Three more

These three baby sparrows came here as naked chicks and are now living in the big wild world outside. I know, the worlds doesn't necessarily need more sparrows but they were found inside a hole in cut down tree. These babies are very demanding when they want their food and are really cute. They may or may not make it through this first summer but at least they're getting a chance to live as they should, wild and free.

Happy Birthday to you ! ! !

Well, it's actually tomorrow but these two cats will be 16 years old. I got them from a neighbor back when we estimated them to be about 3 1/2 weeks old. They had been stuffed into a paper bag and left next to their car at the local ball fields. When they came back from getting a snack they discovered a moving bag. As their cats would have probably killed them she thought of me. I did have one other cat at the time but she accepted the little things.

I can't imagine my life without these cats, they have brought such joy into my life. MUFFIN, in her favorite spot in the sun is laying on a beautiful rug given to me by my friend Susan as she knows I like elephants. SISTER was caught by the camera as she was walking across the kitchen floor, probably to go to her favorite napping spot on the couch back.

You talking to me?????

His name is DIRTY HARRY, I think he's about five or six years old, and was found near a lake in the Cloud Peak Wilderness Area which is inside the Big Horn National Forest. He was on a private piece of land, deeded back in the 1880s, and is now an exclusive club.

HARRY was seen for a week in the same spot so they finally called the Sheridan office of the WG&F to come get him. As Garrett Point was on call this weekend and couldn't leave the area I ended up driving the three hours to their office to retrieve him. At this point I can see nothing wrong other than he's starving. And why that is I don't know because the lake has fish and he's old enough to be successful in catching them.

I will take him in for blood tests and any other test we can think of to do. Garrett did an awesome job taking care of him overnight, feeding him some cubed antelope steak from his own freezer and making sure he was protected. Now that Diane is retired I feel I'll be making more trips that direction in the future.

Big change

I found out today that HER name is YODETTE. That's right, my little bat baby is a female. And here's a photo of her emulating her elders. It's a t-shirt I got when vacationing in CA and stopped at the Richardson Grove State Park. Hopefully she's read all the advice and will take it to heart.

Growing bigger

Here's a photo of YODA taken today. He's been here two weeks and is, as close as can be determined, about three weeks old. He's still on formula, hopefully I'll be able to start adding cut up mealworms to his diet in the next couple of weeks.

It's very interesting having such a tiny bat in my care. I'm too deaf to hear his echo-locating squeeks but friends say he's quite vocal when I get him out to feed. At least he's down to one feeding during the night so I'm getting more sleep. He's also finally growing hair, his tummy has lots of blond coming in. More pictures as he continues growing.

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.

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.