Paws 'N Claws
News from All Things Wild Rehabilitation, Inc.
July 2018 Volume 4, Issue 4
Upcoming Events
-Saturday, September 8, at 11:00 a.m.:Lunch & Learn with Patti Clark, President and Executive Director of the Austin Zoo at Unity Church of the Hills, 9905 Anderson Mill Road, Austin 78750
May and June continued to be busy for our rehabilitators. Many of the mammals in our rehabilitators' care are now weaned and eating fruits, vegetables, nuts, eggs, meat, and other solid foods. Birds also need a variety of food, including mealworms and crickets. Donations help our rehabilitators provide the wildlife in their care with the nutritious food they need in order to be ready for release.
Budgie T. released 3 squirrels and 6 opossums. She is rehabilitating 10 raccoons.
Janet P. rehabilitated a robin, 2 doves, and 6 starlings.
Karen O. has taken in 2 foxes and 30 baby raccoons.
Helen L. took in a jack rabbit, a rock squirrel, 2 fawns, 3 fox squirrels, 3 opossums, 6 raccoons, 9 striped skunks, 12 mice, and 26 cottontail rabbits. She also took in 128 birds, including a ruby-throat hummingbird, 2 ducklings, 9 blue jays, and 32 white-winged doves. She would like to thank the many people who donated to ATW when dropping off an animal. Donations make it possible for ATW rehabilitators to continue saving wildlife.
Natalie H. took in an injured adult great horned owl and released it a couple of weeks later. She also released 5 opossums she rehabilitated. She is continuing to care for a juvenile screech owl, 2 great horned owlets, 3 foxes, and 4 juvenile red-shouldered hawks.
Kim F. is caring for a skunk and 17 opossums. She transferred a fox and 3 raccoons to another rehabilitator.
Leanne D. is rehabilitating a squirrel, a raccoon, 2 fox kits, 2 opossums, and 3 fawns. She transferred 3 raccoons to another rehabilitator.
Emily A. had to cut an iron fence to release a deer that was stuck. She has been answering a lot of field calls.
What You Missed!
May 12: Dr. Melinda Hergert, DVM, taught us all about zoonosis disease risk exposures involved in field work.
May 17: Roger R. taught three third grade classes at Liberty Hill Elementary about the five species of owls commonly found in Central Texas.
May 31: Roger R. taught a homeschool group about opossums.
June 25: Elisabeth A. taught seven classes at the Learning Experience in Georgetown about opossums and skunks.
Jack the Blue Jay by Emily West
Jack came to All Things Wild in the middle of April, along with several other young blue jays that were all injured in some way. A few unfortunately succumbed to their injuries, but two thrived – beautiful little birds we took to calling Jack and Jewel, both survivors of crow attacks.
Once their feathers grew in, Jack and Jewel were released into a makeshift aviary to learn to fly. Jack took to the wing immediately, and Jewel made her own slower but steady progress. Soon they were moved to a large, reinforced parrot cage to adjust to being outdoors before their release.
Given his wilder nature and the ability with which he began flying, I expected Jack to adapt more easily to the wild than Jewel … but he proved me wrong about this and many other things. Once released, both jays disappeared quickly into the trees above. (I worried about them all day, texting an experienced songbird rehabilitator constantly for input, setting up a vigil under the trees, and giving myself neck strain watching for them.) Eventually hunger drove Jewel down for a solid meal, and Jack followed. Over the coming days they returned to a tree in my garden every few hours, waiting for food.
Within a few days, I spotted Jewel high in a neighboring tree, calling merrily to another group of blue jays; Jack was lower in the same tree, as still as a statue, refusing to interact. By the end of the day, Jewel was gone, off with her new jay family, but Jack stayed close, coming in every few hours and calling for food. The following week, though, I saw Jack in a tree with other jays, calling and hopping from branch to branch. It seemed as though he’d found his blue jay family and would soon be off.
