So today marks my three week anniversary at Northwoods Wildlife Center! Woohoo, survived three weeks haha. To mark this special day I actually woke up 30 minutes late.....thank you very much phone for this ever so pleasant surprise. Dang thing decided to die in the middle of the night even then it said 60% when I went to sleep. Although I felt horrible everything seemed fine. Hopefully this never happens again though. I was still allowed to go back upstairs to eat breakfast after sweeping up the education portion. The other intern up front vacuumed and mopped. I finished the mopping after helping the education staff take down chairs left over from a birding event the previous night. I wanted to attend it but was in Antigo. After chairs were moved outside into the garage and mopping was done, I began to work on updating the patient database while answering any phone calls. The other intern went with the education staff member to go over the educational binder we all received at the beginning of our internship.
My main call was about a Bald Eagle while the other call was checking up on a Common Loon that was shot last night. For one, who does this? You are a very disrespectful individual for shooting a bird that is protected. It's like shooting a Bald Eagle (which has happened before as well). Apparently the female Loon was crying out all morning for the male brought it. Unsure of its status now but I am sure REGI in Antigo is doing their best to heal it up and quick. Other calls were for the staff or about a bird hitting a window.
I did not finish the patient list update so after the intern finished going over the binder and I assume tour, she left to take lunch. Once she returned I left to take lunch and she took over for me and finished the list. Very grateful for that :)! After lunch I folded up some fliers and placed them in the back room as requested by the educational director and then I went and got the leash, swivel, and jesses for TJ. She is our American Kestrel. I worked with her, hooked her up, and took her outside to enjoy the fresh air a little bit. We did this until she seemed to get very nervous about all the commotion around so I took her back inside. I then got out Rory, the Broad-winged Hawk, and held him outside for a good 30 minutes I think. He sun bathed, preened his feathers, and even drew in some attention from the public. A couple wondered over from the vet and asked about Rory and the center; they may come back for a tour someday! After a while I brought Rory back in and placed him back into his indoor cage. Both birds still need to get used to my voice and presence without the other interns and education staff they are used to being around. I could tell Rory was getting nervous because the others weren't around which kind of made me sad but still I gained some experience and feel good about the fact I am picking up on their personalities more.
After bringing Rory inside I honestly forget what exactly happened next. I believe I watched the front desk for a while in order to relieve the other intern from phone duty since she was on it the whole time. I updated the reptile/amphibian portion of the patient list and resent it to one of the rehab staff member. I remember suddenly being dragged outside for a good while to play some hacky sack with everyone. We did not achieve a single hack but got pretty close and had a great time for sure!
Once hack was over we went back inside and I honestly do not remember if anything honestly happened. Last thing I do recall is attempting to bringing in Hortense, had to get help from a staff since this was the first time Hortense didn't listen, then swatted all the flies in her area. After that I inventoried the shirts we are taking to the June Bloom event tomorrow. Have to be up at least by 6:30am for this since it starts at 7:30! Then after this was covered I went in back and fed squirrels and filled charts for them. Went out with the crew regarding an animal and then returned back. Now I am typing away on here. No tours today but did manage to get some calls in and some stuff down. Overall had a very fun day :)
UPDATE: Spent time with Errol tonight. Roughly 10-15min before it started to really get dark and thunderstorm started to move in. Every time I approached he flew off which is typically. However he gave me some hope when he was sitting on a lower ledge and I managed to get somewhere between 5-8 ft away. I was standing behind a banister so it may not 100% count but it was some progress. He would sometimes turn to look at the corner of his cage like he was trying to block me out but overall he seemed to watch me more. Would not expect anything less from a scared bird but the fact he let me hang around in his cage without him flying around in fear (he did maybe twice) is better then nothing. I hope to continue to go out and eventually I will attempt to read to him more. This way he gets some socializing and learns the sound of my voice. I feel like he knows I am not a threat to him but he is still too nervous. He was raised as a wild owl so it will be tricky compared to an imprinted owl like Rhea. We will see though...
Friday, May 31, 2013
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Day 20 - Day Off
So this morning I woke up to the sound of the advanced license inspection outside. I did not eavesdrop but do recall hearing laughter so I believe everything went very well and why wouldn't it? Our staff members are very knowledgeable and we have a very well diverse facility for different animals (birds, mammals, etc). I have a really good feeling about them getting their advanced license very soon and when they do, look out everyone we are going to have an amazing facility! Well, it already is amazing but still. Every animal you can think of we could rehab (as long as there is a protocol for it). I cannot wait to get some Black Bear cubs or something in or River Otters! I'm double excited about birds but I think a permit is also required for that so it may be another process.
Sometime in the day I went and did all of my laundry I had managed to accumulate in merely a week or two. During the laundry visit I ran into a woman who was best friends with a board member of ours, who I had met, and I talked to her quite a bit about Wisconsin and the center. What struck up the conversation was when she told me a tornado watch was in the area. I took her by surprise when I said I was from Ohio which then led to why I was here in Wisconsin for the summer. She told me the place is very well respected and boy can I believe it thanks to all the nice people who walk through the doors (or call). She told me about Trout Lake and how a road there used to be an old highway system years ago. I intend to go to this place when I am off again because not only is it said to be beautiful but also it is historical.
After figuring out the severe thunderstorms were mainly south of here and later finishing my laundry, I returned back. It started to downpour just before I left the laundry mat but what was weird was that it was down pouring in Woodruff but not in Minocqua (the two are connected). Of course this maybe lasted 10 minutes before it started to downpour in Minocqua as well but it was interesting. During the laundry time I read Wildlife Hospital to keep me occupied. I recommend this book to anyone.
When I returned back I greeted everyone and hung around for a bit. When I asked about the fledged robin before I became ashamed of the response because I was told I abandoned it this morning. I was the one who went back out to catch it to take it to REGI (Rapter Education Group, Inc) in Antigo and I assumed responsibility for it's care but forgotten the fact I assumed 100% responsibility. So I am not sure if it was fed this morning or not but after being told about the abandonment, not sure if it was a joke or not, I fed it 1/2 of a CC (they usually eat 1) and then was asked to take it to REGI. Of course I said yes, especially since I was feeling pretty bad for forgetting, and right when I was about to leave we called REGI who said to hold on. There were storms in the area, we knew this, and everyone in REGI was actually huddled in the basement because of them. They were pretty bad out there and here I had made a joke beforehand "hope no one has to go to REGI today". Again, feeling 100% ashamed for forgetting about the bird. Especially after last night.
