To learn more about Wild Care, visit our website!
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Director's Message
January 2020
Happy New Year everyone! What an amazing year! Wild Care saw 1,865 animals in 2019. A record number, and 8 more animals than 2018. We feel good knowing we were able to provide care to these animals in need, and provide our services to all of Cape Cod!
In 2019, Wild Care...
- Provided care for over 700 orphaned animals displaced from their parents. (That's almost half our patients for the year!)
- Answered 9,407 phone calls on our Wildlife Helpline, regarding wildlife & more.
- Utilized over 300 volunteers who contributed >7,200 hrs. (WOW!)
We are excited to launch into 2020 with you, and continue to provide and expand our services for people & for wildlife.
We hope you enjoy this "Year-in-Review". It is a quick snapshot of some of the exciting happenings at Wild Care in 2019, all made possible by your love and support!
Sincerely,
Stephanie, Executive Director
Please help us
start 2020 off right.
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"We hold waterbirds up for their Physical Therapy Flapping before and after swim time. It helps to strengthen their muscles."
Photo by Kerry Reid.
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And the Winner Is... American Black Duck #1865
By Jennifer Taylor, Animal Care Coordinator
A wonderful American Black Duck was brought into Wild Care from Chatham at the end of December. What a poor thing! In the early morning she was sitting in the middle of a road. The rescuer passed her, realized something was wrong and turned his vehicle around to help. At that moment he witnessed a Red-tailed Hawk swoop down and grab the duck!
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Red-tailed Hawk Treated for Rodenticide Poisoning
by Kate Rollenhagen Diggs
Photo by Kerry Reid.
Back on February 1st, 2019, we received a call about this fellow sitting on the ground in a driveway in Brewster (we feel pretty sure it's a male because of his relatively small size).
He was very weak and hardly responded to us except when directly handled. He was lying down most of the time and he almost seemed blind. We drew some blood: most of the tests were normal, but the clotting time test was super prolonged...
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Photo by Leo Seletsky.
Opossum of the Sea
By Jennifer Taylor, Animal Care Coordinator
Different species of birds behave differently as patients. I
recently
wrote about an American Black Duck being the worst-behaved patient we had ever had. Now I'm writing about one of our most well-behaved patients, a Black Sea Duck.
Scoters are Black Sea Ducks that winter in the coastal waters around Cape Cod. They eat mostly mollusks (especially clams and mussels) and crustaceans. There are three types of Scoters in North America: Black Scoters, Surf Scoters and White-winged Scoters. The males’ orange bills are quite spectacular, especially the Surf Scoter...
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"Trash Your Tackle" Initiative to Reduce Marine Debris Impacts on Wildlife
From our Executive Director, Stephanie Ellis
Photo by Kerry Reid.
In May, Wild Care announced the launch of their new initiative called, "Trash Your Tackle." In this pilot initiative, five PVC receptacles were placed at separate locations in the Town of Chatham. The receptacles serve as repositories for derelict recreational fishing gear - including hooks, lines, and sinkers.
The ultimate goal of the PVC receptacles is to provide a place for the public to deposit gear, and safely remove it from the environment...
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Intern Naomi, feeding the hungry chick.
Red Hawk Down!
By Jennifer Taylor, Animal Care Coordinator
A Red-tailed Hawk nest in Barnstable lost a nestling due to an unknown event. The home owners had been watching the interactions of a pair of hawks and their two babies. The nestling was sighted on the ground after the caller heard a ruckus of Blue Jays in the yard. The home owners called Wild Care, and we asked if they could get the bird into a box. That should not have been a problem. However, the chick’s parents were swooping at them whenever they got near.
We put a call out to our hawk-savvy volunteers. Jayne was at the dentist, and Peg was at the vets...
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Wild Care Reunites Sesuit Harbor Osprey Chicks
with Community Support
Reported by Cape Cod Today.
Photo by Carl Jacobs.
On Saturday morning, June 29th, Wild Care’s Helpline was flooded with phone calls about an Osprey nest platform that collapsed at Sesuit Harbor East, in Dennis, MA. It was reported that the two chicks were on the ground, and the adult Ospreys were frantically circling. Wild Care’s Wildlife Rehab Assistant, Jayne Fowler, immediately arrived at the scene and retrieved the two chicks and brought them to Wild Care, where they were examined thoroughly by Wild Care’s staff...
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Osprey Chicks Safely Returned to Nests
Following Tornadoes on Cape Cod
Reported by Boston Globe.
Photo by Susan Wellington.
Nine Osprey chicks rescued from their nests after the tornadoes on Cape Cod, were safely returned to their homes by a local wildlife organization.
The baby birds were rescued from five separate nests by Wild Care Cape Cod Staff and Volunteers, and brought Wild Care...
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Two Juvenile Bald Eagles Soar Back Into Wild
Reported by The Barnstable Patriot.
Photo by Kerry Reid.
The eagles were rescued by Wild Care Staff and Volunteers, on July 18th, 2019 from Harwich, and July 19th, 2019 from Truro.
They were so dehydrated that they were acting erratically. They spent the summer together in rehab at Wild Care in Eastham...
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Monarch Butterfly Wing Repair a Success
By Jennifer Taylor, Animal Care Coordinator
olly Marmaduke of Truro discovered a Monarch Butterfly was not flying – upon further investigation she discovered the wing was torn. She brought the butterfly to Wild Care, not one of our typical patients, but we are always up for a challenge...
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Turkey Vulture #1149 -
Gross but Awesome!
By Jennifer Taylor, Animal Care Coordinator
Turkey Vultures are commonly seen on Cape Cod from spring through fall. They are enormous dark raptors. You see them flying high on the thermals, barely ever flapping their wings...
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Meet "Bill" the Mouse
By Jennifer Taylor, Animal Care Coordinator
Photo by Kerry Reid.
In December, Wild Care introduced its newest Educational Ambassador, Bill the mouse. "My name is William Puck, but you can call me Bill! I am a White-Footed mouse and I am a native species on Cape Cod. I was found in the parking lot of the Charles Moore Arena as a baby, wandering around and chewing on grass..."
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Thank you for a great 2019.
Let's make 2020 even better! Please make a donation
today.
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About Wild Care
Since 1994, Wild Care has treated over 29,000 injured, ill and orphaned native wildlife for release back into the wild capable of independent survival, prevented wildlife casualties through public education and counseling, and engaged the community in conservation services through volunteerism.
Wild Care does not charge the public for our services. We accept wildlife regardless of a rescuer's ability to make a donation; and we never compromise quality of care or the dignity of an animal's life for fundraising purposes. At Wild Care,
every animal matters
.
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Thank you for an amazing year, Wild Care Friends! Stephanie Ellis, Wild Care Executive Director
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