Once again, I was wrong: within an hour, I saw Jack through a window, on a fence and clearly in some kind of distress. I rushed to gather him up and discovered that he had a broken leg, dangling uselessly, getting in the way of his good leg and preventing him from perching properly. We made a little splint, and Jack went back into the outdoor parrot cage. This time Jack was clearly unhappy; he screeched and fluttered around constantly, desperate to get out but unable to use his leg. To distract him, I encouraged him to forage and explore by putting a variety of foods in different areas of the cage, including live insects, which seemed to help.
Over the next two weeks, Jack escaped twice, once flying neatly out over my shoulder while I fed him and once sneaking past another rehabilitator during a visit to re-evaluate his leg. Both times, I assumed he was gone for good, and both times, I was wrong. Jack returned and allowed me to pick him up and put him back in the cage.
After about a week and a half, Jack’s leg was doing better than we hoped. Although he still couldn’t put weight on it, the leg was no longer dangling, and he had clearly regained some control of it, holding it in place while he perched.
At this point, Jack had been in rehab for about six weeks. He no longer had a leg splint, and we knew we’d done as much as we could for him. We also knew that wild birds do not do well in captivity, and Jack’s spirit was clearly suffering. It was time for Jack to try living on his own again. This time, I opened the cage door and waited for Jack to fly out, but he hesitated. I reached in and shooed him away.
For the next three or four days, Jack stayed close, calling and coming in for food every couple of hours. One day he seemed even needier than usual, flitting nervously from tree to tree, calling loudly for food but also answering other jays in the area. I told a friend I was beginning to wonder if he would ever feel comfortable enough with his injured leg to go out on his own.
For the last time, Jack proved me wrong. The very next morning, he was nowhere to be found.
Then, one morning about a week after his final release, I heard Jack’s distinctive, almost grown-up blue jay call, and there he was, in a tree not far from me. He was with several other jays, all calling and flitting among the trees. Concerned that he was hungry or struggling, I held out food in a cup and called. Jack never came down that day, but he did answer a few times, calling back, seeming to watch me, flitting in the trees above my head. He was in motion so constantly that I couldn’t tell whether he had full use of his leg, although I noticed it dangling a little as he flew. Even so, he flew strongly and had no trouble either landing or taking off.
After a few minutes, Jack and the other jays made their way to a stand of trees down the street, and then they were gone. At long last I had succeeded in getting Jack released – and Jack had finally found his blue jay family.
It’s Coming Along
ATW Intake Center Update
by Helen Laughlin
We are pleased to announce that things are starting to come together. Site preparation should begin within the week, weather permitting, followed by foundation framing, plumbing, and the pouring of concrete for the building foundation. Once the concrete foundation is in place, the 2,400 square-foot metal building will be erected. We are currently looking into building insulation and HVAC design. In addition, we have modified our interior building layout to add a 10x10 water storage/pump room. Further, TXU has been contacted and will be bringing in electricity.
With the cooperation of the many people who will be working on the building and the weather, we hope to begin moving in sometime this fall. At that time, we will be turning to our supporters for donations so that we can buy plumbing fixtures, appliances, and furniture for the center. In particular, we are going to need a washer and dryer, freezer, two refrigerators, six sinks of various sizes and styles, a shower cabinet, and a toilet. For furniture, six-foot long tables will be needed for the nursery along with tables for folding laundry and preparing food. Storage cabinets and large shelves will be a necessity. We will also need a desk and conference table with chairs. On our list for the hospital are an x-ray, anesthesia machine, surgery table and light, and oxygen tent.
There’s so much to do, but, once our intake center is operational, ATW will be able to save many more unfortunate wild birds and animals. We are grateful for all the help we have received from our generous and faithful supporters.
All Things Wild Rehabilitation, Inc., is a nonprofit tax-exempt public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Tax ID number is 46-1309620. Donations to All Things Wild Rehabilitation are tax-deductible as allowed by the Internal Revenue Code.
