What's in this issue:
- Gawky Squawky Baby
- A is for Armadillo
- Boudreaux Gets a Pond
- Oh, Dear, It's an Abandoned Fawn
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GAWKY SQUAWKY BABY
 A young grackle nestling in rehabilitation.
In the spring and summer, All Things Wild takes in numerous orphaned songbirds. Of all the various species that come to us, grackle babies are the easiest to identify. In addition to their black feathers, the babies are awkward, gangly, and very noisy. The squawking never ceases when they think you might give them food, and they keep squawking as long as they can see you. It is insistent, persistent, repetitive, loud, and, yes, irritating.
Grackles, like most of our wild birds, are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a federal law enacted originally in 1918 designed to protect wild birds from commercial exploitation. Before the passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, birds like the snowy egret were hunted almost to extinction for their feathers that were used in ladies’ hats. The act has also helped save numerous other species from extinction, including the wood duck and sandhill crane. The Act protects over 1,000 species of native birds in the US, including grackles.
The ubiquitous grackles are part of our daily lives in Central Texas. We see them everywhere: yards, parking lots, fields, playgrounds, golf courses, and fast-food restaurants where they hang out hoping for a stray French fry. There are two species in our area, the common grackle and the great-tailed grackle. Interestingly enough, in our area, the great-tailed grackles are more common than the common grackle!
 Male common grackle Male great-tailed grackle
The great-tailed grackle males have a long fanned-out tail. In both species, the heads of the males are iridescent purple in certain light. The females and juveniles have buff-colored breasts and are smaller than the adult males. During courtship displays, the males will fan out their tails and point their beaks upward.
Members of the blackbird family, grackles are omnivorous, eating both animal matter and plant material. Common grackles are considered a pest by corn farmers because large flocks, called a plague, descent on fields of corn devouring sprouts and ripening corn. Great-tailed grackles are the birds that take over an entire tree for roosting at night making a huge raucous and covering everything below in droppings.
There are three species of grackles in the U.S.; however, you will only see the boat-tailed grackle along the eastern and southern coasts. The common grackle is found throughout the east, central, and southern U.S. and into Canada as well. Great-tailed grackles live throughout the southwestern part of the U.S. as far north as Iowa and west as southern California.
Grackles participate in a ritual known as anting that is practiced by other birds as well. Basically, they find a bunch of ants and spread out their wings encouraging the ants to crawl over their bodies. The formic acid emitted by the ants is believed to act as an insect repellent on the birds repelling and killing mites and lice.
 This is an example of a blue jay anting.
To give you an idea of the insistent squawking while feeding a baby grackle, watch this YouTube video.
For more information on common grackles, click HERE.
For more information on great-tailed grackles, click HERE.
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A IS FOR ARMADILLO
 An orphaned baby armadillo peers over the side of his enclosure.
Armadillos are very difficult to rehabilitate. They are easily stressed and require certain elements in their enclosures including dirt, without which they cannot defecate.
 The orphaned armadillos burrow under a mixture of hay and newspaper.
Related to anteaters and sloths, there are 21 species of armadillo throughout the Americas. All but one species live in South and Central America; in North America, the one species is the nine-banded armadillo. The smallest armadillo is the pink fairy armadillo measuring up to 6 inches, while the largest is the giant armadillo that measures up to 30 inches and can weigh 120 lbs.
 The smallest armadillo is the pink fairy armadillo. The giant armadillo is the largest.
This nine-banded armadillo is the only species that lives in the U.S. Their range in the United States is expanding. Whereas the species was once only found in Texas, it has expanded as far north as southern Nebraska and east into the Carolinas. The armadillo is capable of crossing rivers by holding its breath for up to six minutes and walking across the river bottom.
The nine-banded armadillo is mostly an insectivore eating beetles, cockroaches, wasps, yellow jackets, fire ants, scorpions, spiders, snails, and white grubs. They like eggs and eat a small amount of plant matter. Nocturnal animals who feed mainly at night, armadillos have an excellent sense of smell and a sticky tongue to grab their prey. When pursued, they can run fast, and when startled, they can jump up to 4 feet in the air, often fatally hitting the undercarriage of an oncoming vehicle.
Female armadillos always give birth to identical quadruplets. The single fertilized egg splits into four identical embryos connected by a placenta. The four resulting babies remain in the burrow living off of mother’s milk for their first three months of life. They are born with soft shells that harden over time. Eventually, the juveniles will leave at six months of age and reach sexual maturity at one year.
 The six orphaned armadillos at ATW love feeding on mealworms.
Armadillos can carry the bacteria which causes leprosy, although passing leprosy from armadillos to humans is extremely rare and can be easily treated with antibiotics. During the Great Depression, armadillos were hunted for their meat and were called Poor Man’s Pork.
For more information on nine-banded armadillos, click HERE.
For more information on armadillos, click HERE.
