Honors

Again this year, Cody had a Field of Honor celebration. This time 1,000 flags were displayed and could be purchased to honor a family member in the military or just anyone at all. I was too late for last year but this time I bought a flag to honor my uncle, Col. Roy M. Ahalt. He was a career Air Force person and passed away a few years ago. His flag is now hanging off the picket fence at my house.

Next year it will be for my mom's brother, my uncle Tom Stanton. I'm in the process of getting his military records so I know his rank and other information.

Three's a charm

View looking back to my truck at the area where the owls were released. Awesome!

ROBERTA making short work in leaving her crate.

AMELIA and WILBUR also quickly heading out.

Both babies on the way to their new life in the wild. I wished them well and to live a long life.

Today I released three GHO's up the Northfork Hiway near the Holy City just past Wapiti. It was a most beautiful day and the habitat was outstanding, exactly what owls look for. There was ROBERTA, foster mother and her two foster kids, AMELIA and WILBUR. It was even great that the two young owls went in the same direction altho mom did deviate to the right a bit. I'm sure that they will reconnect by this evening or soon after.

Wish fulfilled!

Aaron getting the boat ready for our outing.

Look closely and you'll see a dark spot in the lower right corner of this photo. That is the baby Canada goose peddling as fast as it can towards his forever family. The female has two babies following her.

Thanks to Aaron McGuire of the WGF department for volunteering to take me out in a boat so a family could be found for the baby goose in the previous post. It took a while to get close enough for a gentle underhand toss towards the adult and her chicks. There was one group of about 20 babies and adults but they went up the bank and moved too fast. Luckily Aaron spotted this adult mom and was able to maneuver the boat to just the right spot.

Parents wanted.....

A couple days ago this baby Canada goose was found in a Meeteetse hay field. The grass was so high that he couldn't be seen, just his path going through it. Luckily there was a curious owner in the area who followed the baby and gathered it up. There were no adults or other goslings seen so it is assumed this one got caught up in the ditch current and was swept downstream.

So far I've looked in all our local ponds and even drove almost 100 miles round trip to see if Brown Thomas Meadows had any family groups. They did but were nowhere to be seen today. I did find lots of families in Shirley Lake on the Lower Southfork but will need a boat to get close enough to them so I can hand over the baby. With him squeeking it will draw the adults my direction so I can gently toss him in the water. Luckily there isn't one bird who can count so adult geese will readily adopt any young bird they think needs help.

Look twice!

AMELIA looking fierce.


Look very closely on top of the perch at the bottom right and you'll see WILBUR's butt showing. He's seeking protection from his new foster mom.

The foster babies who have been raised so far by SMIDGE now have two more moms. Sitting on the top of the tower is AMELIA with SMIDGE's roomie. The baby is making herself very large to scare me off. WILBUR is much shyer, he's hiding behind another GHO in a higher position.

Natural name

His name is FIDDLER because he was, are you ready for this, found on a roof....... Okay, I get a bit silly in naming my birds but it certainly fits his case. This one year old male bald eagle appears to be an imprint. Which means someone stole/found him as a tiny baby and kept him in captivity so he has no idea he's an eagle, he thinks he's a human. This is not a problem as he will be able to hunt and feed himself with training. The problem is that when breeding season comes around he won't be looking for a beautiful adult female to consort with, he'll be looking for a human. And that's dangerous.

At this point, because I do believe he truly is an imprint, he will be placed in an educational facility. He is a very handsome young male and will be a super addition to any program and facility.

Ms. ARROYO

After a long drive from Casper to Gillette then to Tensleep and on to Cody, this beautiful adult female Prairie Falcon is at rest. Well, sort of. Prairies are very high strung and she's no exception. There's nothing broken but she is very thin which is probably the reason she'd been caught by a domestic cat. The damage amounts to nine missing tail feathers, a couple missing primaries and some broken secondary feathers. We'll either imp in the missing ones or let her naturally molt them in. Unfortunately that will take until mid summer so imping may be the way to go so she'll be back in the wild sooner.

She's now eating a quail a day so will put back the needed weight and strength. I have no idea what caused her starvation, xrays show nothing wrong. At this point it's good food and condition training in her future.

Show girl(s)

This picture is of my beautiful leucistic Red-tailed Hawk, FIONN, with her new person, Jenny Papka. They were at a quick draw show near their home in Martinez, CA. This was FIONN's first show and she was so good according to Jenny. She sat on her perch for quite some time being oohd and ahhd over by the participants and general public alike. Thanks Jenny for giving her such a wonderful home. Even tho FIONN can't fly enough for release she is teaching everyone how to cope when things just don't go your way.

