I couldn't be sure that people knew this thread existed, and I wondered whether or not there would be any interest at this time of year, when eagles are laying their eggs--

If you look at the picture of the Western Grebe getting a band, you can see the healed hock wound. Had this wound not heeled, the little Grebe could not return to the water and thus could not be released back into the wild. This is one of the reasons we are so careful to protect their delicate feet and hocks when they are in our hospital and out of water. We try to get them into the water as soon as possible: hospital pool and then outdoor pool.

Booties, donuts, and net-bottomed pens help. The net-bottomed pen is much better for birds who live in the water.

Video: A Brown Pelican Gets a Bath

As you know, oiled birds are not waterproof. The cold water of oceans, rivers, and lakes will penetrate their oiled feathers and reach their skin. The cold water quickly chills the bird, lowering his temperature dramatically, a death sentence. Waterproof feathers insulate birds against heat and cold and allow them to thermoregulate, keeping their body temperature within a safe range.

Sometimes birds are oiled by fuel oil (as in the Cosco Busan Oil Spill), algae blooms, or even sitting on oily fish.

All of our storm battered pelicans needed to be washed. I didn't have time to make a video of the washroom, it was just too busy. But I do have this video, which will show you a pelican getting a bath.

This California Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) is not very soiled, so he requires only two tubs of "soapy" water. We use Dawn detergent, which is donated by Proctor and Gamble. The detergent does a good job of removing oily substances, does not burn delicate skin, and rinses clean. After the bird is washed, he is thoroughly rinsed with an oxygenated showerhead. The water in the tubs and shower is very warm, ensuring that the birds do not become cold during the process. As his feathers are rinsed, they are no longer matted down. They stand up and look dry, as the water runs off of them. This is the first step in waterproofing.

After his shower, he is wrapped in a sheet and taken to a large pelican box with a special fan to blow warm air at him. He then begins to preen his feathers, the final step in waterproofing.

Note how the techs hold the pelican's bill. Pelicans do not have nares (nostrils), so they must breathe through their mouths. The tech is very careful to hold the bill in such a way that it is open, not closed. The entire washing/rinsing procedure is not shown in this video, as it would be too long for YT. To prevent the bird from getting chilled in his bath, we try to keep his body under the water, while keeping his head above water. Pelicans insist on standing up, and it's not easy to get them to sit in the tub.

Actually there are two different pelicans in the video. After the first pelican was washed, I put my camera into my pocket and went to assist with the rinse process. I wore a long plastic apron and huge rubber boots. My job was to hold the head and the bill of the pelican, keeping it open so he (or she!) could breathe. When the next pelican was washed, someone else held his head and beak, so I filmed part of the shower process. You can see how steamy it gets in the wash room: my camera lens was steaming up.

Note: The pelicans are not coated with fuel oil, thus no gloves are worn.

Brown Pelicans Struggling to Survive



From the LA Times, reporting from Astoria, Oregon: “All along the Oregon coast over the last month, hundreds of brown pelicans have turned up dead, starving or begging for food.

As many as 1,000 of the gangly seabirds failed to make their annual fall migration to California, many instead winding up at Oregon's rehabilitation centers.

Those that did head south, leaving the Pacific Northwest winter behind, were battered by California's recent storms. Shelters in San Pedro and the San Francisco Bay Area (Fairfield) are also full of emaciated pelicans.

Researchers, at a loss to explain the casualties, are looking at unusual ocean currents and the depletion of fish stocks -- as well as warmer temperatures, toxic runoff and algae blooms -- as possible causes.

Meanwhile, pelicans are sitting listlessly on beaches and scavenging outside restaurants and canneries.

"In one parking lot, there were people in cars surrounded by pelicans asking for food. We have never seen that before," said Roy Lowe, project leader for the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex. "These birds literally have lost all fear of humans."

In San Pedro, the International Bird Rescue Research Center has taken in about 130 pelicans; a similar number are at the center's Northern California facility, in Fairfield.

"We've had unprecedented numbers coming in. Is it some kind of natural die-off? Is it related to some kind of changes in the fish supply? All we know is, we are reaching capacity," said Paul Kelway of the San Pedro facility.

This is the second straight year that a large number of pelicans have remained in Oregon rather than trek to the warmer, quieter waters of California and Baja. From 1918 to 2002, the Audubon Society tallied fewer than 100 pelicans in Oregon every winter. Then the number shot up to 554 birds. In 2008, 3,647 stayed.