So I waited a good half hour and in the mean time chatted with the education side since the rehab side seemed busy. I actually got the okay as well from the education director for attempting to glove train Errol. Everyone says it will be hard and I especially need more bird handling experience but the okay is what I needed most. I will try my hardest and I hope for progress; may start tomorrow. I will need to work on bird handling as said and it was indirectly suggested to gain enough experience to where I could glove our Red-tailed Hawk (Sierra). If I reach that level of experience and gain more trust with Errol then the light will surely be shining at the end of this tunnel.
Anyway, after the wait I eventually head out to REGI to drop off the Robin. I made it there very easily. Only issue was on the way back. As soon as I got in the car, made my way to the end of the drive, and touched the room it started to down pour. Saw some lightning drop in front of me even. Stopped for a bit to let the rain pass but after a bit I just took off and fought through it. This downpour lasted a good 30 minutes before it cleared up and I made it back smoothly.
On the way to REGI I saw my very first Northern Harrier! I can now add this bird to my life list. While at REGI I also got an update on the two birds I brought in last time; the Bald Eagle and Northern Saw-whet. It was believed that the Eagle had lead poisoning but after some tests they are actually unsure what may be wrong with it. Something kind of funny about it is that it loves to break out from its box and eat any food that is left out. Luckily it has not ate any of the other birds. The Northern Saw-whet suffered some head trauma and was bleeding a little from the head but overall is healing up quickly and will most likely be released back in the wild. I think the eagle is going to be monitored more but overall will be releasable as well. The robin was also said to be fine and I think it will be released once it can fly. Overall three good stories for these birds which is great!
Upon returning from REGI I filled the truck back up, brought it back to the center, and am now typing out this post. Somewhere between arriving and this I actually took a 10 minute power nap. Apparently I was tired from the event but am now awake again. Going to attempt to work on the Dosage Formula or a Brochure since I keep putting both off. Grrrr!
Sometime in the day I went and did all of my laundry I had managed to accumulate in merely a week or two. During the laundry visit I ran into a woman who was best friends with a board member of ours, who I had met, and I talked to her quite a bit about Wisconsin and the center. What struck up the conversation was when she told me a tornado watch was in the area. I took her by surprise when I said I was from Ohio which then led to why I was here in Wisconsin for the summer. She told me the place is very well respected and boy can I believe it thanks to all the nice people who walk through the doors (or call). She told me about Trout Lake and how a road there used to be an old highway system years ago. I intend to go to this place when I am off again because not only is it said to be beautiful but also it is historical.
After figuring out the severe thunderstorms were mainly south of here and later finishing my laundry, I returned back. It started to downpour just before I left the laundry mat but what was weird was that it was down pouring in Woodruff but not in Minocqua (the two are connected). Of course this maybe lasted 10 minutes before it started to downpour in Minocqua as well but it was interesting. During the laundry time I read Wildlife Hospital to keep me occupied. I recommend this book to anyone.
When I returned back I greeted everyone and hung around for a bit. When I asked about the fledged robin before I became ashamed of the response because I was told I abandoned it this morning. I was the one who went back out to catch it to take it to REGI (Rapter Education Group, Inc) in Antigo and I assumed responsibility for it's care but forgotten the fact I assumed 100% responsibility. So I am not sure if it was fed this morning or not but after being told about the abandonment, not sure if it was a joke or not, I fed it 1/2 of a CC (they usually eat 1) and then was asked to take it to REGI. Of course I said yes, especially since I was feeling pretty bad for forgetting, and right when I was about to leave we called REGI who said to hold on. There were storms in the area, we knew this, and everyone in REGI was actually huddled in the basement because of them. They were pretty bad out there and here I had made a joke beforehand "hope no one has to go to REGI today". Again, feeling 100% ashamed for forgetting about the bird. Especially after last night.
So I waited a good half hour and in the mean time chatted with the education side since the rehab side seemed busy. I actually got the okay as well from the education director for attempting to glove train Errol. Everyone says it will be hard and I especially need more bird handling experience but the okay is what I needed most. I will try my hardest and I hope for progress; may start tomorrow. I will need to work on bird handling as said and it was indirectly suggested to gain enough experience to where I could glove our Red-tailed Hawk (Sierra). If I reach that level of experience and gain more trust with Errol then the light will surely be shining at the end of this tunnel.
Anyway, after the wait I eventually head out to REGI to drop off the Robin. I made it there very easily. Only issue was on the way back. As soon as I got in the car, made my way to the end of the drive, and touched the room it started to down pour. Saw some lightning drop in front of me even. Stopped for a bit to let the rain pass but after a bit I just took off and fought through it. This downpour lasted a good 30 minutes before it cleared up and I made it back smoothly.
On the way to REGI I saw my very first Northern Harrier! I can now add this bird to my life list. While at REGI I also got an update on the two birds I brought in last time; the Bald Eagle and Northern Saw-whet. It was believed that the Eagle had lead poisoning but after some tests they are actually unsure what may be wrong with it. Something kind of funny about it is that it loves to break out from its box and eat any food that is left out. Luckily it has not ate any of the other birds. The Northern Saw-whet suffered some head trauma and was bleeding a little from the head but overall is healing up quickly and will most likely be released back in the wild. I think the eagle is going to be monitored more but overall will be releasable as well. The robin was also said to be fine and I think it will be released once it can fly. Overall three good stories for these birds which is great!
Upon returning from REGI I filled the truck back up, brought it back to the center, and am now typing out this post. Somewhere between arriving and this I actually took a 10 minute power nap. Apparently I was tired from the event but am now awake again. Going to attempt to work on the Dosage Formula or a Brochure since I keep putting both off. Grrrr!
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Day 19 - Education
On education today and thankfully did not have the phone last night so I actually got some sleep! haha. Well tonight, I might, who knows, but I am also off tomorrow so it's not sooooo bad. Tomorrow will probably be spent doing laundry, reading, and working on dosage sheets for the center. I also need to work on brochures too but we will get there at some point. I may participate in the birding seminar going on tomorrow night but anyway we will worry about that tomorrow.
