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To learn more about Wild Care, visit our website! www.wildcarecapecod.org
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August 15, 2017
Wild Care Friends
There's a hint of fall in the air. We are seeing more of the late nesting species, such as Cedar Waxwings and American Goldfinch orphans. We are also seeing the second litter-of-the-year Eastern Gray Squirrels. They have litters in March and one in August..
This is also the time of year when we see some of our tiniest
patients. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. These two orphaned hummingbirds came to us merely a week old, still in their nest and featherless. Their nesting tree was cut down in Middleboro, and attempts to reunite them were not feasible. I picked up the hummingbirds from Wildlife Rehabilitator, Megan Hanrahan in Brockton. She had received the birds the day before. These birds require a tremendous amount of delicate care, initially being fed every 20 minutes over the first week, with a rich nectar formula, ground up fruit flies and other essential vitamins and minerals. The birds are growing quickly and are starting to fly. We anticipate they will be released within the next two weeks, giving ample time for these guys to prepare for their southbound migration in mid-September.
Caring for orphaned animals like these takes time and valuable resources!
Please consider making a Donation. Even $5 can make a difference in the life of an animal.
Sincerely,
Executive Director, Stephanie ~
Ruby-throated Hummingbird photo, courtesy of Elizabeth Brooke.
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Summer may be winding down,
but we still have lots of babies!
Help us care for orphans that have been displaced, or have lost their moms.
We'll keep them fed, happy, and get them back into the wild!
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Wild Care Now Sells Merchandise!
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One-of-a-kind designs featuring released animals and current residents!
- Eastern Box Turtle “#45” (Green) Available as a T-shirt only
- Osprey Sweatshirts (Dark Tan or light blue)
- Osprey Long-sleeved T-shirts (Dark Blue)
- Eastern Screech Owl (Royal Blue) Available as a T-shirt only
- “Marcy” the Eastern Grey Squirrel (Dark Blue) Available as a T-shirt only
Gildan brand t-shirts. 100% cotton, pre-shrunk. All are V-neck style (including mens).
Soft, durable, and very comfortable. Gorgeous colors. Women’s Sizes run small. We recommend purchasing one size larger than you normally wear!
Prices: T-shirts are $20. Long-sleeved shirts are $25. Sweatshirts are $45.
Purchase your t-shirts and sweatshirts at Wild Care on Wednesday – Friday, year-round.
Sold in our lobby between the hours of 10AM -1PM. 10 Smith Ln. Eastham.
We apologize that we are unable to sell t-shirts online during this time. All hands are needed on deck,
it's THE BUSY SEASON! Please check back in the Fall for potential online sales.
Please call Cristalyn at 508-240-2255 if you have questions about our merchandise.
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A Short and Sweet Chipmunk Story
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by Animal Care Coordinator, Jennifer Taylor
There are highs and lows in every profession. Good days and bad days. After we have a "bad" day at Wild Care, I tell myself to remember the good ones. Days when sad goes to happy instead of the opposite.
A great example of this happened earlier this summer. One of our many dedicated volunteers, Jean Hliva, showed up at our door expectedly, with a distraught look of panic on her face. She was holding a container with a limp, wet chipmunk. Her husband had gone down to feed the fish in their fishpond, when he found the animal struggling in the water. They rushed it over to us. It was barely alive and was very cold...
We quickly dried it off as best we could and placed into one of our make-shift incubators to gently warm it up (below). Its recovery was quick and amazing! Within a couple of hours it had turned into what all of us dread here in the clinic---one of those frighteningly fast, hard biting, ping-pong ball, jumping rodents!
We kept it contained and sent it back to Jean as fast as we could.
When they released the chipmunk into their yard, Jean said, "It headed off and sure looked like it knew where it was going!" We
love it when it this happens!
This is our homemade baby mammal incubator (below). It is inexpensive and effective. We use two plastic tubs - the bottom one with filled with water, and the top one set inside of it. We poke holes in the cover and place on a heating pad. We monitor the temperature carefully. Not only does it keep animals warm, but it provides the necessary humidity that our babies need!
