Shrikes are North America’s only predatory songbird. The beak is hooked like a raptor’s, but they don’t have talons for holding prey. To compensate for this lack, the Shrike family impales prey on thorns, barb wire fences etc. This practice has earned them the nickname “Butcher Bird”. They will readily eat insects, small snakes, lizards and even small birds.  Insect eating Shrikes even cast a pellet when their stomachs are full on hard exoskeletons.

The Wildlife Center has begun to see the shift of spring mammals to baby birds.  The birds are arriving in all shapes, varieties and ages.  For the next several months, the variety of species brought to the Wildlife Center will continue to increase as more baby birds arrive. Last year the Wildlife Center admitted almost 200 different species!

Just in the last week the Wildlife Center admitted  – American Crow, American Robin, Armadillo, Barred Owl, Black-Bellied Whistling Duck, Blue Jay, Carolina Wren, Cattle Egret, Cedar Waxwing, Chuck-Wills Widow, Common Grackle, Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Cotton Tail Rabbit, Eastern Fox Squirrel, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Eastern Screech Owl, English House Sparrow, European Starling, Great Horned Owl, House Finch, Indigo Bunting, Killdeer, Mallard Duck, Merlin, Mourning Dove, Northern Cardinal, Northern Mockingbird, Osprey, Purple Gallinule, Raccoon, Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Rock Dove, Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, Southern Flying Squirrel, Swamp Rabbit, Virginia Opossum, Whip-oppr-will, White-Winged Dove, Yellow Breasted Chat, Yellow-Crowned Night Heron.

If you are not a volunteer with WR&E and would like to help these amazing creatures please call the Wildlife Center 713-861-9453 to register for the next orientation.  For more information about volunteering check under the “How You Can Help” tab. English House Sparrows on the left and a Purple Gallinule is on the right. Barred Owlets below. ]]> http://wrande.org/2010/04/40-species-this-week/feed/ 0 http://wrande.org/2010/04/found-a-baby-now-what/ http://wrande.org/2010/04/found-a-baby-now-what/#comments Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:50:45 +0000 cyndi http://wrande.org/?p=1977 The most important thing to do if you find a baby wild animal is to make sure it truly is an orphan!! Wild animals are extremely good parents and many times well meaning rescuers pick up and whisk away healthy youngsters while their parents watch. This is especially true of fawn, baby rabbit and fledgling birds.

Unless the baby is wet, cold, injured, covered with ants, fly eggs, maggots or is very weak simply observe it at a distance for a time. Nestling birds have little to no feathers and still need a parent’s body temperature to keep warm. Often the baby can be put back into the nest or into a hanging basket or bucket to protect them from dogs and cats and the parent will continue to bring food to the baby.

Don’t forget to put holes in the bottom of the container to prevent drowning should it rain. It is NOT true that the parent will abandon the baby if touched by humans – birds will not reject the nestling or fledgling even if they see it being handled by a rescuer.  Be sure to monitor the baby, if Mom doesn’t return or the baby appears to become weak, get help quickly.

Fledgling birds have short stubby wing and tail feathers and are beginning to look like the parents. They spend hours or days on the ground while learning to fly and are supplemented with food from their parents. This is normal especially with mockingbirds and blue jays. If the baby has wing feathers and a stubby tail, it’s supposed to be on the ground learning to fly. Place it in a tall bush or small tree and keep pets away from the area.

Look for injuries such as a broken wing or leg – symmetry is a wonderful thing, you don’t have to know bird anatomy to know that one wing is being held dramatically different than the other. Also look for the presence of fly eggs or maggots. Fly eggs look like clumps of small yellow rice grains. The whole body should be checked for fly eggs since they will be laid on any broken skin or body opening (eyes, ear, nose or cloaca).

Hypothermia (becoming too cold) is life threatening, quick action should be taken to warm the animal. Almost all wildlife, with the notable exception of the opossum, have internal temperatures that are higher than ours and because of their small body mass chill easily. The younger the animal the more important it is to keep the animal warm.

DO NOT FEED OR WATER THE ANIMAL! Great harm can come to an animal that is fed the wrong food, at the wrong time or in the wrong way.

Put the baby in a box or animal carrier that is large enough for it to stand up and move around a little bit. If a heating pad (set on low) is not available, dry uncooked rice can be placed in a sock and heated in a microwave for 30 – 45 second intervals until warm.  When using an external heat source, check the animal frequently to prevent overheating. Place the animal in a quiet warm place. If the animal is being kept outdoors, it needs to be in the shade. Keeping it in a closed garage or screened in porch will prevent flies from laying eggs on it.

Young mammals may appear lost and alone while they explore or wait for parents to return from foraging for food nearby. This is especially true for deer and rabbits who intentionally do not remain with their baby(ies) during the day. Each time the mom returns from foraging, she leaves another scent trail that could potentially lead a predator to the nest. So, as the baby gets older and can go longer between nursing, she spends more and more time nearby, but not with her offspring. In fact, prey animals often build their burrows and park their babies near human buildings because they know predators like coyote are less likely to approach.