Today I started off vacuuming and sweeping like every morning starts out. Aside from using window cleaner on the windows with newspaper (which works 10x better then paper towels mind you) I began to do call backs. This lasted up until one call went on for a good 8 minutes and new things came about. I cannot remember what else happened but I do remember a tour coming about around 10 for first and second graders at Trinity elementary school. There were so many of them that we split them up into three groups (Called the Round Robin) and rotated them every 20-30min. One group was inside with me doing a scavenger hunt, one was outside with a different intern doing an outside tour, and one was in a Turtle program with our assistant educational staff member. Once we rotated through the three different groups they left and shortly after I mopped floors while the other intern swept up whatever the kids recently dragged in and carpet fragments.
Once this was all taken care of we were about to go on produce run but then this was covered so I was going to chill at the front desk while the floors dried but then was told to fill out an application because I was last one to do it since I was busy. So I filled out an application for a job offer next door at Wildwoods Animal Hospital. They want kennel help and all the interns here scheduled so we could all get a job and work together (this was no one became over loaded between jobs). When I went back downstairs I was surprised to see another tour group. The other intern was giving them an indoor tour while I sat at the desk for a bit. Once they were done the intern surprised me with "hey, you ready to give an outside tour" so I did. He followed and qued in whenever I forgot some details about the birds due to the sudden surprise tour. After it was over though I was complimented by everyone on the fine job I did and everyone had a good time. The tour was for the Veterans; they have a camp and usually on wednesdays they visit between 1pm and 2pm. I believe once this was over I finally had a good 30min lunch before returning downstairs and doing some gift shop inventory updates on the computer while waiting for phone calls.
When the other intern returned from lunch he disappeared for a while until I finished the list and did a little restocking. Pulled out some bird whistles from the back and put them up front. When I was almost done with this the other intern suddenly told me to come here and so when I hung the rest up I went back to the educational room. I was surprised to find him and the educational staff member near Rory's cage, our Broad-winged Hawk, and he held out a leash, swivel, gesses, and a glove. I held Rory a little yesterday but today I was actually allowed to take him out of the room he was in. They walked me through the process outside of the cage and then handed everything over. I went inside and jumped right in; gloved Rory, put the gesses on his anklet and pulled them through, took both and put them through one side of the swivel, wrapped the end pieces of the gesses to the other part of the swivel and pulled the swivel, then finally pulled the leash through the swivel end, and brought him outside of the cage. It did not take long at all and a few were actually seemed very surprised by how quickly he was hooked up. We then went outside with Rory and I held him for a good 30 minutes it seemed. Was able to get quite a bit of bird handling experience in; figured out a way to move my hand to get Rory to turn back around so that he was facing me every time he himself turned away to face away. They taught me how to take the stress off my arm with my other hand and different ways to hold him; say on one side vs the other side if he turned around. Made me conscious on the birds if they barfed up a pellet or possibly defecated and to watch for anything behind the birds that could stress them out. Rory did some preening which is very helpful for this feathers; they are molting and in the process of growing back. Overall this went very well and I even have an awesome picture with one of my favorite birds to prove things.
So after holding Rory for the good 30 minutes or so we returned back inside and I unhooked everything and was shown were equipment went. We exited the educational room because a board meeting was about to go on so I started to work on inventory in the back room for the gift shop while the other intern helped in back I believe. He had a phone with him to where he could answer while I took count of stuff. I did not finish though because it was the end of the day and the intern and educational member wanted to go to Hoggie Doggie's; an amazing restaurant with different sandwiches, hotdogs, wraps, ice cream, etc. It was absolutely amazing and I cannot wait to go back! I had a turtle sundae with a patty melt and a small rootbeer. The patty melt was like cheese, bread, hamburger, with special sauce I think. Think of Steak and Shake's Frisco Melt kind of style but of course it tastes 10x different and honestly SO MUCH better!
Upon returning from this excellent treat we heard news about the a baby robin, which came in earlier today during tours (forgot to mention previously), and how it was released in back. It is a fledgeling and only hopping around, not flying. The other Robins around heard it crying and flew down to it but apparently flew away the moment they knew it was not theirs. This left the baby hopping around crying out for its parents but nothing more. This seemed fine and dandy until I was upstairs messing around online and heard some thunder rolling in. A storm was coming and thus I believed the robin's likely hood of surviving the night was greatly decreased to about 25%. Due to this, when we went downstairs to feed, I made comment about the bird and how a storm was rolling in. We talked it through about how the bird probably should not have been released, especially since it could not fly yet, and so I finally got the okay to go out and grab it IF I could find it. Thanks to my well trained ears when it comes to bird calls, not bragging either, I was actually able to pick out the sound of the young Robin vs the adult Robins and other birds in the area. I located him and quickly placed him in a baby box we use for other babies. It was then brought back inside and placed on a heating pad with a water dish and meal worms. I wasn't sure if it was old enough to feed on its own but no matter, REGI (Raptor Education Group, Incorporated) was called and they said to feed him exact and to take the meal worms out. So we tried but he did not eat much; meaning he could have still been full from eating meal worms earlier in the day. Since he was not hungry now I was put in charge of the bird and thus will attempt to feed it around 10pm.
In the mean time the education staff member and four of us interns are sitting here and watching the Hobbit while playing with the staff members cats. I am also typing this up of course and since it is almost 10 I will attempt a feeding before finishing the movie and eventually going to bed. Lucky me I have the day off tomorrow so staying up is not so bad. It was an excellent day indeed! :)
Today I started off vacuuming and sweeping like every morning starts out. Aside from using window cleaner on the windows with newspaper (which works 10x better then paper towels mind you) I began to do call backs. This lasted up until one call went on for a good 8 minutes and new things came about. I cannot remember what else happened but I do remember a tour coming about around 10 for first and second graders at Trinity elementary school. There were so many of them that we split them up into three groups (Called the Round Robin) and rotated them every 20-30min. One group was inside with me doing a scavenger hunt, one was outside with a different intern doing an outside tour, and one was in a Turtle program with our assistant educational staff member. Once we rotated through the three different groups they left and shortly after I mopped floors while the other intern swept up whatever the kids recently dragged in and carpet fragments.
