With baby season fast approaching, I was reminded of a story Mary sent me last year. During a rainstorm, her husband had found a very wet nestling oriole in their driveway. At first they thought the baby was dead, but then they realized it was still breathing. In the garage they dried it off and […]
The National Eagle Center just released the results of its 2022 Golden Eagle survey which had 195 volunteers devoting over 600 hours and driving over 7200 miles covering the area of southeast Minnesota, western Wisconsin, eastern Iowa, and northwest Illinois. The number of Golden Eagles was down slightly at 99. However, the number of Bald […]
Speaking of eagles, two different times last week I came across groups of eagles, one of two parents and a juvenile. All of them were positioned near carcasses. This time of year they are scavenging for food, which is harder to find than spring through fall. When you see a group of eagles, look around. […]
If you noticed stories about eagles lately, this time of year eagles are searching for food and frequently get into trouble in the process. A couple days ago I had three calls on eagles. In one well-publicized incident, an eagle took a ride on the front of a train from Stockholm to LaCrosse. In another […]
In case you didn’t catch this in the news a few weeks ago, a great horned owl was discovered hanging from a branch over the Red Cedar River in Menomonie. The poor bird had gotten one wing bound up in fishing line that was hanging on a tree branch. In an attempt to get free, […]
My calls last week have included birds that won’t surprise you, trumpeter swans, geese, and ducks. You won’t believe the fifth animal, though, bats. Yes, bats. One day I received seven calls from Menomonie alone about bats. Many of the callers were as perplexed as you may be. Bats in the winter, really? Some wondered […]
Yesterday I went out to feed the critters, and, for the first time ever, each one came to me to take its food from my hand. I walked from cage to cage and had the same experience. I felt they had collectively decided to give me a heartfelt thank you. As we head into this […]
A couple weeks ago, a warden brought me a Barred Owl with a damaged wing. Yesterday the owl seemed to be improving so I decided to put it out in a cage with another Barred. The two immediately jockeyed for domination. I stayed in the cage ready to protect or separate as needed. They seemed […]
I had a call the other day that I think you’d enjoy. A guy had caught a crow that he thought needed help. Shortly thereafter he had to leave and asked his sister to watch it. The crow got away from her, and, although it couldn’t fly, did a high hop into a tree. The […]
Through the years I have found that having at least two animals of the same species rehabbing together helps each individual heal and the pair have fun. I was reminded of this yesterday when I watched the two remaining raccoons play. The smaller one jumped at the larger one, and soon they were tussling, having […]