Two big miracles

FRANNIE first out of the box, low and fast, wings open, landing gear up and locked....


GRACE not far behind.


FRANNIE heading out very quickly

Today was one of the best in a long time. One year old FRANNIE and two year old AMAZING GRACE were released east of Cody in a most wonderful habitat there is for golden eagles. FRANNIE came in the middle of January suffering from severe lead poisoning, something that is hard to overcome due to the fact that the birds aren't found in time for treatment. One of the signs of lead is the inability for the bird to open its feet. In FRANNIE's case she had been walking around on her knuckles for so long they were really abraded. She went through three sessions of treatment, six shots a day for three days then off three then back on for three. She never gave up and neither did I.


AMAZING GRACE on high

AMAZING GRACE came to me for evaluation from a fellow rehabber. She suffered from a head injury and was unwilling to fly more than a few feet and very low to the ground. Otherwise she appeared just fine. Diane had her for a few months but wanted another opinion on what might help. Surprisingly, when the bird arrived and the crate door opened inside my eagle flight barn, she flew the entire 80' length with no problem. The next day she was on the lower wall perch, higher than I could reach. And the third day she was up on the high wall perch, almost 20' high. I have no idea what inspired her to "just go for it" but she did and these photos show the result.

Thanks Dr. Charles Preston for banding these young birds so if they are ever in trouble they can be identified. Chuck is doing ongoing research of golden eagles in the Big Horn Basin, these two have joined his efforts. The photos were taken by Penny Preston and Bonnie Smith.

Another save

These series of photos show another baby GHO on the ground. This was a successful replacement into the nest. Thanks to Jeff Myers for spotting this young bird, probably a bit over two weeks old, and calling me immediately. When I arrived I looked around for the nest but couldn't spot it. Then mom flew over to the side of a huge old cottonwood to where the nest was located, where a large branch had fallen off and the resulting cavity was perfect for her family. Jeff is also the photographer of this series.



This is the baby on the ground daring anyone to come near him.



I'm pointing out where the mom is sitting on a nearby branch and warning Matt to duck if she heads our way. The nest cavity is where that short branch is sticking out to the left about halfway up the trunk.



As there wasn't a ladder long enough to reach the nest I called Rocky Mountain Power here in Cody and they dropped everything to come with a bucket truck. Thanks to the excellent driving of Matt Parker, the truck was backed up underneath the nest. Then Matt took me up in the bucket to replace the wayward child. A quick peek showed two other owlets in the nest cavity. Because there are no branches near the nest, these babies will go immediately to the ground when normally they would become "branchers". A close eye will be kept so we can move them to a nearby tree with lots of branches we can reach by ladder. Mom will continue to feed and care for them.

Rocky Mountain Power is the best group of guys on the planet. This isn't the first time they've come to the rescue and are always willing to help. They are also wonderful supporters of IBR by awarding a yearly grant for the care and feeding of the birds.

Baby GHO update

I tried, this afternoon, to return the two baby owls to their parents care in Basin. After driving the almost 60 miles I discovered the original nest tree site. The home place was a dump, there was a dead cow in the pasture and the closest tree that might have worked as a substitute nest tree was way more than I could handle. I probably would have been okay if I was 20 and fit but this was beyond the reach of my extension ladder.

I never saw any Great Horned Owls in the surrounding trees so we all came back home and they're now in a very large basket lined with grasses. I am also wearing a GHO mask whenever they are being fed or handled so they won't become imprinted on my face. I contacted friends at The Owl Foundation in Vineland, ON, Canada for information and they said the babies were about seven and ten days old. There was probably a third egg laid in the middle but didn't hatch.

These babies are super eaters and tomorrow I'll bring in my resident owl to see if she'll take over the feeding/brooding duties. Or at least become a role model so they'll grow up independent and knowing they're owls.



Here's SMIDGE and the babies. I don't know if she'll feed them but her nearby presence will give them some reassurance.

Late babies

These two little darlings came in today after surviving having their nest tree cut down from under them. AMELIA and WILBUR weren't quite ready for flight as they're probably less than two weeks old. Luckily nothing was broken and they arrived in excellent shape thanks to one of the tree workers. I'd received some baby squirrels from them a couple months ago so they knew to call me immediately.