Once this was all taken care of we were about to go on produce run but then this was covered so I was going to chill at the front desk while the floors dried but then was told to fill out an application because I was last one to do it since I was busy. So I filled out an application for a job offer next door at Wildwoods Animal Hospital. They want kennel help and all the interns here scheduled so we could all get a job and work together (this was no one became over loaded between jobs). When I went back downstairs I was surprised to see another tour group. The other intern was giving them an indoor tour while I sat at the desk for a bit. Once they were done the intern surprised me with "hey, you ready to give an outside tour" so I did. He followed and qued in whenever I forgot some details about the birds due to the sudden surprise tour. After it was over though I was complimented by everyone on the fine job I did and everyone had a good time. The tour was for the Veterans; they have a camp and usually on wednesdays they visit between 1pm and 2pm. I believe once this was over I finally had a good 30min lunch before returning downstairs and doing some gift shop inventory updates on the computer while waiting for phone calls.
When the other intern returned from lunch he disappeared for a while until I finished the list and did a little restocking. Pulled out some bird whistles from the back and put them up front. When I was almost done with this the other intern suddenly told me to come here and so when I hung the rest up I went back to the educational room. I was surprised to find him and the educational staff member near Rory's cage, our Broad-winged Hawk, and he held out a leash, swivel, gesses, and a glove. I held Rory a little yesterday but today I was actually allowed to take him out of the room he was in. They walked me through the process outside of the cage and then handed everything over. I went inside and jumped right in; gloved Rory, put the gesses on his anklet and pulled them through, took both and put them through one side of the swivel, wrapped the end pieces of the gesses to the other part of the swivel and pulled the swivel, then finally pulled the leash through the swivel end, and brought him outside of the cage. It did not take long at all and a few were actually seemed very surprised by how quickly he was hooked up. We then went outside with Rory and I held him for a good 30 minutes it seemed. Was able to get quite a bit of bird handling experience in; figured out a way to move my hand to get Rory to turn back around so that he was facing me every time he himself turned away to face away. They taught me how to take the stress off my arm with my other hand and different ways to hold him; say on one side vs the other side if he turned around. Made me conscious on the birds if they barfed up a pellet or possibly defecated and to watch for anything behind the birds that could stress them out. Rory did some preening which is very helpful for this feathers; they are molting and in the process of growing back. Overall this went very well and I even have an awesome picture with one of my favorite birds to prove things.
So after holding Rory for the good 30 minutes or so we returned back inside and I unhooked everything and was shown were equipment went. We exited the educational room because a board meeting was about to go on so I started to work on inventory in the back room for the gift shop while the other intern helped in back I believe. He had a phone with him to where he could answer while I took count of stuff. I did not finish though because it was the end of the day and the intern and educational member wanted to go to Hoggie Doggie's; an amazing restaurant with different sandwiches, hotdogs, wraps, ice cream, etc. It was absolutely amazing and I cannot wait to go back! I had a turtle sundae with a patty melt and a small rootbeer. The patty melt was like cheese, bread, hamburger, with special sauce I think. Think of Steak and Shake's Frisco Melt kind of style but of course it tastes 10x different and honestly SO MUCH better!
Upon returning from this excellent treat we heard news about the a baby robin, which came in earlier today during tours (forgot to mention previously), and how it was released in back. It is a fledgeling and only hopping around, not flying. The other Robins around heard it crying and flew down to it but apparently flew away the moment they knew it was not theirs. This left the baby hopping around crying out for its parents but nothing more. This seemed fine and dandy until I was upstairs messing around online and heard some thunder rolling in. A storm was coming and thus I believed the robin's likely hood of surviving the night was greatly decreased to about 25%. Due to this, when we went downstairs to feed, I made comment about the bird and how a storm was rolling in. We talked it through about how the bird probably should not have been released, especially since it could not fly yet, and so I finally got the okay to go out and grab it IF I could find it. Thanks to my well trained ears when it comes to bird calls, not bragging either, I was actually able to pick out the sound of the young Robin vs the adult Robins and other birds in the area. I located him and quickly placed him in a baby box we use for other babies. It was then brought back inside and placed on a heating pad with a water dish and meal worms. I wasn't sure if it was old enough to feed on its own but no matter, REGI (Raptor Education Group, Incorporated) was called and they said to feed him exact and to take the meal worms out. So we tried but he did not eat much; meaning he could have still been full from eating meal worms earlier in the day. Since he was not hungry now I was put in charge of the bird and thus will attempt to feed it around 10pm.
In the mean time the education staff member and four of us interns are sitting here and watching the Hobbit while playing with the staff members cats. I am also typing this up of course and since it is almost 10 I will attempt a feeding before finishing the movie and eventually going to bed. Lucky me I have the day off tomorrow so staying up is not so bad. It was an excellent day indeed! :)
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Day 18 - Rehabilitation
Today has been better although I am honestly very worn out and tired. I decided to take phone tonight and someone called around 10pm, 11pm, 12am, and a few times through out the morning, then around 7am. I honestly missed the phone a few times because of how tired/passed out I was but the other times I answered or at least made an attempt too. Sometimes it rang twice then when I tried to answer all I got was dial tone. Not sure what the story was there but any messages we had were covered this morning and I am sure by now call backs have been made or the issues were taken care of. My frustration is building at the thought of this and everything else going on and truthfully I am not just tired in general but growing tired of others things as well. I love it here, do not get me wrong, but some things are really irritating me. The know it all attitude being the biggest but otherwise I will keep my comments to myself rather then blurt them all over social media.
After preparing food trays for squirrels this morning and feeding them while the other two rehab interns took care of mice feeding/watering (one training a new on as well). After wards we figured out raccoon food and such for our 11 raccoon babies and then eventually began to weight and feed all of them (once calculations were figured out regarding how much food they receive). I did dishes while the other two interns fixed the raccoon isolation room cages up, cleaned their cages by putting in new blankets, and transferring some raccons from the incubator to a cage. Once everything was fixed up and looking nice we filled out charts, solved some calculation errors that occurred, and prepared for the next feeding time. Due to the previous late feeding we only had an hour between feedings but they still took the formula and such easily.