Both birds and mammals are very time consuming, but in very different ways. Birds require frequent feeding, as often as every half hour….but it takes a short amount of time per baby. Most will present an open mouth for stuffing with food, but some species don’t “gape” and others require tube feeding. All things considered baby birds are easy but demanding. Mammals take much more time per animal, but once past the “pinkie” stage (newborn, no hair, pink coloring) they only need to be fed every three or four hours. Each species of mammal requires species specific formula and feeding techniques that require close training and initial supervision.

Please let people know that you are connected with the Wildlife Center, it is very important that we provide guidance with respect to orphaned and injured wild animals. It is also important for us (and the animals) that the public knows it is illegal to raise or care for almost every species of wild animal without the proper permits.

Two Fox Squirrels trying to look inconspicuous in soft-release cage

Gray Squirrels in soft-release cage

Click here to open the Registration Form. Just print it off, fill it out and send it in!

Contact E J Rogers, Tournament Coordinator by e-mail  at erogers@comcast.net or by phone at 281-468-7440

All four of the brown pelicans were emaciated and debilitated due to parasites and the freezing temperatures. The Wildlife Center medicated and fed these animals for over four weeks. It cost over $1000 in fish to bring these animals back to good health. If you would like to contribute to their care please click the DONATE button on the top bar.

Join us
Saturday, February 20, 2010
10:00 a.m.
Under the Kemah Bridge on the Seabrook side (north side of the channel on Highway 146).

Directions to release site:

Take I-45 S (Gulf Freeway) to NASA Road I / Nasa Parkway
Due to construction, the NASA Road I exit has been combined with the Bay Area Blvd. Exit (Exit #26) you can exit Bay Area Blvd. and follow the feeder road south to NASA Road I where you will turn left (east).

OR

You can take a short cut by using the NASA Road I – Webster Bypass – Go past the Bay Area Blvd. Exit, the freeway will rise to overpass NASA Road I, the exit for the Bypass marked by a temporary sign on the side of the road. Ignore any exit signs for NASA Road I or NASA Parkway and continue straight. It will reconnect with NASA Road I just east of Egret Bay Blvd.

At the intesection with Highway 146 turn right (south). You will see the Kemah Bridge rising in front of you. The exit to go under the bridge is on the right, just before the bridge starts.

WR&E announces its first Oiled Wildlife Response Workshop of 2010

Click here for more information

Reading X-rays can sometimes be very tricky. Medical professionals receive extensive training, but any layman can see what’s wrong with this Muscovy duck. Not only is the hook well imaged, it is so good you can see the barb! The duck is continuing to recover at the Wildlife Center after surgical removal of the hook.

Words fail when we try to express our gratitude. With the possible exception of the microscope, an x-ray is the most valuable diagnostic tool available to medical professionals. This X-ray allowed Dr. Flores the precision she needed to remove the hook with minimum damage to surrounding tissue.

The fact that the X-ray machine is digital is extremely important because we can e-mail the image to any veterinarian with internet access for an instant diagnosis! In addition, the image can be manipulated (zoom / lighten /darken) just like a photograph or false colors can be assigned to increase the contrast.

Many require heroic efforts by the vets and volunteers. Most require attention, hydration, nutrition and medication every 30 to 60 minutes until stabilized. Not all can be saved, but at least they pass peacefully, warm, fed and without pain. Caring for these challenging patients is very expensive; recuperation requires numerous medications and specialized diets. Rehabilitation of these animals is slow and prolonged.

This past week was very busy at the WR&E Wildlife Center. Intakes included several Sharp-shinned Hawks, Cooper’s Hawks, Red Tailed Hawks and Red-shouldered Hawks. The Eastern Screech Owls continue to come to the Wildlife Center in large numbers as did a Great Horned Owl and Barn Owl. The Wildlife Center is also receiving orphaned baby ducks, opossums, squirrels and injured songbirds.

This Peregrine Falcon was found in Texas City at the BP plant where he was probably chasing pigeons and flew into a power line. He underwent surgery at the Wildlife Center for his severely injured wing. He is recovering well, but the injury was serious enough that he may not be releasable. If not, he will become an Education Ambassador or be placed with a zoo.

Patient Update: Three Red-shouldered Hawks have improved enough that they have been moved to a large flight cage for flight conditioning.  One of these is the hawks has already appeared in this blog, it was the one that shattered an apartment window and had his neck and esophagus stitched.

Conditioning Flight cages are 50 to 75 feet long. Sometimes, 2 of these flight cages will be placed next to each other and connected at one end forming a U. This configuration allows segregation of birds into each of the individual flight cages or the cages can be opened to each other to force the birds to negotiate turns and banking in addition to straight line flight.