As one of the parents was watching the whole time they were rescued, I have hopes of returning them to their care. The nest is gone but I can wire a basket into a neighboring tree as a surrogate nest. Because they'll be very near where they were hatched, the parents should continue raising them. That's the best place for these wee babies to be, in the care of real parents, not a featherless human.

She finally fell apart

This wonderful mom-to-be finally had her babies today. The top photo was taken around 7 o'clock this morning. She looks like a squashed soccer ball with legs. It takes almost 80 days for gestation in cavys, a long time to be pregnant for a small rodent.

The second photo is about five hours later after a great deal of work on her part. Usually my mommy cavys have 3-5 young, this amazing female had 10! Only eight survived their birth, and two of them are rather small, but as of this evening all are doing just fine. What's even more amazing is that the mom only has two boobies! I guess that's why baby cavys are fully haired, eyes open and eating solid food within hours of their birth. They have to grab some pellets or hay and then stop for a quick drink of milk before the next baby is in line.

Forever home

This is PRISCILLA the day she arrived, November 24, 2011.


Miss PRISS just a couple months ago.


Her usual attitude when I went into her mew.

PRISCILLA flew off yesterday to her new home. I had to drive to Billings to get her to NH in one day but at least this time the flight left at 1:25pm and not 6:00am. I wasn't sure what the roads would be like so left early. Good thing as I ran into icy roads, dry roads, small blizzards, blue sky, sunshine, more small blizzards, etc. Oh yes, and three flaggers at road construction near Belfry.

Miss PRISS is now living at the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in Holderness, NH. I got a report this morning that she's settling in, eating and probably enjoying the company of another young female bald eagle. Nancy said she'd send photos of her in the new mew as soon as she gets one.

I will miss the feisty, mean young lady. She is very vocal and has such curiosity about what's going on around her. I know everyone there will enjoy her. That is until they have to catch her. Then WATCH OUT!

Eagle stack

Sunday was a wonderful day here at IBR. The bird on the ground at the end of the log is ROXANNE, recovering from a broken wing and now flying about 20+ feet. She'll do much better as her missing wing feathers molt in. And beautiful FRANNIE, who had suffered severe lead poisoning is now flying back and forth in the 80' flight barn. She arrived unable to open her feet, stand or fly and went through intense chelation therapy to arrive at this point. FRANNIE is on the lower wall perch.

The top bird in this photo is AMAZING GRACE. She came in from my friend, rehabber Diane Morse in Gillette, for further rehabilitation. Diane had her in a 114' flight barn but she wouldn't fly more than a few feet and not but a few feet high. As you can see, she's gotten over her height phobia.

All three of these young females are just a year old and at this point I believe all three will be released this spring or summer. Don't you just love it when it works ! ! ! !

MTV !

My Temporary Visitors, that is. These four birds arrived here last night for various lengths of time. The top photo, a Short-eared Owl, and the second, a Red-tailed hawk, are going to live in Moorpark, CA on the 13th. The Bald Eagle will be heading for the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum in West Marlboro, VT and the Golden Eagle is here for further rehabilitation.

The Golden Eagle may be releasable but she needs some further flight time. All four birds came from my friend, Diane, in Gillette. She's now retired so has had to stop accepting rehab birds. As these have to be flown to their new homes, it's easier to bring them to Cody than take them to Casper or farther.

On the first full day of being here the Golden Eagle flew the 80' length of the flight barn to the tower on one end. Then back to the highest wall perch, almost 20' above the ground. That is awesome so her prospects of being released are wonderful.

Bald eagle killing okayed by USFWS

Last week I was interviewed by KULR8 TV in Billings concerning the new bill being pushed through the Wyoming legislature to allow the Arapaho tribe on the Wind River reservation to kill two bald eagles. That two minute piece is shown in the video section on this blog. I am in the process of posting the entire 10 minute bit on YouTube. It will also be on this blog as soon as the processing is complete. Or you can check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FFmgdsHnZ8&.

Needless to say I am very upset that this is taking place and thank their reporter, Penny Preston, for allowing me to show you all the raw footage. This is totally unacceptable and shouldn't be allowed to continue. Hopefully enough voices will be heard and no more eagle killings will be allowed.

Gotcha!

A few mornings ago I noticed some strange tracks near my chicken yard. I had already caught a couple skunks the weeks before but these looked suspiciously like raccoon. I set my large live trap but nothing came to the bait. It had been set for quite a few days when I happened to look at it this morning. Yep, it was not only tripped but as you can see, two varmints were inside.