Once second feedings were done and charts were filled, another intern and I then moved out to the education side while our other intern did dishes this time. We were supposed to watch phones while a tour was going on. We shortly took an hour lunch afterwards though.
From there we came back and had a short meeting about how to sell tickets for a fishing tournament coming up in June (or July...) and then we had cherry pie thanks to one of our volunteers that made it for us. After pie the rahabbers returned to the back and decided to work on a light switch. Two rehab interns did while I went with an education intern to clean Sierra and Race's cage (Red-tailed Hawks). We managed to clean up most of it before Race began to pant due to being stressed out so we exited, chatted with Eddie the Bald Eagle for a bit, and headed back inside to dispose of the droppings/water from the cages. I believe I started to restock then but did not get very far. Eventually 4pm feeding came around so an intern and I fed the squirrels, raccoon outside, and the baby raccoons inside with another intern (whom did dishes).
When feeding was out of the way I went on a coffee run for the rehab side and upon returning, talked to an education staff member with another intern about tomorrow's event. We will be giving an inside tour, outside tour, and program to three groups that will rotate through the sections. After this was figured out I was then able to handle Rory the broad-winged hawk. More or less worked on bird handling skills more with him by having him step up, move around with my hand, eventually step down, look for signs of him flying off to a nearby perch, and discussed what to look out for with birds when handling them. So far Rory may be one of my favorites besides Errol the Great Horned Owl. Eventually I let him perch back, exited the area, and the staff member and us two interns went back to the rehab side of things.
I recall finishing up some dishes that needed washed but surprisingly everything else was covered (sweeping, moping, etc) by a different intern. I had virkoned all surfaces in the kitchen prior and the other two cleaned out the Raccoon Isolation Room (RISO) so everything was tidy and good to go for tomorrow. This marked the end of the day until we all went upstairs and got to know a new intern more. We sat around honestly, debated a movie, but did not really do much besides hang out in the living room until 8pm feeding came around (we had finished at 7pm anyway).
This feeding went pretty fast (given there was 6 of us in a tiny room) and once I finished up with dishes we returned upstairs. The incubator for our new patient raccoon that arrived tonight needs to be checked at 10pm but once this is taken care of the day is technically 100% done and I am honestly thinking bed.....especially since I did not get much sleep last night. Tomorrow I am back on education, Thursday I am off (which means laundry/groceries), and then back on education. June is still up in the air but we will see how it goes.
Biggest news for the day; two new interns arrived which means all the summer interns are officially here!! Unless they decide to hire more due to the rehab staff acquiring their advanced license. This means a lot more animals, a lot more work, and more hands required. Sounds like a bit much but I am truly excited for this :)!
After preparing food trays for squirrels this morning and feeding them while the other two rehab interns took care of mice feeding/watering (one training a new on as well). After wards we figured out raccoon food and such for our 11 raccoon babies and then eventually began to weight and feed all of them (once calculations were figured out regarding how much food they receive). I did dishes while the other two interns fixed the raccoon isolation room cages up, cleaned their cages by putting in new blankets, and transferring some raccons from the incubator to a cage. Once everything was fixed up and looking nice we filled out charts, solved some calculation errors that occurred, and prepared for the next feeding time. Due to the previous late feeding we only had an hour between feedings but they still took the formula and such easily.
Once second feedings were done and charts were filled, another intern and I then moved out to the education side while our other intern did dishes this time. We were supposed to watch phones while a tour was going on. We shortly took an hour lunch afterwards though.
From there we came back and had a short meeting about how to sell tickets for a fishing tournament coming up in June (or July...) and then we had cherry pie thanks to one of our volunteers that made it for us. After pie the rahabbers returned to the back and decided to work on a light switch. Two rehab interns did while I went with an education intern to clean Sierra and Race's cage (Red-tailed Hawks). We managed to clean up most of it before Race began to pant due to being stressed out so we exited, chatted with Eddie the Bald Eagle for a bit, and headed back inside to dispose of the droppings/water from the cages. I believe I started to restock then but did not get very far. Eventually 4pm feeding came around so an intern and I fed the squirrels, raccoon outside, and the baby raccoons inside with another intern (whom did dishes).
When feeding was out of the way I went on a coffee run for the rehab side and upon returning, talked to an education staff member with another intern about tomorrow's event. We will be giving an inside tour, outside tour, and program to three groups that will rotate through the sections. After this was figured out I was then able to handle Rory the broad-winged hawk. More or less worked on bird handling skills more with him by having him step up, move around with my hand, eventually step down, look for signs of him flying off to a nearby perch, and discussed what to look out for with birds when handling them. So far Rory may be one of my favorites besides Errol the Great Horned Owl. Eventually I let him perch back, exited the area, and the staff member and us two interns went back to the rehab side of things.
I recall finishing up some dishes that needed washed but surprisingly everything else was covered (sweeping, moping, etc) by a different intern. I had virkoned all surfaces in the kitchen prior and the other two cleaned out the Raccoon Isolation Room (RISO) so everything was tidy and good to go for tomorrow. This marked the end of the day until we all went upstairs and got to know a new intern more. We sat around honestly, debated a movie, but did not really do much besides hang out in the living room until 8pm feeding came around (we had finished at 7pm anyway).
This feeding went pretty fast (given there was 6 of us in a tiny room) and once I finished up with dishes we returned upstairs. The incubator for our new patient raccoon that arrived tonight needs to be checked at 10pm but once this is taken care of the day is technically 100% done and I am honestly thinking bed.....especially since I did not get much sleep last night. Tomorrow I am back on education, Thursday I am off (which means laundry/groceries), and then back on education. June is still up in the air but we will see how it goes.
Biggest news for the day; two new interns arrived which means all the summer interns are officially here!! Unless they decide to hire more due to the rehab staff acquiring their advanced license. This means a lot more animals, a lot more work, and more hands required. Sounds like a bit much but I am truly excited for this :)!
Monday, May 27, 2013
Day 17 - Rehabilitation
Everything started off at 7am today for some and 8am for others. We had received a call about a guy clipping a Saw-whet owl on the road so we were already scheduled to meet him halfway somewhere for pick up; since we were the closest rehab center and he was still roughly 2 hours away. We also received a call about a fawn that was found cold and alone; the mother was presumed dead meaning it was orphaned. This happened around 11:30pm last night so at some point today either we were picking the fawn up or it was getting brought in.
