Volunteers for Wildlife

SUNDAY, JAN. 31, 2016 | NORTH HEMPSTEAD-OYSTER BAY
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“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything,
but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”
— Edward Everett Hale
Wildlife boosters
Injured creatures get rehab help
at a hospital at Bailey Arboretum
that doubles as an education center
VOLUNTEER NATION
A M O N T H LY S E R I E S
BY STACEY ALTHERR
Special to Newsday
Jim Jones, above,
a volunteer, with
Buster, an
American kestrel.
Bailey Arboretum
in Lattingtown,
right, hosts the
Wildlife Hospital
and Education
Center. Volunteers
for Wildlife assist
with rescues and
rehabilitation.
VERONIQUE LOUIS
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evotion runs deep at
Bailey Arboretum in
Lattingtown, among
the stewards
charged with preserving the 40-acre botanical
garden and among volunteers
in a nonprofit housed there
who save, rehabilitate and set
free the creatures that cross
their path.
While the Volunteers for
Wildlife crew keeps a watchful
eye on the patients and residents at the Wildlife Hospital
and Education Center, the
patients eyeball the help.
Ahead of the recent winter
storm, Jim Jones, the nonprofit’s former director, made
his rounds doing the morning
feedings and cage cleanings.
He approached the aviary
home of Rufus, a red-tailed
hawk that occupies one of the
nonprofit’s eight aviaries for
injured birds. Jones, 64, headed
through the outer door and
past the tiny enclave that separates the bird from the outside.
He spotted the water dish, its
contents frozen in the bitter
cold, and noticed Rufus hadn’t
eaten her meal of dead mice
from the night before.
Jones approached the dish
while making eye contact and
chatting to Rufus, who sat
perched above the ledge, watching Jones’ every move.
“She’s a real sweetheart,”
said Jones, who lives in
ON THE COVER Lauren Schulz
Eddings, supervisor at the
wildlife hospital, prepares an
injured owl for feeding.
Bayville. “She literally is watching me like a hawk.”
Rufus is one of 35 resident
hawks, owls, opossums, eagles,
turtles, snakes, squirrels and
other wildlife at the nonprofit,
which was founded in 1982
with a mission to preserve
wildlife through rehabilitation
of sick and injured animals and
by educating the public. About
30 of the animals and reptiles
are patients, a number that can
reach 200 in the summer. Jones
said that last year the Wildlife
Hospital and Education Center,
which was originally housed at
Caumsett Historic State Park
in Lloyd Harbor, admitted
1,400 wild animals.
Many of them arrive after
some sort of collision with
human endeavors. Rufus lost a
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Butterscotch, an Eastern gray squirrel, lives at the hospital. The nonprofit tends to injured animals, helping those that are capable to return to their natural habitats.
First, do no harm
Cornelia, a red-tailed hawk, was found in a park and
deemed non-releasable because she was used to humans.
When young waterfowl are fed an
improper diet while growing, such as
bread, it causes nutritional problems.
Once the young waterfowl develop
into adults, they can develop
angel-wing, a condition that prevents
the wing feathers from lying smooth
against the body and renders the
geese and ducks unable to fly. The
condition is irreversible.
If a bird is attacked by a cat— even
if there are no visible wounds — it is
imperative that the bird get to a
wildlife rehabilitator or veterinarian
experienced in wildlife. Cats’ saliva
contains a bacteria called Pasteurella,
and when an animal is bitten by a cat
it can be fatal if not treated.
Source: Volunteers for Wildlife
NEWSDAY, SUNDAY, JANUARY 31, 2016
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making it more difficult for them to
begin healing from an injury.
] An animal that is already weakened
by injury can actually die of fright.
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Truth: The time of day has nothing to
do with whether the animal is sick. If
they have youngsters, they may be
he Education Center uses its
looking for food. As long as they
animal ambassadors to
aren’t stumbling around or approacheducate the public about what ing people, there is no cause for
to do when they encounter
alarm.
injured or sick wild animals,
Myth: It’s OK to leave food for wild
but the group tries to dispel myths, too: animals.
Myth: If a baby bird falls from a tree,
Truth: Leaving food out can disrupt
don’t pick it up, because your scent will animals’ feeding patterns. It’s best not
make the mother reject it.
to feed them, with the exception of
Truth: Pick up the bird and place it
birds in the winter.
back in the nest. The mother won’t
care about any scent you may leave
FYIs
behind. If the bird has feathers and is
The best first aid you can offer to
hopping around, leave it. It’s just
sick or injured animals is to put them
learning to fly and will make its way
in a quiet place to rest.
back to the nest. In fact, baby birds fall ] They are not comforted by petting
out of nests all the time. It’s a common or being spoken to, and handling can
call to the Volunteers for Wildlife
hurt the animal or make some injuries
hotline.
worse.
Myth: If opossums and raccoons come ] Talking, loud noises and a lot of
out during the day, they must be rabid. activity will raise their stress level,
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TLC for wild creatures
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Volunteer Ellis Wright, with Wyatt, an Eastern gray squirrel, at the wildlife hospital,
where a passion for animals is the key qualification.