They must have walked into the trap shoulder to shoulder to capture both at once. I had to get Sara to help me hoist the trap into the back of my truck, they are huge animals. I took them to a very great habitat and released them both. Neither hesitated and made a flying leap out of the back of my truck towards high grass. Not many predators leave my place alive but these two appeared to be a pair so I made an exception because they are far enough away they won't be back. I hope......

Another broken baby

It was a bad night for this lovely 10-11 month old female Golden Eagle. She was apparently eating on a roadkill and was struck by a passing vehicle on the 18th. She had three strikes against her. First, she was hit at 5:30pm. That person went home and tried for hours to get someone to gather her up. Second, she was two miles inside MT which meant his G&F person couldn't cross the line, he lives in Buffalo. And third, and the worst thing, she was on the Crow Reservation. That meant instead of someone just going and rescuing her immediately, all the agencies had to be politically correct beforehand. That process didn't start until the following morning when Diane started making phone calls after the person who hit the bird remembered she was a retired bird rehabber and called her. She then called me.

It took the combined efforts of the following agencies to make her rescue happen; Joe Gilbert (WGF) in Sheridan, Brad Rogers (USFWS) in Billings, Harold Guse (FWP) in Billings, Shawn Conrad (USFWS) in Billings and Clayvin Herrera (Crow F&G). I drove up to Billings to meet Shawn around 2:30pm and was finally able to bring her to Cody for treatment that afternoon.

LEWEEZE has a broken left leg but she can still use the foot and move the leg up and down so I have very good feelings that this repair will be successful. I'll post further news on her condition and how the surgery turned out.

VERY SAD NOTE: She's gone. I found her about 6:00am this morning having a great deal of difficulty breathing. She died in my arms a few moments later. Her surgery was a success, she was standing and even ate a few rat pieces last night. What killed her was sitting alongside the road for the 17 hours it took to gather her up. Freezing temps after suffering a bad injury is almost impossible to overcome. Now that I have Clayvin's phone number it won't happen again. Fly free beautiful young lady.

FIONN in her new home

FIONN is now living it up in California at Native Bird Connections in Orinda. She flew there last Friday and as you can see in the photo, she's already started her training. She's wearing the equipment that is used when she sits on Jenny's fist for educational programs. She's also munching on her rat. Yuuuuuummmmm!

She's airborne

My lovely FRANNIE is now flying in the eagle barn and doing just great. She's sharing the space with ROXANNE who is recovering from a fractured wing and will be flying as soon as her molted feathers are replaced. Here's FRANNIE just about to land on the top of the tower at one end of the barn.

Beautiful flowers

Yesterday the Buffalo Bill Historical Center here in Cody held their annual Volunteer Appreciation Brunch. As a volunteer there for many years I attend knowing I'd have a super time and get to meet others I only hear about or read about. This time I won. I got a beautiful sliver pin and this bunch of roses to celebrate my 30 years as a volunteer. I started out as a helper in what was then called the Special Events area. I graduated to being the head of that section and then to the graphic department when I retired from my "real job" and could devote more time the center.

Thank you everyone for acknowledging all the super people who work behind the scenes and in front of the public at this amazing institution.

Spiky little thing

His name is Lord Hubert Cumberdale, well that is if it's a male. Otherwise she will be Lady Cumberdale. As s/he's only three weeks old, it will be five years before the sex can be determined. S/he is a Sulcata tortoise from California but now lives here in Cody with my friend Sara along with her snakes and various other animals. Sure is cute and you can see how small s/he is sitting in the middle of Sara's hand.

Temporary visitor

Yesterday a bird came for a visit. This is STINKY, an immature turkey vulture who is going to live with a falconer in Kentucky. Because he was taken as a very young bird and imprinted to humans he cannot be returned to the wild. Now he's going to be an educational bird. Okay, he's not the most handsome bird in the world but he does "have a great personality".

It's a bird, it's a plane, wait.....

Good grief, it's three baby gray squirrels. I got a call tonight from a young lady whose boyfriend found these little babies after cutting down a tree. I didn't realize we had bushy tailed tree squirrels in this area altho in the past I've received two as patients. These three, two girls and a boy, are about two weeks old according to an awesome lady in Louisiana, Emily Winners. She is listed as an orphaned squirrel expert so I called her for advice.

I was amazed when these three took to the nipple on my syringe immediately and sucked down one cc of Esbilac really quick. I have to feed them every four hours but not through the night, thank goodness. I now know I'll also have to use a larger syringe but didn't want to overwhelm them with this puppy diet.

Hopefully they will be ready to go in about three months. By then I'll have the perfect release site picked out.