As quickly as possible all 3 interns working, one intern that was off, and one staff member went through and fed animals, filled charts, and made phone calls. Afterwards the off member, staff member, and I went to pick up the Saw-whet owl while the others stayed behind to answer any more phone calls and work on other things. We went to subway, picked up the saw-whet after enjoying an awesome sub, and made way back. The Saw-whet, for the most part, seemed fine but it's one eye was not dilating right which means it could be non-releasable. This owl, with the Bald Eagle, was going to have to go to REGI in Antigo at some point (a 3 hour drive round trip) and I was the lucky one to take them.
Once we returned back from the saw-whet pick up I believe we did another round of feeding for the seven baby raccoons that we had and listened about other phone calls. I cannot recall what else happened, besides another summer intern showing up, but around 12:30pm we took lunch. Five of us decided to hit up a flea market in St. Germain and so we just ate lunch there as well. We only had an hour so we really did not get the chance to look at everything; only breeze by. Lunch was awesome, I got to try an elk burger for the first time which tasted amazing and I even had some raspberry ice tea to wash it down with. Amazing meal to say the least.
As soon as we arrived back at the center we loaded up the Bald Eagle and Saw-whet Owl to take to REGI. I was off on my way while everyone else stayed behind for a staff meeting. Not sure what happened, who knows if I will even find out any details honestly....., but I was driving. Arrived at REGI to drop off the birds, the Bald Eagle was said to maybe have lead poisoning and though I wanted to stay longer to see the birds I headed back. I was able to see a gloved Great Horn Owl though which was awesome but I overall felt out of place for watching.
Once I arrived back from REGI it seemed as though the day was not over. The staff member was out picking up raccoons while we were waiting for another raccoon to come in that had been hit by a car. I started preparing food for all the patients, except the raccoons who were being taken care of, and managed to feed them before I started doing dishes, disinfecting surfaces, swept, and mopped. Our baby raccoon count went from 7 to 10 I believe and sadly the raccoon that was hit by a car had to be put down to bleeding out the mouth from internal injuries. Her rib cage seemed to be broken in spots and she was gasping for breath so we think she had a punctured lung.
The deer fawn that was cold and such also passed away shortly after arriving at our center. Sadly he was too weak and despite efforts to warm him up he just did not make it. Pulled off some ticks as well and there seemed to be some hair loss so there was a thought that maybe another animal had possibly gotten to him as well.
Aside from all this, I helped feed raccoons and did dishes at some point in the day. Fed them again around 8pm but refused to do dishes this time since I was tired of getting stuck doing them constantly and I knew another intern was doing them a lot too so did not expect her to do them either. It was resolved smoothly and the day then ended with me basically here typing. Everyone else is going out to eat while I cover phone but oh well; honestly want some alone time anyway.
As quickly as possible all 3 interns working, one intern that was off, and one staff member went through and fed animals, filled charts, and made phone calls. Afterwards the off member, staff member, and I went to pick up the Saw-whet owl while the others stayed behind to answer any more phone calls and work on other things. We went to subway, picked up the saw-whet after enjoying an awesome sub, and made way back. The Saw-whet, for the most part, seemed fine but it's one eye was not dilating right which means it could be non-releasable. This owl, with the Bald Eagle, was going to have to go to REGI in Antigo at some point (a 3 hour drive round trip) and I was the lucky one to take them.
Once we returned back from the saw-whet pick up I believe we did another round of feeding for the seven baby raccoons that we had and listened about other phone calls. I cannot recall what else happened, besides another summer intern showing up, but around 12:30pm we took lunch. Five of us decided to hit up a flea market in St. Germain and so we just ate lunch there as well. We only had an hour so we really did not get the chance to look at everything; only breeze by. Lunch was awesome, I got to try an elk burger for the first time which tasted amazing and I even had some raspberry ice tea to wash it down with. Amazing meal to say the least.
As soon as we arrived back at the center we loaded up the Bald Eagle and Saw-whet Owl to take to REGI. I was off on my way while everyone else stayed behind for a staff meeting. Not sure what happened, who knows if I will even find out any details honestly....., but I was driving. Arrived at REGI to drop off the birds, the Bald Eagle was said to maybe have lead poisoning and though I wanted to stay longer to see the birds I headed back. I was able to see a gloved Great Horn Owl though which was awesome but I overall felt out of place for watching.
Once I arrived back from REGI it seemed as though the day was not over. The staff member was out picking up raccoons while we were waiting for another raccoon to come in that had been hit by a car. I started preparing food for all the patients, except the raccoons who were being taken care of, and managed to feed them before I started doing dishes, disinfecting surfaces, swept, and mopped. Our baby raccoon count went from 7 to 10 I believe and sadly the raccoon that was hit by a car had to be put down to bleeding out the mouth from internal injuries. Her rib cage seemed to be broken in spots and she was gasping for breath so we think she had a punctured lung.
The deer fawn that was cold and such also passed away shortly after arriving at our center. Sadly he was too weak and despite efforts to warm him up he just did not make it. Pulled off some ticks as well and there seemed to be some hair loss so there was a thought that maybe another animal had possibly gotten to him as well.
Aside from all this, I helped feed raccoons and did dishes at some point in the day. Fed them again around 8pm but refused to do dishes this time since I was tired of getting stuck doing them constantly and I knew another intern was doing them a lot too so did not expect her to do them either. It was resolved smoothly and the day then ended with me basically here typing. Everyone else is going out to eat while I cover phone but oh well; honestly want some alone time anyway.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Day 16 - Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest (Day Off)
The uneasy sleeping nights are finally catching up to me I think. I typically wake up at least 3 times a every night and have been tossing and turning a lot lately. Normally I lay still. Maybe I am uncomfortable? Restless? Missing home is getting to me? Not sure, but needless to say today I was honestly rather tired. A good 15-20min hike at the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest honestly did me in today. I was constantly swatting at mosquitoes and of course I came back with plenty of pictures.
