Patient Stories

Ducklings #225, #226, #227 and #228

Cold rain and wind in April mean bad news for the newborn babies of spring, and these tiny Mallard ducklings were no exception.

Found in a storm drain, the babies must have been separated from their mother by the rushing water. After what was probably a wild ride, they ended up in the drain where they were seen by a homeowner and rescued by a Marin Humane Society officer.

Upon intake at WildCare, the ducklings were weighed, checked for injuries and then placed in a warm incubator to start their rehabilitation. They are eating well and we expect they will be released once old enough to survive on their own.

Spring is WildCare's busiest season and babies like these are the main reason. Last year we admitted 224 Mallard ducklings!

Please help give injured wildlife a second chance at life. Be sure to check for fallen and trapped babies after every storm and please consider sponsoring a brooder of ducklings to help with their care!

Sponsor a Group of Baby Animals!

Spring is Baby Season at WildCare, and with every passing day, more orphaned little ones arrive at our wildlife hospital. They come from many different species, but all have in common the need for warmth, gentle care, proper nutrition and a feeling of safety and security.

Your sponsorship includes an eCard to send to someone special featuring the baby of your choice (click to preview). These wild babies will make anyone smile, and with your sponsorship you'll be helping all of WildCare's orphaned baby animals grow up strong and healthy.

Peregrine Falcon #452

This juvenile Peregrine Falcon came to WildCare on May 7, 2009.

This bird was raised in a nest being monitored by volunteers under the Richardson Bay Bridge in Marin County, California. Once severely endangered, Peregrine Falcons are making a comeback in California and throughout the nation, however a nesting pair is still of utmost importance.

These peregrine parents had built their nest under the bridge over water. When this young bird fledged, he plummeted to a small rocky island near shore. We are not sure at what point his injuries occurred, but unable to fly, he was rescued by a Marin Humane Society officer under the watchful eyes of his parents and brought to WildCare.

On intake he was determined to be injured but fat and healthy. In fact the vivid yellow of his feet was unusual in a bird his age, indicating an excellent diet.

Fractured Coracoid

X-rays and examination determined a fractured coracoid, the bone connecting the bird's sternum to the humerus. This bird was very vocal on intake and had a lot of energy.

Because of the nature of his injury, the bird was kept on cage rest for nearly a month, then moved to a large aviary off-site.

From there, this amazing raptor needed to learn how to hunt in order to survive in the wild, so we enlisted the help of a federally-licensed falconer to help him develop the hunting skills, muscles and endurance to survive in the wild.

Finally, after more than five months in care, Peregrine Falcon #452 was released into the wild on October 4, 2009.

We wish him luck!

Rare California Clapper Rail makes a Speedy Recovery

When a California Clapper Rail was brought in to Wildcare on September 9th, staff and volunteers were especially excited and concerned at the same time. In the last six years, only one other California Clapper Rail has been brought to Wildcare. Although Clapper Rails are common on the east coast, the California Clapper Rail, a subspecies which lives in marshland, is endangered with only 1,000 birds estimated across the state.
  
Patient #1332 was found in San Rafael, hiding in bushes, unable to fly. Once admitted to WildCare, this adult male wetland bird was assessed by Director or Animal Care, Melanie Piazza, who instantly found that he had problems with his left side - he walked with a limp and his left wing was drooping. Closer examination revealed he was suffering from a dislocated left femur. He was immediately given fluids, food and a comfortable recovery unit.

A few days later he was transferred to the International Bird Rescue & Research Center (IBRRC) in Fairfield, an organization that specializes in rehabilitating sea and shore birds. While at the IBRRC he was given pain medication to cope with the dislocation while it worked its way back into the joint, and an outdoor ward to give him walking and flying practice. Within two weeks, patient #1332 was using both legs normally and was deemed healthy for release. He was brought back to Wildcare on September 23rd where staff successfully released him back to the wild in Novato later that day.

The California Clapper Rail is a rather large and famously noisy wetland bird which lives in tidal marshes around the San Francisco Bay area and scattered salt marshes in counties such as Alameda, Santa Clara and San Mateo, California. The subspecies was listed as endangered in 1970, and in the 1990’s numbers were estimated to be as low as 240. Decline in the species is largely due to hunting in the gold rush era, but more recently has been attributed to loss of habitat due to urban development, non-native predators and environmental pollution.  Efforts to restore the birds’ habitat have resulted in a slight increase in its population, but it is still considered endangered in this area.
  

Information sources:
http://www.whatbird.com/ 
Birds in Jeopardy, by Paul Ehrlich, David Dobkin & Darryl Wheye, Stanford Press 1992.

Good Thing Hawks Can't Count

A baby Red-tailed Hawk gets a new family.

Raptor specialist Anne Ardillo writes:

I am so glad that people will get to hear about this remarkable adoption so many different people and organizations worked to make possible together.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company workers received a special permit from California Fish and Game to remove a raptor nest that was in a dangerous location near high tension wires in Pittsburgh, California and took it to the Lindsay Museum (in Walnut Creek, California, another wildlife hospital.) Staff at Lindsay kept the eggs warm and transferred them to the International Bird Rescue and Research Center (IBRRC) in Fairfield, California where an incubator was available.

Uncertain what kind of hawk had laid the two eggs in the nest, Tony Brake and Yvonne McHugh, Golden Gate Raptor Observatory (GGRO) and IBRRC volunteers, contacted Allen Fish, Director of GGRO, for information about raising hawks from eggs. Because I volunteer at both GGRO and WildCare, Allen Fish forwarded the email to me.

Monte Merrick from IBRRC contacted WildCare when one egg hatched on April 24. The hatchling was transferred to WildCare for rehabilitation, where WildCare staff member Cindy Dicke and WildCare volunteer and raptor specialist Marianna Riser identified it as a Red-tailed Hawk because of its size. Marianna took the baby into foster care for about three weeks.

In the meantime, Brian Smucker and Elizabeth Palmer, GGRO volunteers who monitor Sonoma raptor nests, identified a nest of Red-tailed Hawks to which we might be able to add this orphan. Most birds will accept a similarly-aged orphan placed in their nest.

I contacted Jim Cairnes, the owner of Small World Tree Company, who has helped WildCare's Hungry Owl Project many times with his high-tree expertise. On May 15, while homeowners Doug and Caroline Matz watched in fascination, Jim climbed the tree and placed the orphaned baby in the nest with a somewhat sceptical nestmate.

On May 16, Elizabeth Palmer of GGRO reported that the adult Red-tailed Hawks were feeding both nestlings! She and the Matz family have been observing them daily as they prosper. That's what I call a happy ending!