HEATHER WALSH
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Lauren Schulz Eddings, supervisor at the wildlife program, gets an injured opossum ready for feeding.
wing when she was hit by a car.
Marcus, a great-horned owl, got
tangled up in fishing line for hours,
cutting himself when he tried to
escape. Solomon, a barred owl, was
blinded in one eye after getting hit
by a car, and a box turtle is recovering — resting through the winter
in a child’s plastic pool under
soft-light lamps — after eating
something poisonous or not
healthy for it.
Some of the animals have such
severe head trauma that only time
will tell if they get well enough to
be released back in the wild, including an opossum who has a telltale
craning of its neck, a symptom of
head trauma that rehabilitation
experts at the hospital know well.
Those who don’t recover may have
to be euthanized.
The goal is always to return the
animals to the wild, but sometimes
releasing them could mean a death
sentence, so the relatively healthy
ones become ambassadors to the
cause, traveling to schools under the
educational arm of the nonprofit.
Jones, who is also a member of the
board of directors, said the program
visits about 30 school districts a
year, as well as libraries, museums
and parks on Long Island and elsewhere, such as the Bronx. Spectators
can’t touch the animals, who are not
domesticated, although Marcel the
opossum will come out of his box to
eat some grapes, much to the delight of children and adults.
“They really enjoy seeing the
animals do the things they do,”
Jeff and Caroline Bourke of Bayville say they enjoy frequent visits with the animals at
the Wildlife Hospital and Education Center at Bailey Arboretum in Lattingtown.
COVERSTORY
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Patty Salajka
A staff of three full-time
workers and one part-timer
depends on a cadre of volunteers like Jones and others to
help clean up and feed the
animals, including weighing
the food to monitor intake. All
stats are recorded on a chart so
that the rehabilitators can
track the animals’ progress.
Sign me up
Volunteers for Wildlife welcomes
volunteers. While experience with
wild animals isn’t necessary, think of
it as a job, said Lauren Schulz Eddings, the supervisor at the wildlife
hospital.
“It’s on-the-job training,” she said.
Volunteers start with little more than
cleaning the cages and doing laundry, and moving up is slow. The
“No past experience is necessary,” said Lauren Schulz Eddings, 31, the supervisor at the
hospital. “They should have a
passion for animals.”
Volunteers progress through
three levels. The first requires
a lot of cleaning and laundry,
with little direct interaction
with the animals. Those who
make it through this level and
show a sense of commitment
can be trained to take on more
responsibility, including preparing and feeding the raptors,
such as hawks and owls.
“It’s dirty work,” Eddings
said. “But it’s for a good cause,
and they get to see animals up
close that many don’t.”
The most advanced volunteers are the “transporters,”
who pick up injured animals
and sometimes even capture
them. Jones, a retired science
teacher who taught zoology at
Paul D. Schreiber High School
in Port Washington, is one of
them. Eddings noted that many
of these helpers are also licensed rehabilitators.
Chris Paladino, 65, and her
husband, Frank, 67, of Farmingdale, started volunteering at
reason is clear once one sees the
work involved. These animals are
not pets, but wild creatures that are
at their most vulnerable, and whose
instinct is to protect themselves and
attack prey.
Volunteers must be 16 or older. If
you can’t spare the time, consider
donating money or even supplies,
such as food, blankets and towels.
For more information or to volunteer, call 516-674-0982 or go to
volunteersforwildlife.org
the wildlife hospital in June
2014. Frank fixes things around
the place and Chris, a retired
school librarian, handles the
hotline. Her skills at organization, and perhaps dealing with
childhood mini-dramas, make
her a good fit for the work.
Jones calls her a natural.
Chris Paladino said she and
her husband first came to the
center (the outside aviaries are
open to the public during
Bailey Arboretum’s regular
hours) to photograph the
snowy owls and were impressed with the work being
The PLANTING FIELDS
FOUNDATION is looking for volunteers at
Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park
in Oyster Bay and at Coe
Hall. Interpreters are
needed at Coe Hall,
which opens March 26.
Volunteers are also
needed to staff the
reception area and the
gift shop and for gardening. Download a volunteer application form at
plantingfields.org
Contact: Elsa Eisenberg,
516-922-8670; eeisenberg@plantingfields.org
For more volunteer
information and opportunities, contact the LONG
ISLAND VOLUNTEER
CENTER at
516-564-5482;
longislandvolunteer
center.org
done there. She now spends
her time coaching Long Islanders on how to help wild
animals that might be injured,
or contacting the transporters
when an animal needs to make
its way to the hospital.
“I try to give them pointers
to keep the animal calm until
volunteer transporters can get
there,” she said.
Ellis Wright, 25, comes from
his home in New Rochelle in
Westchester to volunteer every
Friday. He wants to get real
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NEWSDAY, SUNDAY, JANUARY 31, 2016
‘A REAL THRILL’
— STACEY ALTHERR
The QUOGUE
WILDLIFE REFUGE is a
300-acre preserve with
seven miles of trails as
well as ponds, forests
and rare pines. It is home
to diverse wildlife. The
Outdoor Wildlife Complex houses permanently
injured animals, including
an eagle, foxes, falcons
and a bobcat.
