharpness is at least four times that of a person with perfect vision. The eagle can probably identify a rabbit moving almost a mile away. That means that an eagle flying at an altitude of 1000 feet over open country could spot prey over an area of almost 3 square miles from a fixed position.
Body temperature is 102º Fahrenheit (38.8º C)
Eagles do not have vocal cords; sound is produced in the Syrinx, a bony chamber located where the trachea divides to go to the lungs.
Bald eagles have two centers of focus or Foveae,which gives them the ability to see forward and to the sides simultaneously.
Eagles do have hearing, it is used to help locate and ìlock inî on prey when necessary. It is not as strong or remarkable as their eyesight or an owls hearing.
Eagle's ears are located just behind the eyes.
Bald eagleís feet are resistant to cold, due to being made up mostly of tendon.
This also aids in their incredible strength.
The eagle can produce up to 1000 p.s.i. of torque on either of its feet.
Hunting areas can cover from 1,700 to 10,000 acres.
Eagles can rotate their heads about the same distance as owls, 270º
Eagles have a second transparent eyelid (Nictitating Membrane) to protect its eye while eating, hunting, feeding young, etc. It also cleans & moisturizes the eye.
Spicules are the small, rough projections sticking out from the undersides of the eagleís fleshy toes which help the eagle grasp slippery prey.
Eagles have a Crop that stores food while the stomach is full, it also separates indigestible foods that become coated in mucus, which is then expelled or regurgitated much like an owl pellet.
At a height of 1000 feet, the bald eagle has a range of view for small prey (rabbit size) of about 3 square miles.
Average flight speed is 30-40mph. Dive speed can reach 100mph!
Bald Eagles can swim! They use their wings much like a butterfly's motion when in this situation.
Haliaeetus leucocephalus means white-headed sea eagle in Latin.
Juvenile eagle feathers a larger than an adults; these are nature's training wheels to aid in stabilizing flight in their early flying days.
Though not as fast as falcons, bald eagles are fast fliers. When diving, where lift is less important than reaching drag, the eagle pulls in its wings to minimize their surface area.
The eagle is a strong swimmer, but if the water is very cold, it may be overcome by hypothermia.

gigi · **Posted:** Wed Aug 29, 2012 4:31 pm

some interesting stuff here.

kittenface · **Posted:** Sat Sep 01, 2012 12:03 am

I thought this was a good place for this
How Important Was Rachel Carson's Silent Spring in the Recovery of Bald Eagles and Other Bird Species?

gigi · **Posted:** Sat Sep 01, 2012 11:44 am

Still compelling. Thanks KF.

skygirlblue · **Joined:** Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:18 pm **Posts:** 26282

Great information about the eagle, KF. .I'm not sure I agree with all of it, based on what I learned this past season with the Richmond Eagles ..

beans · **Posted:** Fri Sep 07, 2012 1:14 pm

Wind farms need more regulation. While they provide alternative sources of energy, they are killing birds, most of which are federally protected migratory birds (not just in the US, but in other countries as well). One of the worst offender is the wind farm in the Altamont Pass in California. The turbines are located in a flyway where thousands of birds migrate each year. An environmental impact report was not filed before this wind farm was established. This week another mangled bird was admitted to Lindsay Wildlife hospital in Walnut Creek, California.

If we all send letters or email to our representatives (perhaps with a link to this video), perhaps changes will be made.

I hope this video goes viral.

gigi · **Posted:** Sat Sep 08, 2012 7:46 pm

I have real mixed feelings about wind farms. Not sure they provide enough energy to warrant all the mayhem they create. But the companies are receiving all kinds of government subsidies for the alternate energy programs being promoted so there is money to be made....

We have a huge windmill farm north of here and it near where I go to see the sand hill cranes during their annual fall migration. I just can't even think about it....

skygirlblue · **Joined:** Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:18 pm **Posts:** 26282

WOW. .that video was certainly difficult to watch!!! ( I certainly do hope the person recording that went over to rescue that bird, poor thing and so tragic) :cryinggirl:

I have very mixed feelings as well. . we have got to develop alternative fuel sources, but not at the expense of the animals/environment. Between the glass buildings, airports, wind turbines, draining wetlands, power lines, cutting down forests, we are making it so difficult for our wildlife to live!!

I wish I had an answer. . .

Bird Cams Around the World

WILDLIFE CONSERVATION & REHABILITATION ~ 2012-2013

Who is online