Originally I went out to Chequamegon to hike the Franklin Nature Trail but since I could not find it I hiked a little bit on the Shay trail, which honestly was decently boring. So due to loss of enthusiasm I spent a good portion of my time out there driving to different locations throughout the National Forest taking pictures of anything I saw; lakes, water holes, birds, etc. I saw plenty of beautiful scenery but overall it honestly reminded me of Southeastern Ohio more then anything....so of course the nostalgia started to really get to me again. In short, I did not entirely have a good time today. The nostalgia made the whole adventure a turn off but at least the pictures turned out mostly good. This makes things better.
After taking all the pictures you will see below, I returned to Minocqua and actually ended up getting some ice cream at "Soap 'n Suds/What's the Scoop?". A laundry mat/ice cream place where I do my laundry and also will now go for ice cream. I then returned back to the center and found out I was not the only one was tired, and began typing this up. However was stopped to finally say goodbye to one of the two spring interns. Her internship was up and she was going to another place for an internship. Sad day it is but I am sure she will be fine and I hope she knows I am very thankful for all that she did to help me get to where I am now! It has only been 2 weeks and a few days but honestly everyone I have met so far is a good friend in my eyes! :)
Will update with more pictures later. In the mean time we fed baby raccoons (7) and are waiting for a Bald Eagle to come in that was injured.
Originally I went out to Chequamegon to hike the Franklin Nature Trail but since I could not find it I hiked a little bit on the Shay trail, which honestly was decently boring. So due to loss of enthusiasm I spent a good portion of my time out there driving to different locations throughout the National Forest taking pictures of anything I saw; lakes, water holes, birds, etc. I saw plenty of beautiful scenery but overall it honestly reminded me of Southeastern Ohio more then anything....so of course the nostalgia started to really get to me again. In short, I did not entirely have a good time today. The nostalgia made the whole adventure a turn off but at least the pictures turned out mostly good. This makes things better.
After taking all the pictures you will see below, I returned to Minocqua and actually ended up getting some ice cream at "Soap 'n Suds/What's the Scoop?". A laundry mat/ice cream place where I do my laundry and also will now go for ice cream. I then returned back to the center and found out I was not the only one was tired, and began typing this up. However was stopped to finally say goodbye to one of the two spring interns. Her internship was up and she was going to another place for an internship. Sad day it is but I am sure she will be fine and I hope she knows I am very thankful for all that she did to help me get to where I am now! It has only been 2 weeks and a few days but honestly everyone I have met so far is a good friend in my eyes! :)
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| Every road in Wisconsin seems to look like this :) |
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| Blood Root (Sanguinaria canadensis) |
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| Blood Root (Sanguinaria canadensis) |
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| Blood Root (Sanguinaria canadensis) |
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| Why it's called Bloodroot. |
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| Large-flowered Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) |
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| Blood Root (Sanguinaria canadensis) |
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| American Toad (Bufo americanus) |
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| American Toad (Bufo americanus) |
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Day 15 - Education
Wow is the one and only word that can sum up today. Busy would be the other.
You know when they memorial day kicks off summer? Try the weekend before.
The phone calls started as soon as 8:10am and did not seem to end until around 5pm. We had roughly 7 different phone calls regarding fawns people have found in random locations. This factor leads me to post a very special announcement for everyone!!!
IF YOU FIND A FAWN -- LEAVE IT ALONE
Here is why -- Deer fawn do not leave a scent trail like adult deer do, this is why the mother deer leaves her fawn for hours on end and only returns for a short duration of time and why you always seem to see the fawn by itself. This is a technique used by deer to keep predators away from their babies while also providing the fawn with the nutrition they need. A mother's care is the best care despite how much you think your care is better; it's not. So what about wildlife rehab? Well, we have connections to pharmacies, veterinarians, and other medical related industries that allow us to provide fawns with formula that is very similar to what a mother fawn provides. These connections are earned by acquiring license, experience, and so much more. Goats milk and cow milk DO NOT CUT IT. If you find a baby fawn then please monitor it for at least a day before giving your wildlife rehabilitation center a call. Wildlife rehabilitation centers receive phone calls all the time about "fawns left alone" - the reason explained before is why. They may seem left alone but mom typically returns later as said before. Oh, and keep dogs away as much as possible too. Don't be afraid to go talk to your fellow neighbors about a fawn around so their dogs leave them alone.
Any way, so besides answering phone calls through out the day and trying to keep track of who was going where since the rehab staff was in and out through out the day, picking up and dropping off animals (if possible), the education assisstant director and I worked on giving tours. She practically did all of them except one which I am VERY grateful for because I could tell she was getting tired and all I was doing was standing/watching/listening. The standing/watching/listening portion of things though REALLY helped because when I gave my first tour I was able to regurtitate practically everything she had said and was able 95% of all questions asked making my first tour and very successful one. A family even talked to me for a good 10 minutes afterwards about who I am, where I was from, and about the internship. They got a volunteer form from me for one of their children who seemed very excited about becoming a volunteer so it was very rewarding!!!
I gained a lot of confidence today and feel like all the pieces are starting to click together. I was able to handle fawn phone calls, halfway handle a bird phone call, learned SO MUCH about animal/human related events such as birds hitting windows), and just about the center in general. I mean there was so so much learned today and I am very thankful to all the staff/interns/etc who have guided and helped me get to this point so far. It has only been 2 weeks but WOW. Just wow. I have learned so much and all the skills previously learned are starting to truly apply. Mr. Buchanan, my environmental engineering teacher, was right about everything he had taught us and now I am able to see it in full perspective by actually working at a wildlife job.
And everyone, I can finally give a presentation / speak without stuttering and getting super nervous! The people skills, they have returned! haha. This shy guy was slowly becoming unshy and now things are coming into full perspective. I am so excited for not just this summer but also for the future. May I see ODNR or Fish and Widlife in my future? Who knows.
I know one thing though, Wildlife IS my niche! :)
In other news, the executive director took two other interns and I out to dinner which surprised me completely because the two interns were spring and leaving soon (which is why she took them out) but I am still fresh/new. Two weeks in and I feel so welcomed, I mean I just love it here so much and stuff like this truly helps. Everyone here is already a good friend of mine. Two weeks and I feel I can seriously count on and trust these people which says a lot when trust was hard to come by in the past.
