The first week of summer has been pretty quiet in the wildlife ward. Some orphaned sparrows, raccoons and rabbits have come in, but not many new injured animals. The turkey is still here and doing well. The residents are enjoying the nice weather and have been spending their days out in the flight cages.
Everything in the clinic is a little hectic because first and second year students have finals this week.
The orphans are still steadily arriving. 22 orphans were sent to rehab on Thursday! With such a high number of incoming orphans, it's important to remember to make sure that any orphans you find are really in danger before you bring them into the clinic.
The residents had an all day event on Thursday as well. We went to St. Joseph Ogden High School in St. Joseph to talk to a science class about the mission of the clinic, how to handle injured wildlife and the place of raptors in the ecosystem. The students were great and got to see the birds up close, as well as examples of casts and feathers.
Things have been running smoothly in the clinic this week. The third years have officially moved on to clinics, and the first and second year students have stepped up to help their teams.
The weather has been great, so the resident birds have been able to go out to their flight cages. They are very happy to get out of the ward for a few hours everyday. They also went to Petstravaganza on Saturday and helped introduce more community members to the WMC are our mission. On Thursday, they will be headed to a high school in St. Joseph.
Orphans are coming in and being shipped off to wildlife rehabbers regularly. 5 orphaned raccoons and 4 orphaned rabbits left the clinic for rehabilitation this afternoon. Make sure orphaned wildlife really needs help before bringing it to the WMC!
We also have several interesting cases in the clinic. Currently, we are treating a mallard duck with a right wing injury, a red-tailed hawk, an opossum, a turkey, and a snapping turtle. Lucy, the goose, has finally gone off to a rehabber.
Doodle for Wildlife, the WMC's annual fund-raiser, occurred last Saturday. Guests had a great time bidding on the silent and live auction items, as well as honoring important contributions to the clinic. All of the resident birds attended the event (including Susie) and their paintings were the hit of the live auction.
Thanks to everyone who attended the event! The Wildlife Medical Clinic sincerely appreciates you support!
Now that it's warming up, we are getting a pretty regular stream of orphans into the clinic. Remember, our recommendations are to call us when:
1) you know the parents are dead (evidence of a dead parent nearby)
2) the animal is obviously injured, weak, thin, very cold or sick
3) the animal is covered with flies or insects , or
4) the animal is in unavoidable, unnatural danger.
Parents often leave their young unattended for most of the day and will still care for them if they've been handled by humans. If the "orphan" is fat, bright eyed and apparently healthy it is probably best left alone. You can return the animal to its nest (if you can find it) or move it out of the way to a safe location. If a baby bunny's eyes are open or a baby bird is completely feathered, they are typically old enough to fend for themselves.
Stacy helps Kelly with her suturing techniqueOur residents were very busy last week. On Thursday night, Nokomis, Noel and Penelope visited Washington Early Childhood in Urbana for their "Night at the Zoo." The students got to see the birds up close and touch some real owl feathers!
Nokomis
Erin with Noel and Penelope
