Teeny baby

Here the baby is suckling on the foam tip of an eye makeup applicator. It's taken off the plastic handle, cut in half and soaked with the warm milk formula. Amazing!

Today I got a call from Murphy in Billings about a baby bat she found on the ground outside her apartment building. I have taken care of bats in the past altho most of them are adults or older young that are rescued from a dangerous roost. I put them in a safer place and walk away

This time the baby is only a few days old. I contacted the people at Bat World in TX for information in the care and feeding of one so young. $35 later I have all the supplies for making up the baby bat formula. I would assume this is a little brown bat, the most common one around here.

Hopefully this very teeny bat will survive and I'll be able to release him in a safe habitat. Thanks Murphy for driving all the way to help what some people would call ugly. He's handsome to me and all who love bats.

Wounded

Nic releasing CARTER, a Rough-legged Hawk he and Joyce rescued from the side of the road after the bird had been hit by a car.











Just a few days ago this amazing man, Nic Patrick, went out to change water in his fields. He and his dog were doing their job when the world fell apart. A sow grizzly with two yearling cubs showed up and attacked both of them. It's not known what set her off but when it was all over both Nic and his dog were severely injured. He had his cell phone but in the attack it was knocked to the ground and the battery fell out.

Nic said she came back for him twice and if there would have been a third time he probably wouldn't have survived. He managed to make it back to the house but so his grandkids wouldn't see his wounds he wrapped a towel over his head. His wife, Joyce, and daughter were at the house waiting for his return so they could go on a hike.

Nic is now in a Denver hospital and will be there for about four weeks so he can receive needed surgery to repair all the damage done to his face and body. The injuries are severe but he seems to have a great attitude as I've been told. The dog was in the hospital today to have a tube removed and altho he looks a bit rough he's recovering too.

Nic's comment to the G&F people was "don't kill the bear". She is being sought so they can determine if she has a history of aggressive behavior. I've known Nic, Joyce and the kids for over 20 years and he's also on my board of directors. I've always thought he was Superman but now I know it's true.

Two of a kind

I rarely get in ravens but yesterday it happened twice. The top photo is BEAN, a young barely fledged bird found caught in her nest in the Park Co. Fairgrounds. They had to get the power company to use their bucket truck to get the bird out of the nest. And to add to the problem, there was a small mass of string caught around one foot and leg. Luckily the circulation wasn't cut off but for some reason this young raven just won't fly or stand for very long. Xrays show nothing wrong so I'll give her time to see what happens.

The lower photo is an adult found in a yard in Sheridan. It is unknown just what caused the wing to break but they had a very severe storm there last Thursday with tangerine sized hail stones. The lady who found him was willing to make the long drive to Cody to see if he could be fixed. She lost four buildings in the storm but her main thought was to find help for this bird. Surgery is scheduled for tomorrow to see if the fractured radius and ulna can be fixed.

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.