Now then...I must makes plans for tomorrow. I have another day off so you know what that means. Adventures and photos!!! :)
You know when they memorial day kicks off summer? Try the weekend before.
The phone calls started as soon as 8:10am and did not seem to end until around 5pm. We had roughly 7 different phone calls regarding fawns people have found in random locations. This factor leads me to post a very special announcement for everyone!!!
IF YOU FIND A FAWN -- LEAVE IT ALONE
Here is why -- Deer fawn do not leave a scent trail like adult deer do, this is why the mother deer leaves her fawn for hours on end and only returns for a short duration of time and why you always seem to see the fawn by itself. This is a technique used by deer to keep predators away from their babies while also providing the fawn with the nutrition they need. A mother's care is the best care despite how much you think your care is better; it's not. So what about wildlife rehab? Well, we have connections to pharmacies, veterinarians, and other medical related industries that allow us to provide fawns with formula that is very similar to what a mother fawn provides. These connections are earned by acquiring license, experience, and so much more. Goats milk and cow milk DO NOT CUT IT. If you find a baby fawn then please monitor it for at least a day before giving your wildlife rehabilitation center a call. Wildlife rehabilitation centers receive phone calls all the time about "fawns left alone" - the reason explained before is why. They may seem left alone but mom typically returns later as said before. Oh, and keep dogs away as much as possible too. Don't be afraid to go talk to your fellow neighbors about a fawn around so their dogs leave them alone.
Any way, so besides answering phone calls through out the day and trying to keep track of who was going where since the rehab staff was in and out through out the day, picking up and dropping off animals (if possible), the education assisstant director and I worked on giving tours. She practically did all of them except one which I am VERY grateful for because I could tell she was getting tired and all I was doing was standing/watching/listening. The standing/watching/listening portion of things though REALLY helped because when I gave my first tour I was able to regurtitate practically everything she had said and was able 95% of all questions asked making my first tour and very successful one. A family even talked to me for a good 10 minutes afterwards about who I am, where I was from, and about the internship. They got a volunteer form from me for one of their children who seemed very excited about becoming a volunteer so it was very rewarding!!!
I gained a lot of confidence today and feel like all the pieces are starting to click together. I was able to handle fawn phone calls, halfway handle a bird phone call, learned SO MUCH about animal/human related events such as birds hitting windows), and just about the center in general. I mean there was so so much learned today and I am very thankful to all the staff/interns/etc who have guided and helped me get to this point so far. It has only been 2 weeks but WOW. Just wow. I have learned so much and all the skills previously learned are starting to truly apply. Mr. Buchanan, my environmental engineering teacher, was right about everything he had taught us and now I am able to see it in full perspective by actually working at a wildlife job.
And everyone, I can finally give a presentation / speak without stuttering and getting super nervous! The people skills, they have returned! haha. This shy guy was slowly becoming unshy and now things are coming into full perspective. I am so excited for not just this summer but also for the future. May I see ODNR or Fish and Widlife in my future? Who knows.
I know one thing though, Wildlife IS my niche! :)
In other news, the executive director took two other interns and I out to dinner which surprised me completely because the two interns were spring and leaving soon (which is why she took them out) but I am still fresh/new. Two weeks in and I feel so welcomed, I mean I just love it here so much and stuff like this truly helps. Everyone here is already a good friend of mine. Two weeks and I feel I can seriously count on and trust these people which says a lot when trust was hard to come by in the past.
Now then...I must makes plans for tomorrow. I have another day off so you know what that means. Adventures and photos!!! :)
Friday, May 24, 2013
Day 14 - Raven Trail (Day Off)
Okay so today I slept up and then goofed around on facebook before I finally decided to get up, take a shower, and then tried to figure out what I was going to do today. I searched and searched without much luck so when I was ready to go I went downstairs and asked for recommendations. This then led me to the Raven Trail in Woodruff, WI.
Now I must say I could have easily spent all day here because not only was there one trail but multiple of different lengths. The longest was 5 miles and the shortest was 1.5 miles; which is what I took because it was labeled "Nature Trail". Thankfully this trail system is only about 10-15min away so I could always go back any time and hit up Hoaggie Doggies on the way for some hotdogs.
For things first, I arrived and took out my camera and binoculars. Ipod and phone were in pocket and I was ready to bird. I cannot say much about this because pictures honestly express what I saw more then anything. My only real take home message, besides go adventuring of course, is to please keep your dog on a leash when in a park! I am a dog lover but darnit I hate it when your crazy dog is barking a storm at me and scaring all the birds away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now I must say I could have easily spent all day here because not only was there one trail but multiple of different lengths. The longest was 5 miles and the shortest was 1.5 miles; which is what I took because it was labeled "Nature Trail". Thankfully this trail system is only about 10-15min away so I could always go back any time and hit up Hoaggie Doggies on the way for some hotdogs.
For things first, I arrived and took out my camera and binoculars. Ipod and phone were in pocket and I was ready to bird. I cannot say much about this because pictures honestly express what I saw more then anything. My only real take home message, besides go adventuring of course, is to please keep your dog on a leash when in a park! I am a dog lover but darnit I hate it when your crazy dog is barking a storm at me and scaring all the birds away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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| Blackburnian Warbler silhouette |
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| Sideways shot |
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| Looks like a serpent! |
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| Sideways shot |
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| Sideways shot |
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| Sideways shot |
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| Sideways shot |
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| Sideways shot |
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| Sideways shot |
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| Sideways shot |
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| Sideways shot |
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| Sideways shot |
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| Bald Eagle |
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| Common Loon (2) |
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| Common Loon (2) |
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| Common Loon (2) |
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| Bald Eagle (taken through binoculars) |
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| Bald Eagle |
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| Bald Eagle (taken through binoculars) |
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| Catholic Church in Woodruff |
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| Catholic Church in Woodruff |
Bald Eagle flying and landing
Common Loon (2) diving
After all this I came back and worked on this blog for a while. Later on everyone but one rehaber and one intern went to Pope's Gresham Lodge for an all you can eat fish fry. Best time ever with everyone!!!!! When we all got back we fed 7 baby racoons (yes we have 7 now!) and then I finished this off. Now, bed time. Good night everyone. Back to work tomorrow! :)
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