The Charles Banks Belt
Nature Center has exhibits, a library, gift shop
and a great view of the
Old Ice Pond.
Contact: 631-653-4771;
quoguewildliferefuge.org
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Jones said. “We stress that they
are wild animals. They don’t
want to be touched, and we
need to respect that.”
transport was a heron that
was found injured off Round
Swamp Road, hit with a
slingshot in the beak.
“It was in a sump filled
with poison ivy,” she said.
“It took me two days to get
to it.” Unfortunately, the
heron succumbed to its
injuries.
“But that’s what transporters do every day.”
Salajka had no prior
experience, and was trained
by the organization.
“The volunteers I work
with are amazing people,”
she said. “I can’t say
enough about the staff and
the organization, either.”
While she will continue
with her volunteer work as
a transporter, she hopes to
get involved at some point
with the educational side of
the charity, noting how
important it is to remind
people of the wildlife in
their own backyards.
Much like her skill as a
nurse to bring people to
good health, her work
getting injured animals to
the hospital where rehabilitation specialists nurse
them back to life — to
see them rebound and
eventually recover well
enough to be released
back to their habitats — is
a powerful experience.
“It takes your breath
away,” she said. “Especially
when they take flight. I love
them all — squirrels and
opossums — but when you
see a hawk or falcon take
off, when the odds were not
good . . . There is no
feeling to compare.”
JIM JONES
P
atty Salajka is all about
saving lives. The Huntington Station resident
is a registered nurse and
volunteers with Huntington
Community First Aid Squad.
So her work as a transporter with Volunteers for
Wildlife seems like a perfect
fit.
“I’ve always loved animals,” she said. “As a kid, I
always found my way
around frogs and turtles. I
would try to bring them in
the house.”
While at Suffolk County
Community College studying biology for a future
nursing degree, she learned
about Volunteers for
Wildlife by chance, while
walking in Caumsett State
Historic Park in Lloyd Harbor.
“I talked to one of the
clinic supervisors, and two
weeks later, they gave me a
call and told me to come
onboard.”
Salajka, 43, went through
all the levels of volunteer
status since she joined
about 5 years ago, including
clean-up and feeding and
administering medicine to
the animals. She now
serves as one of the organization’s transporters, which
is a group of volunteers that
pick up injured animals.
“I had an opportunity to
pick up a Peregrine falcon
over in Lloyd Harbor,” she
said of a recent transport. “I
believe he had a window
collision. . . . I’ve nurtured
wildlife that I never even
knew existed on Long
Island.”
One of her most notable
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Jim Jones, a volunteer, cleans the aviaries at the Lattingtown center.
‘Giving them time to heal’
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wild animal experience before he attends veterinary school, he said.
He is on Level III, where he gets to
work with some animals under supervision; feeding crows, ducks and squirrels, as well as making sure pens are
cleaned.
“I wanted to give back, and do something with animals,” Wright said.
“There’s a degree of unpredictability,”
he said about working with wild animals. “But for many people, it’s a real
thrill.”
Inside a treatment room, Eddings
dons a large leather glove, known as a
Hawking Glove, and sits on a stool
while Andria McMaugh, 27, a fellow
wildlife rehabilitator from Plainview,
stuffs small chunks of small dead mice
down the throat of a red-tailed hawk,
using forceps to push the food as far
down as possible, past the trachea so
that it automatically moves it to its
stomach. He tries to bite. He’s upset,
but the two stay focused, wrapping him
tighter in a towel and covering his eyes
to calm him.
The bird came to them on Jan. 17, after
it was hit by a car. It has head trauma, and
the hosptial’s staff and volunteers have
been caring for it ever since.
“It can’t stand,” Eddings said in a
whisper. “It was hit by a car.”
In fact, little talking takes place in
the presence of the injured bird, and
when it is necessary to speak, voices
are kept to a whisper. The sound of
humans can place stress on an injured
animal, so walking around the hospital
is much like being in a library.
Next, the two feed a large
great-horned owl in much the same
way, wrapping it up in a black towel as
the bird’s enormous, piercing yellow
eyes dart back and forth. The bird, also
hit by a car and brought to them on
Jan. 14, has trouble standing, too, and so
has been defecating on its tail. Eddings
and McMaugh clean the tail, and Eddings wraps it in tape to keep it out of
the way as the bird tries to regain its
strength. The owl has no apparent
broken bones, but many times, just as
is the case with humans, the injuries
can lead to head trauma and make
simple things like standing impossible.
“A lot is about giving them time to
heal that they don’t have in the wild,”
Eddings said. “We try to handle them
as minimally as possible.”
She and McMaugh are licensed by
the New York State Wildlife Rehabilitation certification program. Eddings has
a degree in zoology and a master’s
degree in education. McMaugh is working toward an online master’s degree in
wildlife management from Oregon
State University.
“The goal is to get them back in the
wild,” Jones said. “That’s the best feeling. You take care of them, and then
they’re gone. And they don’t turn
around and say ‘thanks,’ ” he said,
smiling.