This year's count isn't in, but experts believe that about 3,100 birds remained along the Oregon coast…”

You can read the rest of the story Here

Oh Jean am I happy to find you!! Wow I've sure missed my usual visit to your thread on the old nest. Now I can bookmark this and come back and keep up with what's going on there. Thanks so much for all your work bringing all that great info over here

Of course I had to watch our little Tern again, what a cutie

Yesterday I started my training at Lindsay Wildlife Museum, so it looks like I will be volunteering at two wildlife hospitals. IBRRC and Lindsay work together, so I already know some of the faces there. I've dropped off birds (songbirds and raptors) at Lindsay and have picked up birds (seabirds) to bring to IBRRC. Lindsay is in a large urban area and has more money coming in and probably five times the number of volunteers. The Museum makes money, which can be passed on to the hospital. The hospital is much smaller than IBRRC's, but they have a full time veterinarian and a part-time veterinarian. IBRRC used to have a full-time vet, but with a shortage of donations, we are down to a part-time vet and two full-time employees (we had five when I started in 2007). Luckily, the Response Team shows up when we have a crisis. These are staff and volunteers from other wildlife rescue centers. We could not exist without the unpaid volunteers, that's for sure!

Link to Lindsay: click here




Yellow-bellied Marmot at Lindsay

Lindsay Wildlife Museum

I have started with the Core Curriculum at Lindsay so I could learn more about other wildlife.

The Core Curriculum covers the following:

1. Health and safety
2. Policies, releasing animals
3. Basic bird and mammal anatomy
4. Charting and metrics
5. Baby mammal care
6. Baby bird care
7. Expectations, slide show, how to get started
8. Exam, paperwork, sign-up

Also, there was an Introduction class a few weeks ago. The class cost $100, with $35 going to one year of membership at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum. Each volunteer must be a member.

The training classes are taught every other Saturday, from 9 AM to 1 PM. There are a total of four classes, each covering two topics.

The first day of training we were taught, among other things, how to take care of bird feeders. They should be emptied and washed once a week and then disinfected for 20 minutes in a 5% chlorine solution, rinsed, and allowed to air dry. The reason for this is that birds can carry diseases, and avian pox is insidious. A bird with avian pox which pokes its bill in the feeder can contaminate it. The next bird that comes along has a good chance of picking it up. Also, sick birds can spend more time at bird feeders, as they may be too ill or impaired to find their food in the wild. Hummingbird feeders should be cleaned twice a week. Never use the nectar sold in stores that contains red dye or preservatives.

I'll be volunteering at Lindsay and at IBRRC. Lindsay has all wildlife, except marine mammals. So much new information for me!

I also took a two hour seminar (on the web - it's a webinar) from the Oiled wildlife Care Network. And I passed the exam, also on the net. Both Lindsay & IBRRC, among others, are members of OWCN.

OWCN

The more I learn, the more convinced I am that I know so little.

Lindsay is very different from IBRRC. In addition to the hospital, Lindsay has a museum, education birds, and activities for the public.

IBRRC is strictly a hospital with no public activities.

Neither Lindsay nor IBRRC allow the public inside the hospital. Both have a reception area where the public can bring injured or sick wildlife.

Why not let the public see the hospital? Wildlife is terrified of humans! Humans, with their eyes on the front of their faces, are perceived as predators! Even the human voice is feared by wildlife. Talking around wildlife can cause

* heart rate to spike
* depress the immune system
* slow down recovery

Unlike domestic pets, wildlife cannot be cuddled or soothed by humans.

The constant hum of the machines kept me awake during those long days. I shouted for my captors to release me but their mad rantings were unintelligible. The worst part was the waiting. Even now, the memory of those enormous hands clamping down on my throat and prying my mouth open makes m blood turn to ice. If only I had never hit that window and met that orange tabby....

Excerpted from Memoirs of a House Finch

The training at Lindsay Wildlife Museum progresses, and yesterday we discussed the philosophy of handling. The goal is to reduce the stress of the animals we care for as much as possible with proper handling techniques. Many of the animals are injured, unstable and easily stressed. Unnecessary physical exertion can tip the balance toward delayed healing or even death.

Much was said in this very special topic. One thing stands out in my mind: Keep an eye on how the animal is behaving. Is he calm, bouncing around or near comatose? Watch what he does as you approach. Tr to anticipate his actions. Knowing the general personalities of a species can help, but noting the actual personality of one's patient is even more valuable.