Chipmunk photo: Wild Care Stock Image. Not the actual chipmunk featured in the story. ;-)
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On Sunday, August 27 from 3-5 pm, revelers are invited to the outside patio at GUAPO’s Orleans for food, games and more, all to benefit Wild Care!
A $5 donation to Wild Care at the door comes with free appetizers from GUAPO’s, the chance to meet the folks from Wild Care, and the chance to win great silent auction prizes. For $10, you can enter the cornhole tournament. Winners will walk away with prizes! Sign up for the cornhole tournament by visiting: www.guaposcapecod.com/wildcare.
There will be an owl presentation from 3 to 4 PM featuring Wild Care’s Eastern Screech Owl, Up Up! The Eastern Box Turtle, #45 (also known as Tequila!) will be greeting guests throughout the afternoon too.
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Crows - Help from A Specialist
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by Jennifer Taylor, Animal Care Coordinator
I
n mid-June, we received three orphaned crows from Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in N. Grafton, MA. They have a clinic that treats wildlife, but they often seek Wildlife Rehabilitators like us to care for their stabilized patients. These birds were all from different towns- Marlborough, Tewksbury and Worcester- and all had different issues. One could not fly, one had a wing-wound and one had been covered with tree sap.
Crows are a handful! They are incredibly intelligent and gregarious. Real characters. An exciting addition to our facility! As babies, they imprint upon people very easily. They came in frightened and timid. We kept a curtain between us and them, and we used our Crow Puppet from the Birdwatchers General Store to assist in feeding them. The "Mother Crow", and slivers of beef liver, stimulated their appetite and got them gaping and begging for food. They sound like Donald Duck imitating a turkey when they swallow. Whimsical!
The birds would scream bloody murder when the interns would weigh them. Life was very stressful for them when handled. As they got older their habitats required "toys" like pine cones and jar lids to flip around. They are very intelligent and need stimulation in captivity.
We are very lucky to have a licensed wildlife rehabilitator who specializes in corvids (crows, jays and their allies) right here in Eastham - Kerry Reid. (Read more about Kerry in our "Volunteer Spotlight" below.) She took the babies to her home to eventually be placed into her large, outdoor flight cage when they were self -feeding and ready for the next step toward release. After 5 days in her home they were transferred to the cage to learn how to dig in the dirt, take baths, find and eat bugs, and take initial flight. Wild adult crows would come to the flight cage and the babies would become quiet on their approach. Their behavior is complex and Kerry watched them role play and collect gifts from the soil which they would leave for her at the aviary door.
All three were released together a month after they arrived.
Kerry was able to supply the extra time and expertise required for these social birds. Thank goodness! And now in the middle of August, she is raising the second batch of teenage Blue Jays from Wild Care. (Blue jays are corvids too.) Thank you Kerry!!! (Photos by Kerry Reid.)
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Are you a current Wild Care Volunteer? If so, you should have received an invitation via email. If you haven't, please contact Stephanie for details. Our final RSVP date is 8/21.
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Volunteer Spotlight - Kerry Reid
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Wild Care is grateful for our volunteers! We would not survive without them. They assist with everything from animal care, to gardening, to facility maintenance, fundraising and much more!
This month, we'd like to highlight Kerry Reid. Kerry is a licensed MA State Wildlife Rehabilitator who specializes in Corvids. (Crows, Blue Jays and their allies!) She rehabilitates all of our orphaned crows and jays in her home aviary in Eastham. Kerry also helps us with events and administration. She is artistically creative and helped design our t-shirts (above). She is also a member of our Board of Directors and Fundraising Committee. Kerry has been with Wild Care since inception, when she brought an injured crow to Wild Care's Founder, Karen Von den Deale back in 1992. Kerry has been with us ever since! Wild Care received its name in 1992, and was incorporated in 1993. It's not a surprise that her very first rescue is also a species that she has come to love and rehabilitate for many, many years.
Kerry lights up a room when she walks in. Her kindness, expertise, talents and laughter make her a joy to be around. We are so very grateful for you Kerry! <3 <3 <3
(Read more about Kerry in, "Crows - Help from a Specialist" featured above.)
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Wild Care, Inc.
10 Smith Lane
Eastham, MA 02642
info@wildcarecapecod.org
508-240-2255
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About Wild Care
Since 1994, Wild Care has treated 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.
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