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BOUDREAUX GETS A POND
 Still a work in progress, Boudreaux's Pond is taking shape.
Poor Boudreaux. For an American White Pelican who should spend most of his life in and around water, Boudreaux’s life at All Things Wild has been very different . . . so far.
Boudreaux was rescued at a pond near Fort Hood where he and his flock stopped to feed during their migration north for the summer. Boudreaux was caught in some brush on the side of the pond and broke his wing while attempting to get free. By the time the injured pelican got to All Things Wild, an infection had set in requiring total amputation of the wing to save his life.
 Until recently, Boudreaux's pond was a kiddie pool.
To give Boudreaux a home at All Things Wild, we first built an enclosure with a covered room where he is sheltered from the weather. Austin Build Right constructed the enclosure and dug the hole for the pond. However, it was up to ATW board member, Michael Pazienza, to put the finishing touches on the pond. Along with Blake Dilks and his team from ATX Solar, they added a pond liner and connected a pump, waterfall, and filter that keeps the water in Boudreaux’s 6’x12’ pond clean and circulating.
 Michael and the ATX Solar team work on making a pond for Boudreaux. The pump is in place. Some rocks, sand, and logs make the area more natural.
Of course, the challenge now is to get Boudreaux to use the pond. Over the last few days, the filtered water has become clearer as it circulates, and we think the area is looking more and more inviting for a one-winged pelican. Eventually, we will add some water plants and a few minnows for snacks. We were thrilled when he waded deep enough to emerge his head and fill his pouch with water.
If anyone has a good idea for a name for Boudreaux’s new abode, send the suggestion to our email account at allthingswildrehab@gmail.com.
 We wonder what Boudreaux thinks of his new pond.
For more information on American White Pelicans, click HERE.
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OH, DEAR, IT’S AN ABANDONED FAWN!
Every year, usually in late spring, female white-tailed deer give birth to their babies. Often, only one baby is born; occasionally, there are twins.
 The mother is giving birth to a fawn. After birth, she cleans her newborn baby.
Mother deer have evolved over eons to protect their babies by staying away from them. To stay near the baby would attract predators. (The mother cottontail rabbit does the same thing—stays away from her nest of babies.) So, it’s very common to see a tiny fawn lying in the grass by itself. The fawn has no scent and lies very still so as not to attract predators. Mom is always nearby foraging and will come to defend the baby if there is danger. She also nurses her baby several times a day. Some moms will leave their babies in the same place for a long time, even days, but she always stops by to feed every few hours.
How can you tell if the little fawn is OK? First, healthy fawns lie curled up. If something is very wrong, like an injury, the baby will lie straight out.
 A healthy fawn will lie curled up.
Second, there are lots of tests you can do to determine if the fawn is OK, but the surest one is to lift the tail and check the bottom. If the bottom is nice and clean, that means mom is taking care of her baby. If the bottom is dirty with feces, something has happened to mom, and the baby needs to come to rehabilitation.
 Mom stimulates the baby to urinate and cleans the baby’s bottom during nursing.
As always, it’s OK to touch the fawn. The “touching” thing is a huge myth. No wild animal or bird will reject an off-spring because of human scent.
- If the baby is covered in ants, brush the ants off and move the baby to a place nearby but away from the ants. If the ants are really bad and have gone into the baby’s orifices, the baby needs to come to rehabilitation.
- If the baby is lying in the hot afternoon sun, move the baby into the shade. There is no need to provide water.
- If the baby is lying unhurt in the street, move the baby onto the nearest grassy place.
- If the baby is lying on your front porch, you can leave her there or move her onto the grass.
- If the baby is about to be attacked by your dog, control your dog. Mom will come soon and move her baby to a safer place. Moms often give birth to babies in fenced yards that are safer than outside where coyotes and other predators can get the baby. If the baby can’t get out of the fenced area, and the dog can’t be controlled, move the baby outside the fence where the mom can find him.
- If you are sure the mom has been killed, the baby has to be caught and brought to rehabilitation. Sometimes, older fawns are difficult, if not impossible, to catch. Herd them into a fenced area where they can be more easily caught.
Never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never (get the idea?) give cow’s milk to a fawn. The milk from a cow contains enzymes that the baby cannot digest that will cause diarrhea, dehydration, and death. Bad.
Do not think the fawn is cute and kidnap it to make it a pet. First, it’s highly illegal, and the Game Warden will slap you with a big fine. Second, grown former-pet fawns are not fun to have around and are usually set free by the human kidnappers. However, because the animal is now imprinted on humans for food and has never learned to forage, the grown deer will approach people for food or end up starving to death. This often results in the poor innocent deer being killed as a nuisance.
If you are unsure about the status of a baby fawn, you can call All Things Wild 512-897-0806. However, chances are good that mother knows best, that the fawn is not abandoned, and you need to LEAVE IT ALONE.
 An orphaned fawn in rehabilitation. |
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